Spirituality is...a Gentle Referee

 

"It's a one time thing. It just happens a lot."

   Cracking by Suzanne Vega.

 This Saturday I had the joy of offering the devotional at Upward Basketball. The games were held between teams such as the Leopards, the Minnows, the Pumas and the Polar Bears and the athletes were all in Kindergarten or First Grade. I remarked to a friend later that watching these games was not unlike watching kittens in uniforms play with giant orange balls of yarn.   Three of my favorite moments:

1. A little boy practicing shooting lost control of the ball. It hit a chair, bounced up and smacked him right in the face, knocking him over. With a huge smile he stood up, giggled, and said, "Thank you, Chair!" as he grabbed the ball and ran back to the basket.

2. Walking in the parking lot, two boys were ahead of me talking. One began to tease the other about his game. Before the parent admonished them to be nice they had the following exchange:

Little Boy:  Mark, I'm gonna call you "Mary" cause it's a girl name.

Mark:  (very seriously) - Girls play mean.

Little Boy:  (voiced hushed and dread-filled) - I know!

3. During the confusion over which way to run with the ball a girl fell and the ball bounced away. The three kids nearest her all ran to help her up as the ball rolled by unattended.

I would like to live in a world where we can all stop chasing the ball long enough to help one another up. I was completely captivated by the referee system for these little ones. 

The coach told me their goal at this age was to learn to dribble (not double dribble or travel), shoot, and stay in the boundaries. The referee (a high school volunteer) would blow the whistle if a child stepped off the court, took more than a step or two (or..three) without dribbling or double dribbled at length. You could see she would hesitate when she saw the beginnings of a penalty to give them a chance to remember what they were supposed to be doing, and then reluctantly she'd blow the whistle. Most of her time, however, was spent helping.  

She would move her hands to show the kids they needed to dribble, and any time a new team got the ball she would point to the correct basket and wave all the kids to the proper side. She told them when they were defense and encouraged them to put their hands up to guard. She didn't just tell each child once and expect them to remember. She reminded them again and again with a smile each time. I saw her tie more than one shoe.  She was, without a doubt, a most gentle referee.

Spirituality can be that way in our lives.  Too often we encounter religious doctrine or rigid people aimed at telling us what we do wrong, and penalizing us for misdeeds. Imagine how powerful communities of faith would be if we did more than blow a whistle when someone stepped out of bounds, but we actually reminded them along the way to watch their footing, or bent over to tie their shoe.  Instead of just calling out wrongs, spirituality exists to provide a guide to right. 

Jesus illustrates some of that in the well studied Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  Notice what he says and what he doesn't.

Jesus says:  Blessed are the poor in spirit....

Not: You wouldn't be poor in spirit if you made some time for church.

Jesus says:  Blessed are those who mourn...

Not: God doesn't give you more than you can handle; be blessed not depressed!

Jesus says: If someone wants to sue you to take your shirt, give him your cloak also.

Not: Counter-sue for false witness and character defamation! Get elected on an official board and let the judges you know you don't like judicial interference into private matters! Tell everyone on facebook what they did.

Jesus definitely calls out wrongs during this amazing sermon. He points out there are boundaries, and traveling (like looking at someone as an object of lust instead of a human being) is still against the rules. However,  the overall picture he paints shows us a faith that spends more time guiding ourselves and others to the light rather  than simply pointing out and punishing darkness.

Spirituality has a dual role in our lives. It does serve to enliven our conscience and point out to us when we are doing something God does not desire. It also serves to encourage our hearts to learn the basics of community and helps us remember them when we stumble and forget.

In the game of our lives, let's not blame the referee or hide from the striped shirted whistle blower. Let's listen, and be thankful. And let's not be so quick to blow the whistle that we can't take the time to tie a shoe here or there.