In the past week, I’ve spent more than 12 hours at major league baseball parks, not to mention at least 6 more watching games at home on television. Let’s add the time spent watching shows, reading articles, or just plain talking baseball, and I’d probably end up with 2 or 3 more. For those of you keeping score at your desk, that’s over 20 hours of baseball in a single week, almost a full day, without so much as a blink of an eye. So if I’m able to sit through all of that, then why is it that I fidgeted my way through one 90-minute Easter Sunday Mass?
When you think about it, going to church is a lot like going to a baseball game. The main players are wearing colorful uniforms. Ushers hand you a program when you walk in, and you have to stand in line waiting for food and alcohol. The organ is loud, and the singers are off-key. Young and old, there are people from all walks of life with clothes ranging from shabby to prim. It helps if you know the lingo, rules, and rituals, but you can still get something out of it if you don’t. The seats are uncomfortable, and you may end up with an obstructed view. Both are a little boring at times, so it can be tough to pay attention. It’s hard to walk through the door without shelling out a little dough, and going to Communion is a little like the 7th inning stretch. Plus there’s usually a whole lot of prayin’ going on.
I was brought up with two religions, Catholicism and sports, more specifically the church of baseball, and while I know that I’m not the first to ever compare faith in a higher power and faith in a game, this is the first time I’ve ever recognized the similarities for myself. And the more I thought about how complete my worship of sports is, the more I realized that much of what we feel about these games is handed down to us and taught to us in much the same way as religion. We believe in the spirit and the hope our teams possess, and even though it may be years, decades, or lifetimes without seeing the rewards for our faith, we would never trade our devotion or experience.
Sometimes I think I should be a little more faithful to my actual religion… after all, it would be hard to walk into a confessional and spin my attendance at three baseball games in a week, but my absence from Palm Sunday Mass. But it couldn’t hurt them to spice things up a little bit. Maybe if members of the congregation started the wave while wearing t-shirts with the names of their favorite saints, I might be a little more inclined to attend on a regular basis. Maybe if there was a mid-Mass game like “Test your IQ” with prizes, it might up the excitement factor. And seriously, wouldn't it be great if the lector introduced the priest just once by saying, “Now pinch hitting for Jesus… !”
I'm just saying... these are options.
2 comments:
and another thing....
Baseball is ahead of the Catholic church in granting some equality to women. I'm sure many people have heard of the female umpire (Ria Cortesio) who worked an exhibition game between the Diamondbacks and the Cubs. When will the Catholic church start seeing women as equals? I think it was only within the past 15 years or so that I started seeing alter-girls working side-by-side with the alterboys. I think baseball is much further ahead of the Catholic churh when it comes to its treatment of women.
Let us refer now to our hymnal, the first line in that great film, Bull Durham...,
I believe in the Church of Baseball.I've tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones -- I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma,Vishnu, Shiva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan...
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