This past week was a banner week for me for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons was the amount of good soccer on display. The San Jose Earthquakes began the season with a win and between the wonderful match between Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Germany and the slate of English games on Saturday and Sunday my cup was overflowing. Add to that the smell of spring training in the air and I can honestly say…God is very good.
One of the most interesting parts of the games this weekend were the four players, in four important games, that were sent off with two yellow cards. Three of them were early in the first half of play and the fourth very early in the second half. For the non-soccer people…two yellows equal a red and when a player is sent off they are not replaced so effectively one team plays with one less player for the amount of time remaining in the game. You may at this point ask…where are we going with this? Good question…Admonish the Sinner. In particular Kevin Mirallas from Everton who was sent off with a second yellow after only 34 minutes. Everton did a heroic job with 10 against 11 until the death when West Ham scored the winner in the 90th minute.
How do you admonish such a sinner? Well, first there is the anger stage: how stupid do you have to be to make such a silly second yellow card offense. There is disbelief and frustration that the game is over, done and doom and gloom descends. But then you see the team pulling together and increasing their lead to 2-0 and there is hope as you begin to forgive him and are proud of the effort on display that slips into “Ohhhhh noooooo!!! Here we go again!!!” as the goals begin to leak in and you loose 2-3. And yes there is the frustration and disappointment that comes with losing. What do you do then? You notice that it’s Everton v. Chelsea in the FA Cup quarterfinal this weekend and begin focusing on the next game.
I know this has been a long winding introduction to the Spiritual Work of Mercy: Admonish the Sinner and I hope it is worth it. Often times when we are immediately confronted with the effects of sin we can feel the anger and disappointment and ask how such a thing could happen. We see the wreckage left by sin and all the work that we must do to try and hold on to the healing holiness of God that we often fall into the trap of getting stuck in the moment and trapped by not choosing to look forward and towards life and God.
God’s desire for us is that we heal and move forward. Yes, I will remember the foolishness of Mirallas’ fouls and that this yellow card may have cost Everton a win, but if I hold on to this for too long I will loose sight of the next blessing to come and fail to enjoy the gift of grace given by God. Maybe the soccer analogy is a little strained, but admonishing the sinner calls for us to recognize and correct the sin in the moment and then move forward in the joyful hope that through forgiveness and reconciliation the sinner may once more choose to enter into the community of grace and participate fully in the life of God’s holy people. It is choosing to recognize that even with the effects of sin surrounding us, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we will continue to experience God’s blessing as abundant and generous. We admonish with love because, as disciples of the one, true and living God, we know the fullness of life in and through the reconciliation given freely through the cross of Jesus Christ. In other words…I forgive you Kevin, please don’t do something so stupid again…let’s play the next game. Go Everton
God bless
Fr. Mark