Blog

You Didn’t Play What?

I’ll tell you a funny story if you promise not to tell him I told you. In College Avenue Baptist Church in Lenoir where I presently serve as interim pastor, there is a young fellow who is present most every Sunday named Madison Bumgarner. That name rings a bell for you who are baseball fans. Madison is a former professional baseball pitcher who retired a couple years ago. He played major league baseball for the San Francisco Giants (2009-2019) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2020-2023). He won three World Series championships (2010, 2012, 2014) and two Silver Slugger Awards (2014, 2015). And a lot of other awards, but that’s enough for my point.

Our church decided to field a softball team in the Lenoir Recreation Department’s Softball Tournament. (Why not, with Madison Bumgarner on our team). As the church folks turned out for the team, one lady was overheard to apologetically say, “I’ve never played softball before.” To which, according to bystanders, Madison Bumgarner replied, “That’s all right, neither have I!” Well, there probably isn’t a lot of comparison between a slow softball pitch and flinging a baseball at close to 100 miles per hour across the plate!

I tell you this because that humorous exchange filled with laughter and a sprinkling of humility made me think about humility and its value. The dictionary defines humility as the quality of having a modest view of one’s value or importance. My friendship with Madison affirms that—and more. For the God we worship is the God of the humble and the Lord of the meek. God gives us all some gift with which we are blessed and with which we can bless others. But to do that we have to remember that there is no basis for boasting; God gifts us as tools in his work. There is a responsibility that comes with fame, and too many folks in the areas of sports, movies, entertainment have forgotten that their abilities are not self-made, but are a gift from God. But we cannot forget that all of us, whether famous or unknown to the wider world, have been given gifts for the blessing of others and for speaking a word of gratitude to Jesus for our salvation. The call to humility is a call to us all.  

Jesus is our model for humility. He is Lord of all the earth, and beyond that he is the creator of all the vast universe with billions of stars which grace the night sky. Yet he came to walk among us, being born in a stable and growing up under submission to Mary and Joseph. As a wandering teacher he had no home, and when he was crucified on trumped up charges the soldiers gambled for his only possession, his robe. He was buried in a borrowed grave. Yet as the risen Lord of all creation he calls us to find true peace and true humility in our relationship to him: “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” And in the beatitudes he says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

But back to my story. So our church softball team entered the tournament. No, Madison was not our pitcher; he played an outfielder position. His mother-in-law was the team manager and has a keen sense of fairness! And our team did win the tournament. But that was because only two teams abided by the requirement to have both men and women on the team, and our women were the best. Naturally.

And Madison did say I could tell you this little story. 

A final word: at church this Sunday you will hear about a man greater than any sports figure, any entertainer, any politician. A man who is God wrapped in human flesh, heading to the cross for you and me. Jesus of Nazareth.   

Earl Davis’ column “Raccoon Theology” appears biweekly in the Watauga Democrat, the Blowing Rocket, the Avery Journal-Times, and the Ashe Post and Times. Dr. Davis is a minister (College Avenue Baptist Church, Lenoir), an author, and an artist, earldavisfineart.com. He can be contacted at [email protected]