I in Team

Seeking team glory rather than personal glory

06/12/2022

Jn 16:12-15 Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

You have no doubt heard the old maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.” What does that mean? Well what makes a team so powerful is precisely because individuals on a team sacrifice personal glory so the team can win collective glory. No coach understood that maxim or taught it better than Coach John Wooden, the head basketball coach at UCLA. During his time as coach, the UCLA Bruins won 10 national championships, including 7 of those back-to-back. More impressive still, he won 88 consecutive games without one loss. In other words, the secret to being a great team is humility: you give up individual glory to gain even greater team glory.

Several years ago I demonstrated how teams always defeat individual talent with an exercise Coach Wooden taught his players. It was during a school Mass at St. Joseph in Fayetteville. During the homily, I had two basketballs in my hands. I asked for two volunteers from among the students. Then I asked all the students: “Who is the best basketball player in our whole school?” All the students shouted: “Grant Koch!” (By the way, Grant plays baseball for the Pittsburg Pirates today; he’s a great athlete.) So, I invited Grant to come up, along with the two volunteers.

I positioned one volunteer next to me and gave him a basketball. Then I told the other volunteer to go stand at the door of the church, which was about 100 feet away. Then I put Grant on my right side, and handed him the other basketball. Then I told them the rules: when I say “Go!” volunteer A will throw the ball to volunteer B. Also when I say “Go!” Grant should start dribbling the ball as fast as he can toward the church doors.

The point was to see who got the ball to the doors first. When they were ready, I said “Go!” I’ll give you one guess who got the ball to the doors of the church first. Obviously, the two volunteers did. That is why John Wooden won so many national championships: not because he had the best talent, but because he had the best team.

This Sunday is traditionally called Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the central mystery of our Christian faith, namely, the Holy Trinity. It is an unfathomable mystery because we cannot possibly comprehend how God can be one in substance and yet three in Person: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One way to approach this great mystery, I believe, is through the maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” How so? Well, the Holy Trinity is the greatest team of all time, even better than the championship Lakers, Celtics and Bulls combined. Why? Because each divine Person is willing to sacrifice personal glory for team glory.

Listen to Jesus words in the gospel of John and the selfless team-play of the Holy Trinity. Jesus says: “The Holy Spirit will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears.” Notice how the Spirit does not say what he wants, but what he has been told to say. The Holy Spirit is not a hot dog. Jesus goes on: “The Spirit will glorify me because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” Again, notice how Jesus himself is happy for the Spirit to take what is his because Jesus is not a ball-hog.

And finally, Jesus adds: “Everything the Father has is mine.” That is, even what the Father has really belongs to the whole divine Team. The Father is happy to pass his basketball to Jesus. In other words, the Holy Trinity does not care about individual glory, only about collective glory. I think Coach Wooden would really love today’s feast of the Most Holy Trinity.

My friends, what are the teams you belong to, and do you seek individual glory or what is best for the whole team? Let me mention two teams we all belong to. The first team we are all "born" into, that is, our families. That is the first team where we should learn to sacrifice personal glory for team glory. How?

Go to vacation together. Eat supper together. Don’t hide in your room and play videogames (like I used to as a teen). Attend Mass together. Sadly, some families have “ball hogs” who do not put the team first, but put themselves first, and try to go it alone. When we spell team with the letter “I”, we seek individual glory rather than team glory. But we end up getting a lot less glory.

The other great team we belong to as Catholics is the Church, and in a special way to our particular parish. But again, we need to ask: do we insert an “I” in how we spell “team”? For instance, sometimes, people ask me: “Fr. John, do you like the pope?” I always answer: “I am a Catholic, so of course, I love the pope!”

I know they are asking about controversial comments he may have made. But notice how that question can also drive a wedge between the players on our Catholic team. It’s like they’re saying: don’t pass your ball of your support and love to the pope. But one player, no matter how talented, will never be able to dribble a basketball faster than two players can throw a basketball.

As we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, remember the old maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” At least that is the way the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would spell the divine Team we call the Holy Trinity. When we seek team glory rather than individual glory, we will find a lot more glory in the bargain. Just ask John Wooden.

Praised be Jesus Christ!