Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I worry that I’m becoming an old man. As the years roll along, I fear that I’m behaving more and more like a grump or curmudgeon. And while there’s a natural aging and maturation process as we get older, I don’t think getting crotchetier about things is necessarily the way to go. And yet, I feel like sometimes it is proper to get on my soap box from time to time.
With that said, I am thrilled that our local hometown team of the Philadelphia Eagles are once again, Super Bowl Champions! My parents have always been big Eagles fans, I grew up watching the games every Sunday, and through both the good and bad seasons I’ve been witness to over nearly forty years, it is deeply satisfying to see them at the absolute pinnacle of the sport. And what a game the Super Bowl proved to be, with such a commanding and dominating win over what many experts were calling the best team in the NFL in the Kansas City Chiefs. There’s a lot to celebrate here and I share the enthusiasm of many in doing so.
But here comes a bit of the grump in me. While there are those that bleed green in support of the Eagles, I’m not entirely convinced that it should go so far. Yeah, there’s no problem in rooting for the home team, to be passionate about a particular sport, heck, or even in wearing
your Eagles shirts and jerseys at Mass. That’s all well and good, and it’s nice to have something to cheer for in a time and place where there’s also a lot of challenges along the way.
But our collective fandom does also tend to beg a certain question: are we as passionate about our faith as we are for the Birds? And if you suddenly feel yourself getting a little defensive about it, maybe it’s worth thinking about more closely. Now, it’s human nature to give more attention to things that are a bit rarer; it’s not everyday that the Eagles are in the Super Bowl and so it catches our attention better. But I think it’s fair to point out that no matter how much we sing the Eagles fight song, it’s probably not going to get us into heaven. I don’t think St. Peter’s going to ask at the pearly gates how many Eagles games we watched in our lives.
Friends, hobbies and pastimes and watching sports; they are all good things in themselves. But they’re not the best of things. The best of things are what we encounter in our faith: the Scriptures, prayer, and the Sacraments. These things bring God’s grace into our lives, they help us discover and know God for ourselves. And while it may not be the flashiest or the most exciting thing we do in a given week, living our faith far outweighs the importance of being an Eagles fan.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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