The good news of Opening Day

A new beginning. A fresh start. The old is passed—behold, new things have come! 

Am I talking about Easter, a few weeks early? Not exactly. I'm talking about Opening Day of the baseball season, which (believe it or not) is today.

Before I’m accused of blasphemy, I don’t mean to ascribe any kind of supernatural significance to the old ball game (though at least one author calls baseball “the perfect game, the very Platonic ideal of organized sport, the ‘moving image of eternity’ in athleticis”).

Rather, I find it felicitous that these two occasions for reflecting on rebirth happen to intersect: last year they were three days apart, this year it's three weeks, but they're always close by one another. To me, anyway, their calendrical proximity encourages a theological analogy. 

Consider the pomp and circumstance surrounding Opening Day.

How many other days of the year are people permitted—yea, encouraged—to play hooky from work or school? On Good Friday? Don’t count on it. Not even the football season commands such devotion for its first games. The President throws out the first pitch, the color guard waves the flag, some pop star sings “God Bless America,” even an eagle flies overhead (see the picture above). There’s at least as much ritual as in a worship service. 

And as I alluded to, the rhetoric surrounding Opening Day is downright mystical. As John Fogerty puts it in his great song, “Centerfield”: “The sun came out today, we’re born again, there’s new grass on the field.” Listen to a beleaguered Tigers fan talk about the start of the season; you could be excused for thinking he underwent a religious conversion. Something about the first of 162 games brings out the optimist even in those with altogether empty glasses.

But I don’t mention any of this to ridicule baseball or its fans.

I count myself among the most ardent. I simply delight in the coincidence of the calendar—particularly as we move closer to our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. (Forgive me if I'm a little ahead of the game.)

Opening Day is so appealing because of that sense that anything could happen, that a new day has dawned. Truly that is the case with the empty tomb. By His dying and rising, Jesus wiped the slate clean of our sin, like an umpire dusting the dirt off home plate. He reset our heavenly scorecard, and gave our wicked opponent a woodshed beating. (You think the Yankees are evil.)

The Collect (or Prayer of the Day) for Easter puts it beautifully: “Almighty God, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life…”

Easter is the true “Opening Day.” Christ has ushered us into a new season in our relationship with God. Where before the turnstiles to Paradise stood locked, He has now given us entrance and access for eternity. It’s a whole new ballgame with our Lord Jesus. 

So enjoy some peanuts and cracker jacks today, why don’t you? Because the true Opening Day is upon us, and I like our chances now, and forever. 

News & Notes

• In the sermon I mentioned the phenomenon of attention blindness (sometimes called "selective awareness"). To see how this works in action, take this test. Let me know how you do!

• The Gospel for this coming Sunday is the beloved parable of the Prodigal Son, from Luke 15. In my experience, this is a great story for someone who has strayed from the faith—or perhaps never had faith at all—to hear (not to mention the rest of us!). Consider if you might have a friend or neighbor whom you could invite to worship; this is an excellent Sunday to do so.

• As a reminder, the funeral for Barb Blahut will be this Saturday at 11 a.m. Come and celebrate the work of Christ in the life of this beloved daughter of God. 

From the Church Year

This Sunday in the Church Year (March 31st) we commemorate the other Joseph. From the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

"Joseph was the son of the patriarch Jacob (February 5) and Rachel. The favorite son of his father, he incurred the jealousy of his older brothers, who sold him into slavery in Egypt and told their father he was dead (Genesis 37). In Egypt he became the chief servant in the home of Potiphar, a military official.  Because Joseph refused to commit adultery with his master's wife, he was unjustly accused of attempted rape and thrown into jail (Genesis 39). Years later, he interpreted dreams for Pharoah, who then freed him from prison and placed him in charge of the entire country. When his brothers came from Canaan to Egypt in search of food, they did not recognize him. He eventually revealed his identity to them, forgave them, and invited both them and his father to live in Egypt. He is especially remembered and honored for his moral uprightness (Genesis 39) and for his willingness to forgive his brothers (Genesis 45 and 50)."

Looking ahead to Sunday

• Readings
  • Old Testament lesson—Isaiah 12.1-6
  • Epistle lesson—2 Corinthians 5.16-21
  • Gospel—Luke 15.1-2, 11-32

• Hymn of the Day—"Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" (LSB 609)

+ Lenten Blessings +

Pastor Tinetti