Tailgating with the Spirit - Part 3

Well, here we are reaching the mid-point of football season.  By this point, we probably have a fairly good sense of how successful our teams will be this year.  For those of us with good teams, we are probably just as excited about each game as we were prior to the start of the season.  Others of us who are witnessing our teams struggle may find it hard to support our team each week because we are not finding as much joy in watching our team struggle.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning "fair weather fanhood" by any means. I'm simply acknowledging the ease and difficulty of being a fan depending on how our teams perform.  In my last post, I drew similarities between tailgating activities and church ministries.  This week, I'd like to take an even closer look at the life of a consistent football fan compared to the life of a consistent Christian.

First, I'd like to suggest that "true" football fans support their teams by utilizing whatever means necessary in order to be "in the know" with their teams.  Such means might be watching the daily sports news, reading the daily sports page, checking other forums of information, playing fantasy football, etc.  Needless to say, there are countless avenues for a fan to stay connected to the goings-on of his or her team.  Why do fans do this, though?  I might argue that this connectivity to the team gives the fan a deeper sense of belonging to the team and more credibility in his or her fanhood.  Another reason fans might do this because they find a sense of joy in being a part of something bigger than themselves.  Given the scope of football in this country, I'd certainly agree that it is certainly bigger than any one person.  Both of these reasons (deeper sense of belonging and being part of something bigger than one's self) are quite transferable to being a committed Christian.

If we, as football fans, can spend time doing all of these different things outside of simply watching our teams play, shouldn't we be able to do things outside of simply showing up for church on Sunday?  I'd like to think so.  With this in mind, I'd like to suggest the following as possible ways for us to be "fans" of Christ between church services.  We may do things as simple as morning and/or night prayer and saying grace before meals.  We may also look to do more formal praying such as the rosary, reading the daily scriptures, Eucharistic adoration, receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation, or attending daily mass.  Lastly, we can always utilize the technological world we live in and follow good Christian new sources on Facebook, Twitter, etc. in order to stay connected to what's happening in our global Christian community. All of these are simply suggestions, and I am not saying that we jump in to trying to do all of them at once.  However, I think that if we can become routine in doing a couple of them earnestly, we will find that we gain a deeper sense of belonging to God as well as recognizing that we are a small but vital part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

So, in conclusion, just like being a football fan, we will go through periods of our Christian lives where we find it both easy and difficult to live out and practice our faith.  However, we have enormous comfort in knowing that God instilled in each of us a longing for love because God is love, and we were all created in God's image and likeness.  Because of this, God will never cease to be "fans" of us, so how could we ever cease to be "fans" of God?  Always remember, with God we NEVER lose.

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

Tailgating with the Spirit - Part 2

If you missed Part 1 of my "Tailgating with the Spirit" series, I encourage you to give it a glance before reading Part 2 just so you have a frame of reference for what I will talk about in this post.  As a quick reminder, in Part 1, I began building the bridge between the gathering of fans in a football stadium and the gathering of disciples in a church building.  This week, I will look a little bit closer at the similarities between groups of fans and groups of disciples.

When we think of groups of fans tailgating for a game, what are some of the images that come to mind?  For me, I think first of the visuals (tents, colors, flags).  Then, I think of sounds ("pump up" music, cheers, even vulgarities sometimes).  Lastly, though, I picture interactive events such as games like corn hole, washers, ladder golf, football tossing, etc., as well as people gathering around large spreads of food and beverage that cover an array of tastes and flavors.  What is the point of all of this?  Why do many people consider these things necessary when pulling for their team?  I think the simple answer is because these things seem to increase our excitement for our team as well as make us feel like we are a vital part of what goes on inside the stadium.  Let's face it, while sitting and watching a game in the quiet of our own home can be quite enjoyable, rarely do we feel as connected to the outcome than when we share it with others.  This, too, is the same for our connection to what happens at church each week.

As mentioned above, individual game watching is nice, but it is not nearly as rewarding as experiencing the outcome of the game with a larger group.  Similarly, if we simply attend church each week as individuals with no connection to the larger group of disciples, which I have been guilty of in the past, then often we are not as energized by the outcome of church as we would otherwise be when sharing that experience with the larger church community.  So, how do we enhance our experience of church?  Tailgate more!  No, I don't mean stand outside of church and play games while eating and drinking to your heart's content.  I mean get involved in the different "tailgating" opportunities that your church offers.  A more appropriate word for tailgating opportunities would be church ministries.  These ministries might include but are certainly not limited to Bible studies, men's and/or women's groups, proclaiming the Word of God as a lector, Eucharistic ministering, altar serving, singing and/or playing liturgical music, service opportunities outside of church, teaching religious education, etc.  The list goes on and on.  If your church does not have something that you are interested in, then look into bringing that interest to public view.  As we "tailgate" more with our church communities, we will find that our energy for church will increase, and as a result, our love for God and others will increase as well.  Don't we see that our love for our respective teams increases the more we spend time tailgating with others?  The same is true, and I'd argue, even more important when we give ourselves the same opportunity with our churches and their ministries.

Remember that when we experience church as an individual we put ourselves at risk of receiving more than we are giving, and we know that God calls us to unending service.  As the Prayer of St. Francis so eloquently states:

 "[...]For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

Because at the end of the day, though our teams may win or lose, we know that in God, we NEVER lose.

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