The Spirituality Of Soccer

As I indicated in my sermon on July 12th, the world has been captivated by an extraordinary soccer extravaganza in the US, Mexico, and Canada, the three host countries of this year’s World Cup tournament. Like Mexico and Canada, we have been great hosts, and I am thankful to all those who worked night and day to ensure that soccer fans from around the world who traveled long distances to support their national teams had a great time.

I had the unique privilege of traveling with my son, James, my brother Andrew, who traveled from Ghana, and his two sons, James and Andrew, to visit Boston and watch the match between Ghana and England. That was also my first-ever experience watching a World Cup game.

To say it was electrifying is an understatement. It was an afternoon of great excitement, patriotism, screaming, singing, fellowship, and merrymaking. All in all, it was a moment of pure joy, the kind of joy that looks beyond categories, particularities, differences, and separation. For this kind of joy to prevail or be experienced, it doesn’t feel constrained by particularities, nor does it gloss over them. No!

The joy acknowledges stark human differences but then embraces them in a way that reminds each of us, whether you watched the game in the stadium, at home, at the pub, or elsewhere, screaming a national anthem or singing Take Me Home, Country Roads, that our somewhat cherished differences pale into insignificance. That, to me, is where the spirituality of football lies.

It isn’t the case that this feeling of joy is only peculiar to soccer or the World Cup. Whenever we gather at ballparks to watch baseball, at stadiums to watch football, or in arenas to watch basketball, the singing of the national anthem helps us appreciate the unique power of that music, which brings us all together and reduces our differences to insignificance. Whenever we gather at sporting events where a particular song has captured fans' hearts, the collective singing of that song creates a feeling of nostalgia for a time, place, and a home we all yearn for.

This past Sunday, when we gathered to hear the consultant share her findings with us, I thought about the last hymn that we sang, In Christ, there is No East or West. It is one of my all-time favorite hymns. I didn’t ask for it to be sung, but here we were, singing a hymn that reminded each of us of the uniqueness of Christ to us, not as individuals but as a community of faith that centers itself on the mission and ministry of the church.

The hymn echoes the thoughts St. Paul expresses in his Letter to the Galatians when he says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The oneness in Jesus Christ underpins the spirituality of football. The oneness in Christ heals human division. The oneness in Christ brings out the best in each of us. The oneness in Christ is about a call to embrace-and that's where our deepest spiritual longings rest.

Reflecting on the presentation by Juliana Hess, the consultant, I was highly impressed by the over 170 survey responses. These rich voices, which were captured on every page, lifted up the voices of a community that cherished Christ Church. More than that, they expressed the hope of each parishioner.

Your thoughts captured the sense of hope that is rooted in the song Take Me Home, Country Roads - that unique American song, which held the imagination of many a fan from different places around the world during the World Cup.

There is hope. There is openness. There is a longing for a home. There is a place. There is home. There is belonging. And for me, Christ Church is a spiritual home of faith, hope, belonging, diversity, openness, and love. And within this sacred space, we all work hard to create a home for each one of us. It may not always be perfect, but we don't give up on trying to make it perfect.

I have no doubt in my mind that each of you care very deeply about this sacred place and the promise that it holds for many people around the world - some known and some unknown.

It may surprise you to learn that, in fact, we do have many people scattered around the world who worship with us through Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, or Sunday Eucharist. Whether they spend a minute with us or an hour with us, each one of them is uplifted by the prayer that we offer to the God of our Savior Jesus Christ.

I once heard someone make the point that our problem is not polarization. Our problem is the lack of cultural resources to help us work through our differences.

I am eternally grateful for the community of faith we share. It often looks like a soccer team; each one has a role to play, and each plays the role with such amazing commitment and love. Each plays the role with such grace and diligence. Each plays their role with joy.

By God’s grace, we are able to play each role, not because we are religious people, but because of the level of our conscious belief in the God who has called us into shared ministry in the world with Him. And we do this ministry with great joy - the joy that collapses all our differences into nothingness.

I offer great thanks to God for our shared common life and the joy that emanates from this holy place. The joy that I feel each day is like watching the World Cup. It is a different kind of joy. It is the joy that deepens my spirituality.

Soccer is often described as The Beautiful Game. The beauty lies in soccer’s ability to bring people of all stripes together in a beautiful way. To me, this is the kind of beauty that ought to consume us - bringing people together in a beautiful and joyful way. 

Blessed Summer, 

Manny+