A Sporting Faith

It was a good game, though I'd hoped it would turn out differently. Despite being down by about 13 at the half, we came back to tie it with two minutes left. Unfortunately, we just couldn't quite pull it off.

I've heard it said that sports is a "religion" in America. Perhaps that is true, but I think it is an over-exaggerated statement. I suspect that for those who want to split off the "spiritual" from the "material" it may be more of an issue than for those of us who find spiritual depth in the tangibles of everyday life.

A recent conversation has spurred me to ask myself the following question (which, btw, assumes that I were not actually leading a church service): If a really big game (such as the Super Bowl or NCAA championship)were playing during the time of the church service, would I stay home to watch the game? My answer is unabashadly "yes." What if it were an Easter service? My answer is still "yes." (Surprised yet?) Why? It seems to me that "worship" in the divine sense is less about observance of religious high and holy days and more about real life. And for me, sometimes, sports is more about "real life" than pipe organs.

I suspect that I'm not the only Christian leader in history to think this way. Indeed, I recall what St. Paul said to the Romans who were trying to figure out what it meant to be "Christian" for them in their time: "One person considers one day more important thatn another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord." (14.5-6a) A major question of Paul's day seemed to be that of religious ritual observance and participation in typical Roman society. Paul's answer was to engage whatever one chose to do with the full intent of encountering God in the activity. I think he's on to something here.

Thomas Keating, in The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience, talks about three movements in the spiritual life. First is to see God in everything. When we see God at work in the world around us, we are able to experience God's love continually being renewed for us and us being renewed in God. Second is to see everything in God. When we reach this point, we see ourselves being able to participate in the life of God whenever and wherever we are, thus being prone to the emptying of ourselves into what we do in order to give of ourselves to God. Third is the experience of divine intimacy. That's...well...divine intimacy. I think he is on to something too.

Perhaps when we find God in the depths of the ordinary, ordinary life itself becomes extraordinary. God is found in the marketplace, at the sports arena, and even (believe it or not) in church services. So, perhaps the question isn't so much whether we are more interested in watching sports or participating in ritual observance, but whether we are seeking God whenever and whereever we are.