Right Field

Accepting our roles in the Body of Christ  

Luke 6:12-16  

         Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.   

          Do you know what a “role player” is? In sports, the role player is not the superstar who grabs all the headlines and the million-dollar contracts. Nevertheless, he is essential to the team; without him the team could not win. Last year, I played softball on our church softball team. I had never played softball on a formal team before and I was still learning the rules. The coach told me, “Fr. John, you are one of our most important players. We’re going to give you a jersey with a #1 on it, and let you play right field.” Well, I was just pleased as punch for such a high honor. Sometime later I realized that right field is where you put the weakest defensive player on the team. But I learned a valuable lesson: not everyone can be the star, but everyone can and must contribute to the team. I understood the meaning of that old saying, “Always a bridesmaid but never the bride.”   

          Today, on October 28th, the Church celebrates the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude. Now, Simon and Jude are the quintessential role players in the history of the Church. They are mentioned in the list of the 12 apostles that Jesus calls, but very little is known for certain about them beyond that. They are clearly not as famous as St. Peter or St. John or St. Matthew; Simon and Jude were relegated to right field in the apostolic line-up. Nevertheless, they were an essential part of the apostles, and made their total number 12. Why is that significant? Well, that number demonstrated that the apostles were a new version of the 12 Tribes of Israel, and really the “new Israel” that Jesus came to establish, that is, the Church. That would not have been possible without Sts. Simon and Jude.   

          Folks, not everyone gets to be the “rockstar” on the team, in fact, very few people do. The vast majority of people must learn to embrace their part as “role players,” and realize what an crucial contribution they make to the team. I love to watch husbands and wives interact who gladly let each other be the rockstar, without getting jealous if the other person gets the attention and accolades. It’s beautiful to see siblings accept their roles in the family as the “super responsible one,” or “the clown,” (that was me) or “the spoiled one.” Corporations and companies grow faster when each employees fulfills his or her respective role, instead of unhealthy competition and conflicts. Even churches flourish when everyone finds their rightful role and does their very best. Someone has to play right field.

   

          Here’s my favorite prayer by John Henry Newman for everyone like me who’s played right field: “God has created me to do him some definite service: he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission – I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. Therefore, I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him; if I am in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow my serve him.” And I would also like to add: “If I am playing right field, my playing right field may serve him.” 

          By the way, do you what is the best description of the Church?  It is the Church as the “Bride of Christ.”  In other words, on earth you may feel like you’re “always the bridesmaid and never the bride.”  But in heaven, everyone will get to be the “Bride.”

          Praised be Jesus Christ!