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bishop's perspective:
Win or lose, what matters is how we play
During my childhood in California and Jamaica we had few organized sports, gyms or playing fields. But our yard in Jamaica was large. There was a great space between our mission home and church building. On most afternoons neighborhood children (mostly boys) gathered in our yard to play. We didn't have Little League teams. We didn't compete for a place in the playoffs. But oh, how we played! Soccer, cricket, pole vault, 100-yard dashes, shot put and other sports captivated our energies.
We picked new team members every time we played. We ran, jumped, threw, kicked and batted to win. But no one ever kept score. I can't tell you if I won or lost more games or races. But I know I had fun! I know I played with all my heart! And I didn't develop a list of enemies. None of us did. We couldn't if we tried. Our team members were constantly interchanged and intermingled. We were self organizing; there were no adults to make up the rules or tell us we were losers or winners.
The fun was in the playing. We were motivated to be at our best. We figured out that what mattered was relishing the sport, not measuring our worth.
Jesus made this point in radically refreshing images. Jesus speaks of "abundant life" without reference to measurable achievements. Jesus speaks of the first being last and the last being first. Jesus says that if we really want to gain life then we must be willing to lose it. Spiritual and emotional vitality is discovered in the living of life for the sheer joy of it. This means we value life as a mysterious and miraculous gift to be cherished and live with abandon. We are not in competition with others. We treat others as we wish to be treated. We are in a race to fulfill God's dream for us.
The Gospel is good theology and good philosophy. For when we come to the end of life's day, what matters will not be our losses or wins but how fully we embrace and live the life of Jesus.
So be it for all of us in 2004!
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Bishop Ray W. Chamberlain
Resident Bishop
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