Luke Pearson

Dear Friends,

When I was living back in New York, my father started a youth lacrosse team for fifth and six graders at the local middle school. He noticed that there were numerous youth lacrosse programs in the area, but he thought it was a shame that our town did not have one. Therefore, he acted. In the spring of 2009, he held an open practice for middle schoolers to come out to join the team.

On the first day of practice, there were about twenty-five children who showed up. All the players possessed an enthusiasm to be on the team, but each one of them had a different amount of exposure to lacrosse throughout their lives. There were some players who had been playing lacrosse for a while, while others had never played the game before. This posed a challenge for my father on how he would get his team to an equal skill set in such a short amount of time.

Therefore, on that first day of practice he asked the entire group of players, “How many of you have never played lacrosse before?” There were about ten players who raised their hands. After he asked this question, he instructed all the players that raised their hands to go with me (the assistant coach) to work on basic lacrosse fundamentals and stick skills. After about fifteen minutes working with them, they were ready to rejoin the more experienced players in passing drills.

Once all the players were together again the passing drills took a turn for the worst. More passes were being dropped, and the drills movement became less fluid. One of the newest players, who had never picked up a lacrosse stick prior to the day's first practice, kept dropping the ball in the middle of the drill. As he continued to drop the ball, many of his teammates were beginning to get aggravated over his performance. Suddenly, one of the players in line shouted at him, “If you are going to suck this bad, you might as well go home.”

After my father heard this, he immediately stopped the practice and yelled for everyone to come meet him in the middle of the field. As the players rushed in and took a knee, my father straightened up with a stern expression and said to them, “I want to make this clear on day one. We are a team. Our number one job is to support each other on and off the field. For the experienced players, how many of you have ever dropped a pass or struggled learning a new lacrosse trick?” The players responded by all raising their hands. My father continued, “See, none of you are perfect lacrosse players. That is impossible. What is possible is that you cheer on your teammates, especially the ones who are learning how to play this game.” After he said this, the players got back in line and didn’t say another rude remark to any of their teammates. One of the most experienced players even brought one of the players struggling over to the side and gave him some pointers.

In this morning’s Daily office Gospel According to John, Jesus teaches us not to rush to judgment over others who are struggling in our community. Furthermore, he teaches us not to condemn those baring sins in which we all possess. Outside the temple on the Mount of Olives, we are introduced to a woman caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees bring her to Jesus in hopes of stoning the woman, according to the law Moses commanded. It is at that moment, Jesus straightens up and says to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” After Jesus says this to them, the Pharisees walk away, and the accused woman is spared. Jesus then tells the woman that she will not be condemned by him and instructs her to go and do not sin again.

In this Gospel, Christ invites us into a radical state of self-awareness, patience, and forgiveness. God recognizes that we are all sinners in different ways. We are all imperfect, and many times we are quick to judge. This is especially true for those whose imperfection is more apparent within our everyday lives.

 It is such a blessing that when we are faced with adversity, ridicule, or even death, Jesus will draw a line in the sand and stand up for us. It is a miraculous truth that God will not condemn us for our faults, but instead encourages us to walk with grace in our hearts. No matter who we are, we are all siblings in the eyes of God. In God’s eyes we are all on the same team.

As siblings of Christ, we must care, support, and stand up for each other in any circumstances. Through acts of love, we must be present for anyone during times of celebration, and more importantly, during times of trouble. My friends, we all have the capacity to be patient with each other’s pain or understanding when someone is underwhelmed. We can all look deeper within ourselves and reflect on our own sins. We are called by Christ to straighten up our stands for those who are being judged or ridiculed. God knows that it is possible for us all to show courage during the periods that we are tested.    

In that moment outside the temple, Jesus saved a life. In just a few months, Jesus will save the world.  

Best,

Luke