Dear Brothers and Sisters,
If you have watched any news on TV or the Internet in the last week or so, I’m sure you have been amused (or maybe confused) by the hijinks of the Scottish soccer team’s fans, The Tartan Army, as they “invaded” the city of Boston. I wasn’t quite sure what would happen when 20-30,000 hyper-enthusiastic fans with the reputation of being rowdy, bagpipe-playing, hard-drinkers were let loose among many equally enthusiastic fans from the US and from other countries.
At least in Boston (still waiting to see what happens in Miami), it was great fun. They enjoyed themselves and so did the city. And even left things cleaner than when they got there (if you don’t count the litter of traffic cones on various parts of statues). There are rumors that the city of Boston is going to adopt them, invite them back annually, and/or become an annex of Scotland.
For some fans “football” (soccer in American English), is a religion. And I thought of the stories about the “Invasion” when I read the collect for this coming Sunday.
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I’m not thinking about the obvious: that all the teams have the same “foundation” of rules. I’m thinking about the spirit of dedication to the sport and how it is not limited to the “home team”. As a matter of fact, the Tartan Army bought thousands of tickets in support of the Red Sox baseball team in Boston and 8,000 to the Marlins’ game in
Miami. An expensive outreach for people who have already paid huge amounts to fly to the US, pay room and board, and get tickets to World Cup games. What a wonderful “unity of spirit” is being exhibited in support of people that might be considered opponents.
Alas, that is not always the case for the church, where we are often deeply divided by differences in doctrine, practice and outlook. Sometimes those differences make us reject other Christians with more energy than we would reject evil-doers. And when politics enter in, the divisions multiply. Jesus prayed that the members of the church “all might be one” as he and his father were one. What joy that would be! And how much rejoicing in heaven. Absolutely not that we would all be alike—after all, Jesus and his father were different–but that we would accept the love he longs to pour upon us, and share it compassionately with each other and the world around us.
My mental playlist is now singing, “Let us break bread together…” and “I come with joy to meet my Lord.” Just imagining the possibility of our oneness in the Spirit makes me feel joyful.
Keep loving!
Mo. Laura+
——————————————————————————————————————————
COMING UP!
- July 6-10: Ellie Escher’s Music Camp I
- August 10-14: Ellie Escher’s Music Camp II
- Mondays, Book Study via zoom at 7:00 p.m.: next group starts June 1 C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters
- 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, Girl Scouts, Parish Hall, 6:00-7:30
- Wednesdays, noonday prayer via zoom at 12:00
- Wednesday evenings, yoga class at 6:00 (discount for St. M members)
- Saturdays, Iglesia Luz de Esperanza, 9:00-3:00