The Huddle and the Play

A few weeks ago, when we were at the National Youth Workers Convention in San Diego, one of the speakers, Harvey Carey, said the following: “It’s not about the gathering. It’s about the scattering. No one goes to a game to watch the huddle."
Now, one thing you should know about me, is that I’m always evaluating what people say, for better or for worse. So naturally, the minute that statement was spoken, my mind started trying to apply that concept across the boards. Not sure if it’s always golden, but there certainly is something to learn by thinking about it in different lights. Here are some of the arenas I’ve tried this idea in:

In the case of the spiritual life: “It’s not about the praying. It’s about the living out of praying. Nobody goes to watch the prayer.” Eh… Kinda. True, nobody comes to see you pray. That intimate moment of prayer is not meant for everyone else, it’s meant for you and God. It’s a conversation between your soul and Him. That is a sacred time and it’s not for anyone else to have and hold but you.

BUT – life is so much about the praying. Moments of prayer are the times where God wants to pour Himself into our lives and our hearts and transform them. BUT - that prayer HAS TO be lived out, otherwise it doesn’t reach its full purpose. In St. Ignatius’s 4 steps of prayer, the last stage is “Respond”. That final step, the living out the prayer, is part of the prayer itself! The word “Mass” comes from the closing dismissal Ite, missa est, “Go now, you are sent.” God’s love, which fills us during prayer, is meant to be given away to everyone. Love is a gift of self, and to be faithful to it, we have to give it, we have to give of ourselves. Our prayer has to go beyond our own hearts.
In the case of faith and works: “It’s not about the coming to faith in our hearts. It’s about the living the faith in our works.” Eh, again. Actually, I think the way to bring peace to this one, is quite simple. I would reword it all and say instead: “Faith is lived. The only way to have faith at all, is to live it through works,” or as the letter to James puts it, “faith without works is dead. Faith is meant to be put into action. It is a work itself, on our part and on God’s part. In Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis says, “Faith consists in the willingness to let ourselves be constantly transformed and renewed by God’s call.” God is “transforming” and “renewing”. We are being “willing”. And what is the goal of this entire exchange? That our lives would be infused with grace, that we would become more like Jesus, Our brother and Savior. That we would live more like Christ. Faith and works are ever connected. One cannot exist as it was intended to, without the other.'

In the end, it’s all about balance. It’s a “both – and”, as much of life actually is. We need to look with eyes of wisdom, with the eyes of the Holy Spirit and seeing where God wants the plays of our life to go. He’s our coach. If He calls a time out and wants the huddle, we need a huddle. We need moments of prayer, moments of peace where we rest in Him. Those are the times that fuel the action of our lives. But once God says break, it’s time to play the game. It’s time to run the race, to put our faith into action. God is always sending us out. In being sent, we are like Him, who poured Himself out on nothing and made the world, who sends His Son to reveal Himself to us, to redeem us and teach us how to love, who sends His Spirit to fuel us with divine life and love. We need to let Him gather us to Himself, share Himself with us, and then let Him send us out, to scatter us to share that love with others.  
May the Lord bless and keep you. May His face shine upon you. May He be kind to you and give you peace, and may you allow Him to walk with you and guide you in this game of life.

 
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