Some of you may recall the racquetball fad that swept the country back in the 1970s. It was the great new sport that promised so much. It was easily learned. It was fast, so you got a lot of exercise in a short period of time. And you had to do it with others, so it had a social element to it. It seemed everyone was playing it. Glitzy racquetball clubs sprang up everywhere. That’s when I began playing racquetball—in 1978 to be exact. And I started out playing with guys from the parish I was serving.
It didn’t take long for the sport to go the way of all fads. People lost interest, latching onto the next, latest fitness craze. But, being a true conservative, when everyone else left the sport, I was still sporting my racquet, searching, wherever we lived, for the few racquetball players still around and for the racquetball courts that hadn’t been converted into child care facilities. Today, 35 years later, every day, Monday through Friday, I rise at 5 a.m., don shorts and a t-shirt, socks and indoor court shoes, quickly shave, then get into my car at 5:20, drive to the Y, arriving at 5:30, and play racquetball for an hour and 15 minutes with the other old guys who refused to give it up when everyone else did.
I have to say it has meant more to me with each passing year. It’s a life-line, because it is the way I get exercise, and everyone needs to exercise. Most of the guys I play with and I are pretty reliable. When we’re in town, we’re on the racquetball court, no matter how late we might have been up the night before and even if we don’t feel all that great. We do that for a couple of reasons. The first is that once you find an excuse not to do it, it’s easier the next time not to do it, and before you know it you’re just sleeping in in the morning. The second reason is that you know others are counting on you to be there, and if you don’t show up you could make it impossible for them to play.
Racquetball is a good metaphor for the spiritual life. First of all, just as the body needs exercise in order for it to function properly, so the spirit of a person needs exercise in order for it to function properly. The exercise needs to be regular and frequent. Second, it shouldn’t be too difficult, or it will become discouraging and cause you to drop it altogether. And it shouldn’t be too easy, not providing the needed exercise and not stretching one to grow. Third, it’s a good metaphor because you really can’t do it alone. Yes, you can practice for hours by yourself, but the game is meant to be played with others. The same goes for our spirits. Yes, we can and should pray by ourselves, but that is never to take the place of our life together in Christ, praying corporately, especially celebrating the Holy Eucharist; supporting and encouraging one another; always learning more about the faith; working with one another to spread the Gospel; and, together, helping those in need.
Just as I would let others down if I didn’t show up to play racquetball, we let others down when we don’t show up for corporate worship on Sundays and major feasts. We think of our faith far too often as a purely individual or family thing. But our faith is not an individual thing. Read the Bible. It’s all about the people of God. While there are many stories about individuals, the point always ends up being about Israel as a people, or the New Israel, the Church. The New Testament speaks of the Church as the Body of Christ, all of us being parts of the whole Body. The fact of the matter is that for the Body to be healthy, all of its members need to be actively committed to it; and for the individual to be healthy spiritually, he or she needs to be actively involved in the Body of Christ. St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Church at Corinth, says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
In today’s Gospel, when Jesus says, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” he is speaking of the spiritual life, for Jesus’ “kingdom is not of this world.” Then he tells us some things that are crucial for growth in our spirits. First of all, our possessions need to be in proper perspective. Do we trust in our money and possessions to provide meaning in life? We need to share what we have with others who are less fortunate, and not put our trust in material things. That is important for our spirits.
He then tells us to gird our loins. In those days people wore robes that went down to the ankles. To gird your loins “meant tying up around the waist the lower parts of one’s robe so as to be ready to run.” (from Brian P. Stoffregen at crossmarks.com) In other words, we need to be ready at any time to meet the Lord, whether we’re talking about meeting him when he comes to us as we read and hear the Holy Scriptures, when he comes to us in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, when he comes to us in a needy person, or when he will finally come, in power and great glory, to judge the living and the dead. The only way we can be truly ready is if we keep exercising our spirits. Girding up one’s loins with regard to the spiritual life includes at least these things: Daily private prayer and regular reading and study of the Holy Scriptures; attendance at mass at least every Sunday and major holy day; confessing one’s sins; and giving of one’s time, talent, and treasure for the Church’s work and mission.
This week the young people of our parish will be greatly exercising their spirits through our Vacation Bible School. The theme is the Lord’s Prayer, which begins with “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come.” If God’s kingdom is to come, our spirit must be ready to receive him. In one way or another the children will deal with all of the things I have mentioned for the building and maintenance of a strong Christian spirit.
It is well recognized these days that it is important to exercise the body, which I have chosen to do through my playing racquetball, and absolutely essential to train and exercise the mind. It is equally, if not more, important to train and exercise the spirit so that we use our bodies and minds to the glory of God who created us and who redeemed us through our Lord Jesus Christ.