Trinity Sunday (c)

June 10, 2001

The mystery of the Trinity is a very difficult concept to preach on; being a mystery it is never fully explainable. And over the years I have used several metaphors; but this year I found in the readings certain phrases which elicited for me a new metaphor.

In the first reading from Proverbs The Lord possessed me and gave me the beginning of His ways; and I began playing for Him, playing on the surface of the earth and I found delight in the human race.

Spirituality, which is our relationship to God is very much like baseball. God formed me. God chose me. God is not only the owner but the manager; and yes, I have been given free will. And yes I can play out my options and become a free agent and sell myself to the highest bidder.

Certainly baseball in its infancy was not innocent and great players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, even Carl Yaztremski and Roger Maris were never paid anything near their abilities even with adjustments for today's inflation.

On the other hand many of today's players are strictly egocentric and money hungry and team loyalty doesn't mean much of anything. Certainly there should be some happy medium. Baseball, unlike most other sports is a sport of individuality. Baseball prizes the individual who can hit, run, throw, and field. It also highlights more than any other sport a players flaws for all to see, even publicly posting his "errors", and "strikes"

Baseball plays a crucial role in training youngsters to strive for excellence--to co-operate with others and to obey the rules of the game. It is vital in re-enforcing values, sacrificing for others, playing fair and taking responsibility for one's actions.

As St. Paul says in the Letter to the Romans: "We can boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character; and proven character yields hope, which does not disappoint."

Unlike Football or Soccer, and Hockey which today seem to be more popular than baseball and accent teamwork, power, violence and instant gratification. The pace of baseball is played out slowly, more in tune with that of daily life--although that could be the very reason baseball is loosing its popularity because we live in a society that wants to live October in June. Skip the season and go right to the play offs. One of baseball's greatest wits of Wisdom came from Yogi Berra: "It ain't over till it's over."

In the gospel Jesus says that "Everything the Father has is mine, and what is mine I give to you." Each member of the Trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a unique individual, totally different from any other; just like every human being; but using our individuality in co-operation like a pitcher and catcher or outfielder and infielder throwing on the mark to make the out and the victory.

Baseball is not a game of one against one or even nine against one. There are the mangers on the bench and the coaches on the field, and although they sometimes can make an error as well as anyone else; more often than not their sage advice when listened to instead of playing it my way--achieves the desired results.

I said at the beginning that God is not merely the owner, the creator; but He is also the manager and sometimes rarely acts in the ways that we would want or expect of Him. But always in the ways that we need Him too. It might be said that God is the one who tears up our plans, puts us in His batting order; so that we might be formed into persons that He desires and not the persons that we desire.

And since He can only desire what is best for us, our ultimate victory. By listening to the manager and his coaching staff we just can't loose.