Tailgating with the Spirit - Part 1

Well, here we are in what many people consider to be the best season of the year: American football season.  This season brings with it much excitement as the heat of summer moves into the more pleasant air of fall.  Several years ago, I started noticing certain nuances about the football environment that should translate well into our respective church environments.  I'd like to look at these nuances in a series of posts that will take us deeper into football season but hopefully even deeper still into the heart of the Spirit of God. These nuances will also attempt to build a bridge between this secular season of excitement into the sacred perpetual season of joy.  In this week's post, I will look at the nuance of the stadium gathering.

Each week across the country, thousands upon thousands of people come together to rally around their teams  (Who Dat! and Geaux Tigers!).  This is remarkable when we stop to think about it.  Large stadiums across the country hold anywhere from 75,000 to over 100,000 people at a time.  There are cities where these stadiums reside whose populations explode when these stadiums reach full capacity on game days.  This increase in size brings amazing energy, enthusiasm, and excitement (not to mention traffic) to these towns each week.  However, what amazes me the most about these large gatherings is the overall ability of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, political backgrounds, and faith backgrounds to put aside their differences (whether directly or indirectly) to focus on one common factor: cheering on their teams hopefully to victory.  This ability of people to lay aside their differences for a common purpose gives me great hope for the human race. I do, however, recognize that each fan base has its fair share of instigators who divert from the positive goal of the group.  These instigators simply remind me that we live in an imperfect world that continues to need our help and compassion.  Yet, if we can rally around our football teams in this way, how much better might it be if we gathered around our churches in similar ways?

Now, how does this secular gathering build a bridge to the sacred gathering we call church?  Well, we can start by drawing the similarities between a stadium and a church.  Both are built to accommodate a large group of people.  Both a stadium and a church contain seating that surrounds a central focus (i.e. the field and the altar).  [Note: Since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, many churches were built in a more circular fashion as opposed to the previous more rectangular design.]  Both, when filled, contain people who contribute to the activity at hand in uniform ways such as participating in cheers or prayers; band songs or choir refrains; and standing, sitting, or kneeling.  This being said, though, maybe we should next ask the following question: if the common factor at a football game is to rally people together in support of their team, then, what is the common factor that should draw people to church?  As a Catholic Christian, I might suggest that our common factor is to rally around the Eucharistic table of God where we celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation (God becoming human) and humbly give thanks with one another for God's blessings and forgiveness in our lives.  I like to think that this common factor should only increase our ability to put aside our differences so that we might love God with all our being and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  So, as we prepare to celebrate next week with our fellow fans, let's remember that the celebration in church should be even more rewarding than our football games.  Why?  Because with God, we never lose.

Next week, I'll attempt to look at the participation in tailgating vs. the participation in ministries.

May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.

Stompin' toward the Spirit!

"We are doctors, lawyers, professionals, laborers, students, teachers, and parents. We are different but we’re the same, and we’re brought together..." (from the "About Us" page on 610stompers.com)  When I read this quote for the first time, I thought it sounded very Catholic.  The word "catholic" means universal, so we know that our Christian faith includes everyone.  No exceptions.  As I have come to learn, a wonderful motto of the Catholic Church is "Unity in Diversity."  Think about it.

Ok, so over the weekend I had the opportunity to get home to New Orleans for Labor Day weekend.  I had a great time visiting with family and friends in the days following Hurricane Isaac.  Though many of the New Orleans homes and businesses were still without power, the priest at St. Dominic's said it well when he reminded us at the end of mass on Saturday evening saying, "We may not have electricity, but we still have the power of the Holy Spirit!"  This was certainly true.  In reflecting on this power of the Holy Spirit, I tried to recognize where else I felt this power over the weekend.  Then it hit me: the 610 Stomper tryouts!

For those of you who are not familiar with the 610 Stompers, please see the below video and website to get a better idea.  My words will not do justice to the remarkable energy that this group conveys in its mission, its performances, and its community service.

610 Stompers Video
610 Stompers Website

While at the 610 Stomper tryouts (my brother is auditioning), I watched 20-30 grown men take their shot at a making the group by performing a dance in front of three judges and a large crowd of spectators.  These men ranged in age from 20-65 or even older.  Each of these men risked public humiliation just to show that they have the energy and enthusiasm to be a part of such a unique organization.  One man who was probably around sixty years old said in his post-performance interview that he hadn't felt that alive and energized since he was twenty-five.  Upon hearing that, I realized that this seemed to be a theme in many of the interviews.  Men were reinvigorated to let themselves be free to dance as if they were children again.-- After all, Jesus did say that we must be like children in order to enter the kingdom of God! --These men, who come from so many different backgrounds, cultures, and professions, just wanted a chance to be unified with other men in a group that tries to make a difference in their community through dance, laughter, and general elation.  Is this not the whole point of being Christian?!  If we truly sense the Spirit in our lives, we, too, would feel just as energized to make a difference in both our church and civil communities like these men aim to do as 610 Stompers.  As I hope you have begun to realize from this and my other posts, the Spirit is equally if not more present outside of our church doors as it is inside!

Below is a video that shows a little bit of what the auditions look like each year.  Enjoy.
610 Stomper Auditions

Let the Spirit it move us to action!

May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.