Devshirme

Our youth basketball program at the Cathedral continues to grow – this year we are fielding two teams in the Catholic Diocese of Worcester league.  The boys had a bit of a rough weekend but the White squad ended the day today with a hard-fought victory while the Purple team lost a heartbreaker.  Normally I sit on the bench for the games but late Sunday afternoon/early evening we had both teams playing their games at the same time.  Here is a picture from my vantage point:

Some years ago basketball player Charles Barkley famously said (and Nike made an ad campaign out of) “I am not a role model.”  His point was he was an athlete rather than a role model, and should not be raising your kids, etc.  There was much banter about this in the sports opinion press and the prevailing wisdom seemed to be that (famous) athletes are role models whether they like it or not.  But I think the wrong argument was being made.   Athletes are heroes rather than role models.  We try to emulate their achievements and for the most part can never reach their heights (winning an MVP trophy, setting records) largely because only a minuscule (side note – I just typed in miniscule and the spell check line came on.  I looked up the word and, well, realized I had been spelling it wrong all these years) percentage of the population ever even gets to be a pro athlete, let alone dominate a sport.  But the idea is that we look up to people who “do great things” (even in the context of sports, which in reality is nowhere near as important as we make it) and try to emulate that in our own way.

A role model is different.  A role model is someone whom you actively try to pattern yourself after.  I want to be a good father who has time for my daughters in the same way my father always had time for me, I want to emulate my mother in exercising good judgment while driving, that sort of thing.  I have no idea if I discipline our children the way Wayne Gretzky disciplined his, and I don’t really care, but I do admire his work ethic and drive and would benefit from applying this to my life.

The saints, and this evening we had vespers for a big one – St. Nicholas – serve the dual purpose of role models and heroes.  St. Nicholas was a devout man and an all-around good Christian – loving, helped the poor, loved Christ, etc.  We can no doubt learn much from his life, ask for his intercessions, and try to follow his example.  But he also lived 1700 years ago in a very different era.  There is, I think, a limit to how much he can be a role model – the distance is so great that is is hard to relate to him.  But in the meantime he has been turned into a hero.  He is a major saint, his feast is celebrated, people are named after him, and we see his icon everywhere.  St. Nicholas, and the other saints, embody the best of both the role model and the hero.  We can glean much from their lives and try to follow their example, and we can also look up to them and strive for greatness in our own small way.

The natural point most people focus on from today’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:18-27) is the famous line involving a rich man, the kingdom of God, and a camel through the eye of a needle.  But I have always been fascinated by the story of the young man who, after his conversation with Jesus, walks away.  Jesus doesn’t chase him saying “please come back” or making some sort of compromise.  He sets the table, lets him know what is up, and leaves him to his own free will.  Jesus will, no doubt, always be there for the rich young man, but that is up to him.  This reminds me of the ongoing controversy, or at least dissatisfaction, in some circles with Sunday morning sports.

This is a topic on which I respectfully disagree with my friend and brother-in-Christ Fr. Luke.  Fr. Luke gathered other clergy from his city in Webster and wrote to the newspapers and local leagues and coaches about the importance of Sunday morning.  And the leagues responded by not scheduling games Sunday morning.  On the surface, this is a good thing, and I think it is great that Fr. Luke and the other pastors took the initiative on this.  On the other hand, though, I think it is also a compromise that we do not need to make.  By asking the leagues to change, aren’t we basically admitting we have an inferior offering compared to their superior one?  If people are choosing to send their kids to sports on Sunday mornings, then they are making that choice.  I feel we need to emphasize the importance and quality of what we have to offer rather than give up, say that it is inevitable that people would choose sports over church, and duly ask the leagues to benevolently change the times.

We don’t own Sunday mornings.  Things are different these days – businesses are open, church does not seem to be as much of a priority for many, and sports are played.  So there is much competition.  But we have the best thing there could possibly be to offer: The divine liturgy, hopefully well-done and with challenging and inspiring sermons, good fellowship, and a great experience of beauty, spirituality and friendship.  I think we need to push this rather than give in to the inevitability of sports winning out.

Vacation Church School ended today and was a smashing success.  Here is the lowdown: Greg Abdalah, the youth director at St. George Cathedral, started the program last year as a St. George program and with an eye to expanding it to be a Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches program this year.  We had 29 kids from St. George, St. Mary and our Cathedral and they all can’t stop talking about it.  The theme was Champions And Defenders.  From Wednesday up until Saturday the kids came from 9-12 at St. George and learned about various saints and martyrs of the church.  Each day began with a service in a “catacomb church” – basically, St. George’s meeting room decked out in black and darkened to resemble a cave.  They then had sessions where they did activities and lessons.  Snacks were provided by the Men’s Club.  Today – Saturday – we had the morning sessions.  The campers returned for vespers at 5, and then everyone rolled to Fitton Field for a picnic at the Worcester Tornadoes game.  Most of the campers wore their new VCS shirts (as did I over my priest shirt) and everyone had a great time.  Two of our group even got to take part in the pie eating contest.  I had the girls and brought them both to their first ever ballgame.  This meant a lot to me since I am a huge sports fan and have fond memories of going to games with my ‘rents.  Vaia enjoyed her hot dog and the game but was utterly terrified by the sight of Twister (just as she is by Wally the Green Monster).  Raphaela, meanwhile, managed to do something I have not been able to do in my 37 years on this mortal coil- get a foul ball.  During warmups we were in the picnic area down the left field line and a ball came in and bounced and landed right under her stroller.  (I think everyone gets a foul ball at this place – the stands are right on top of the diamond and the setup makes Fenway seem like Riverfront Stadium).

The program was a great success.  We may do one-day ones during school vacation – we will see.  We will definitely do another camp next August so stay tuned.  Here is a picture of Raphaela’s souvenir.  If she follows in Daddy’s footsteps and collects baseball cards and memorabilia then this will be the first item in her collection:

Fallout has begun from LeBron James’s decision to sign with Miami.  The Cleveland owner has come out with the gloves off and lambasted James in this article not even a day after ”The Decision” was aired on ESPN.  My thoughts on all of this:

-I guess it is the competitor in me, but I am always disappointed when someone in basketball or hockey leaves a team to win a championship (Ray Bourque, Charles Barkley).  If you are a superstar, make it happen where you are.  In baseball or football it is different – one guy cannot have the same effect as in the other sports.

-Miami has already won a championship with Wade.  If, and nothing is guaranteed, they win another title, won’t LeBron be seen as second fiddle to some extent?

-Let’s keep in mind that as good as LeBron is, he has not won anything yet.  This whole decision thing has been narcissistic and ridiculous, as the owner points out in the article.   Did I follow and get swept up in it?  Of course!

-The owner makes many good points but he too played the game until the decision was announced.  No one is innocent in all of this.

-Will I be rooting for Cleveland, in addition to the Celts?  Absolutely.