So the World Series is over. I didn’t think anything could make me feel sorry for the Yankees, but that game did. I used to root for Gerritt Cole when he was a Pirate. It is inexcusable not getting over to first base for the last out. The last out before the Dodgers would score five in the inning to tie it. Five unearned runs, but also in a strange way completely earned, as the pitcher didn’t cover the bag. And Rizzo. As a Cubs fan, I will always love Rizzo. But seeing him field the ball and just hold it, as there was no one there to toss it too, painful. Then Judge dropping an easy line drive. He hasn’t dropped that one since he was 12 years old. And he was building such a redemption arc at the plate in the game. And it all dribbled out of the glove. Unlike most Yankees who are great heels (Wrestling terminology), Judge, Cole and Rizzo are babyfaces.
And the series was strangely anti-climactic. It was Yankees-Dodgers. That is the stuff of Americana. Those series are legendary. And it started off with that feel. Freddie Freeman with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning. Are you kidding me? And Yamamoto pitched a gem. But then you had a bullpen game…in the World Series? What would Koufax, Gibson or even Maddux think. I’m sure they could stutter something about how the game has changed. But in their hearts aren’t they a bit judgmental? Are you kidding me, give me the ball, it’s the World Series. And then it ends 4-1. One game so it isn’t a sweep, but no grand comeback. No last flight to LA. No winning at home. Just a crisp NY evening and a celebration in front of cameras.
One of the famous lines from the movie Moneyball is “how can you not be romantic about baseball?” Cue James Earl Jones and the army of steamrollers, but the one thing that has remained constant is baseball. But Yankees-Dodgers didn’t live up to the Romance. And if Yankees-Dodgers can’t live up to it, what about any of us toiling away in the minors?
The Feast of All Saints is that day for all of us. It is that day for those of us still in the church militant. Still toiling in the minors? We feebly struggle. Even the mighty Judges. But maybe it is even more to remind us that we are part of a great Romance. The story of Christ and the church. And whether one is a saint that has their own day on the calendar, one known only to a handful, or one forgotten by the world; they are all remembered and held dear by God.
Whether represented by the mystical 144,000 (12x12x1000 or the full number of the saints of all times and places) or by the more realistic number “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Revelation 7:9).” All of us will in glory shine.
Today we might come out of the great tribulation. Much of that tribulation caused like those 5 runs by ourselves, because of sin not covering the bag. But our salvation, the salvation of all saints, is not by our works. “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and the lamb (Revelation 7:10),” God looked upon us and would not let the sinner die, but he had compassion. And the drops, and the missed covers and disappointments that pile up? “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:17).” We are part of a great Romance. So let the distant song steal on your ear.