These thoughts were a result of going to live sport for the first time in over a year.
The title is intentionally ambiguous because sport is also life to be lived.
Many of the seven things I mention also have significant implications for a faith community.
It is good to play, to belong and to hope. Perseverance, inspiration, humility and discipline are core values in life and faith as well as sport.
What do we love about what we do? What gives us a sense of identity and place in the world? What do we hope for and work towards with energy and enthusiasm? How do we encourage each other to keep going through adversity? Who are our heroes and examples? How do we keep perspective on who we are and how we fit into the team and community? What do we need to give up and focus on to express our commitment?
These thoughts were a result of going to live sport for the first time in over a year.
The title is intentionally ambiguous because sport is also life to be lived.
Many of the seven things I mention also have significant implications for a faith community.
It is good to play, to belong and to hope. Perseverance, inspiration, humility and discipline are core values in life and faith as well as sport.
What do we love about what we do? What gives us a sense of identity and place in the world? What do we hope for and work towards with energy and enthusiasm? How do we encourage each other to keep going through adversity? Who are our heroes and examples? How do we keep perspective on who we are and how we fit into the team and community? What do we need to give up and focus on to express our commitment?
Day 79
Today I went to watch the Toronto Blue Jays play at the Rogers Centre. It was my first live sport since watching cricket at the Basin Reserve in Wellington in January 2020. Sport, like theatre, travel and church, is much better in person. I have missed being able to hang out with family and friends watching a game and it was good to be there today with Ailsa, Jamie and Sophie.
Most of the stated advantages of sport focus on the considerable benefits of participation for fitness, skill development, mental health, teamwork and resilience. I believe there is also a lot of value to be had in watching sport.
So, tonight, after such an extended absence from the field of dreams I find self reflecting on what it is that I like about sport.
1. Watching sport encourages participation. Seeing a sport played well inspires a new generation to give it a go and encourages some who have stopped to dust down their equipment and pursue rekindled glory. Just hearing about something or being invited to join in is different from witnessing it being done well. I wonder many boys and girls picked up a tennis racket for the first time after the US Open victory of Emma Radecanu. It is good to play.
2. Supporting a team brings a shared identity. We become part of a shared history of highlights, occasional trophies, shattered dreams and special people. The colours and symbols of our tribe elicit knowing smiles and sympathetic banter. This tribe to which we pledge allegiance does not follow the lines of our regular affiliations, it is inter generational, multi racial and international. It is good to belong.
3. Sport generates excitement and emotion which our both an outlet and an inlet to our daily lives. Sport can be an escapism from the mundane and a release of emotion but the passion and shared experience can also enrich and energise our regular routines. It is good to hope.
4. Sport teaches us that there will be more highs than lows over the arc of an individuals career or a teams history. Celebrating small wins become significant. Defeat does not lead to a denial of devotion. One of the taunts that supporters make to opposing fans at football games is “You only sing when you’re winning”. True fealty does not waver in adversity. It is good to persevere.
5. Sport gives us heroes. Individuals who display skill, courage, flair or character that we identify with in a particular way. Many of the shirts in the town today carried the names of past and present stars. Our hopes become entwined with their performance in a personal subplot of a bigger narrative. We live vicariously but we also emulate. Who did you pretend to be when you were playing growing up? Kenny Dalglish would often pass to me or Andy Irvine slip me the ball so that I could bury the ball in the net or dive over in the corner to score. It is good to have people who inspire us.
6. Sport gives us glimpses of the sublime. Either playing or watching we experience brief moments of perfection. We are thrilled by sweeping passing movement or an incredible shot from an impossible angle or a moment of individual brilliance. Such acts sometimes even surprise the players who achieve them and stun the crowd before the roar. Music, painting and scenery can have a similar effect. Sport at such moments is also art. It is good to be humbled in the presence of greatness.
7. Sport provides insights into life and faith. The idea of baseball or golf as metaphors for life are a little hackneyed but the wider symbolism endures. The New Testament writers talk of the discipline, dedication, focus and perseverance of the athlete. I had a message today from a good friend who was telling me about his son experiencing some disappointment in his sporting career but realising it was part of his development. I was moved by his comment. “I try to tell him, as you always told me incidentally, that ability gets you a long way but it is character and attitude that get you all the way!” It is good to live like an athlete.
Of course all these things are subject to misuse and abuse. Sport can become an idol and a distraction and there are many instances where drugs, money, racism, violence or an overarching desire to win at all costs falls well short of the ideal. As Paul warns the Romans;
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator---who is forever praised. Amen.” (1:25)
Idolatry takes place when we worship the created thing rather than the creator and many do form and follow their own secular religions. For me, sport, like art, music and scenery, provides new perspectives that testify to the creative genius of the creator.
Many of the seven things I mention above also have significant implications for a faith community.
It is good to play, to belong and to hope. Perseverance, inspiration, humility and discipline are core values in life and faith as well as sport.
What do we love about what we do? What gives us a sense of identity and place in the world? What do we hope for and work towards with energy and enthusiasm? How do we encourage each other to keep going through adversity? Who are our heroes and examples? How do we keep perspective on who we are and how we fit into the team and community? What do we need to give up and focus on to express our commitment?
If you are a Christian the answer to all these questions all centre on Jesus. All we do is done to worship him. Our identity is consumed with following him. He is our hero and our hope. Our attitude replicates his, our character reflects his. We keep encountering God in his word, serving with his people, worshiping in all of life and growing in love.
Great as sport is, there is something even better to be experienced.
I am reading the extraordinary biography of South African Rugby Captain Siya Kolisi at the moment. I became interested in reading the book after hearing him reflect on becoming a follower of Christ.
“Something I was struggling with in my personal life was exposed to the public. Up to that point, everything I was fighting against was hidden, but when my sin was exposed, I knew I either had to change my life, or lose everything. I decided to lose my life and find it in Christ.
Walking alongside a spiritual mentor, I’ve been able to discover the truth and saving power of Christ in a whole new way. This new life has given me a peace in my heart I’d never experienced before. Now that I have given everything to God, nothing else affects me. I now live and play with the freedom of knowing His plan will always happen, and at the end of the day, that’s all I care about!
I don’t have to understand everything in life, and there are so many things I don’t, but I know God is in control of it all. My job is to do the best I can and leave the rest in His hands.
While I was really struggling in the midst of my sin, I read a verse in the book of Isaiah in the Bible that really stood out to me. Isaiah 43:2-3 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your saviour.” I read it over and over, for days.
If God can come through for countless people throughout history who had their backs against the world, He can do the same for me. “
The book is called “Rise” and is a great read.
Today I am thankful that God created us with the capacity to play and enjoy sport. I am grateful for the chance to watch a game live with some of my family.
Today I am also thankful for deciding to go to the game despite the challenge of accessibility, for a beautiful day and for unbelievably helpful staff at the Rogers Centre.
In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t only sing when I’m winning.