Opening Day

Today is the first regular season home game for the Minnesota Twins in their new outdoor stadium. Needless to say it is an exciting day. After a long hiatus in the shade of the Metrodome, outdoor baseball returns to Minnesota. (Exciting today, but not quite so sure about outdoor night games in late September.) To look around at the people going into offices and walking around downtown this morning, one would wonder why so many people are wearing the same kind of clothes?

Fully 50% of the people that I saw on my 20-minute walk from the parking ramp to the office were wearing some sort of Twins garb. From hats to jerseys to ties to jackets--everyone is a fan today. Do they think that their clothing will make the Twins play better? Or is there something more fundamental to the human condition going on here? Is the opening day clothing more about heroes and belonging?

The utility infielder's jersey is not much in evidence--lots of Mauers and Morneaus, but very few of ... What's his name this year? For some reason we want heroes who can inspire us and who, at least in our minds, become our champions--as if they are playing and winning for our vindication. Nothing wrong with having heroes, but we must be cautious about how much faith we put in these other humans. Our heroes may be exceptional at hitting or throwing a ball, or playing a violin, or writing poetry, or decorating cakes; but these who are heroic performers in one area usually are every bit as human as you and me in other areas of life. The thing is, in real life, our heroes are not power tools that we pull off the shelf to do a job, then put away until next time. They go home and have families and cut their grass and buy groceries--just like the rest of us. Sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they get it wrong.

So when our heroes "fail" us what does it say? Perhaps we have been unwilling to understand that great success in one area means noting in other areas of life. Perhaps we have expected too much from our heroes. Or, perhaps they have truly failed to live up to the reasonable hopes and expectations that we have of our role models.

I believe that the answer is not to avoid having heroes--but instead, to admire our heroes for what they do (and in some cases for who they are), while not expecting them to be god-like in all aspects of life. Not that we give a free pass for irresponsible or destructive behaviors, but that we honor and worship only those (the One) who is truly worthy of such. Admire our heroes, but worship our God.

WNWJW?

Pressing on!




P.S. (What Number Would Jesus Wear?)