Thursday, October 25, 2012

Too Much For Baxter

Recently, I was watching a football game on TV where the competition was very tight.  The two teams were battling it out for the whole game, and the score ended in a tie, forcing an overtime period.  In overtime, the game came down to a goal-line stand where my team had to hold its opponent out of the end-zone from the one yard line for a win.  The tension mounted; the excitement was electric; my nerves were on end.  The ball was snapped.  The running back lunged for the goal line.  The defense closed from both sides and behind the line.  The whistle finally blew, and the ruling on the field was no touchdown.  I leaped off of my chair with a shout and began jumping up and down in celebration.  Baxter got scared, so scared that he ran out of the room and lay down in front of the door in case he needed a quick escape from this madman.  I was elated.  Baxter was fearful, confused and unimpressed.  We shared the same moment, but we read it in very different ways.

You see, I was a die-hard fan of the winning team.  Baxter was a fan of neither team.  Fans get charged by a team victory, but those on the outside don’t feel the same way.  They look upon all the hoop-la as at best, nonsense, or at worst, mental illness.  They fail to understand how something like winning a game can gather so much energy and mean so much to a fan.  They may concede that winning is nice, but it doesn’t hold much significance beyond that pleasantry.  To the fan, it makes his or her day.  It creates a memory that will be part of the team lore for decades.  It sparks enthusiasm for the next game, and creates an attitude that carries over into the week ahead.  To the neutral observer, the game is just a little entertainment.  The win is nice, but it will soon be forgotten.  It was an interesting diversion in the day.

We need to remember this difference in perception when we try to evangelize.  We come to the table committed.  We are God’s loyal and true fans in Christ, and we wish others felt like we do.  So we might be tempted to get carried away with our enthusiasm and the urgency with which we try to convince others either to come back to the Church or begin the journey for the first time.  We cherish the sacraments and the traditions that mark our lives.  We are passionate about these and the convictions they embody, and sometimes we can’t understand others’ apathy or coolness towards them.  We want others to believe so much that we might try too hard to convince them of its value.  Then they respond like Baxter to our over exuberance.  They get frightened, confused and put off.  They wonder what’s wrong with us to get so carried away.

The journey of faith is not an all or nothing goal-line stand.  It is a lifetime walk with various companions on the way until, like the disciples on the road to Emmanus, we discover that the Lord has been with us all along.  The Eucharist is not fast food that we grab when we have little time to eat.  It is the supper of the Lord prepared carefully over time by many members of the family of faith gathering to pray.  The richest traditions of our faith grew through the centuries, changed with the times, and were instruments of renewal by the way they called people back to the basics of our belief and their lives.  They didn’t expect instant results but lasting ones, effects that soaked into the heart and marked one’s character ever after.

So witness your faith to others clearly but carefully.  Take the time to allow them to ask questions, reflect on what they hear, and grow into their loyalty and enthusiasm.  True fans don’t happen overnight.  They develop from family and friends sharing many experiences of the team, until one day they realize they are connected.  These kinds of believers stay with God’s team in good seasons and bad ones, and their enthusiasm always comes back when it’s needed to push on and move ahead. Their cheers may not always be loud and boisterous, but they are there when encouragement or celebration are called for.  Not “Yeah!” “Goooo!” or “Boooo!” but “Alleluia!” and “Amen.”

 O.K., Baxter, I’ll calm down.