Reversing the ‘curse’ -- miracle or man-made?

I did my undergraduate work in Chicago and quickly became a Cubs fan.

The Cubs have the longest streak without a World Series win. Like the

Sox, Cubs fans are used to the phrase “There’s always next season.”

It always seems so impossible for them to win that when they do, it

is easy to attribute it to divine intervention.

Unfortunately, God isn’t a Cubs fan (as if that wasn’t obvious)

and he doesn’t take sides in these issues. We can’t slaughter a sheep

or cow, pray to the lunar eclipse or give enough money to our

favorite church or charity to sway God’s divine favor. There may be

angels in the outfield, but God didn’t send them.

Wouldn’t it be degrading to you as a ballplayer to have won the

World Series and have everyone say that you weren’t skilled enough to

do it on your own, God must have helped you? Give credit to these

men. They worked hard and beat not only the daunting physical

challenge to win, but also the psychological challenge of 80-plus

years of failure.

Whether you are a Yankees fan or Cubs fan, or don’t appreciate the

game at all, we should all congratulate the Sox and thank them for an

exciting finish to the season. If only the Super Bowl was this

exciting.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity

Costa Mesa

Baseball, like Christianity, has its “holy trinity:” forgiveness,

community and eternal life.

* Forgiveness: You get three strikes before you’re out and, even

then, it’s just for that inning; and, like a cat’s life, there are

nine of them.

* Community: Whether you win or lose, it takes an entire team, all

playing various positions on the field, to make or break the game;

and, if your fans are with you, in good times and bad, you somehow

get up the strength to play another game, another season, another

year.

* Eternal life: The goal of each player is to get themselves and

everyone else home.

Forgiveness, community and eternal life: It is what my All

American, baseball-playing father taught me: “Keep your head down,

your bat up, and your eye on the ball!”

Of miracles, Fred Buechner, a Presbyterian minister and reputed

Red Sox fan, wrote in his book, “Wishful Thinking,” “A cancer is

inexplicably cured. A voice in a dream. A statue that weeps. A

miracle is an event that strengthens faith. It is possible to look at

most miracles and find a rational explanation in terms of natural

cause and effect. It is possible to look at Rembrandt’s ‘Summer at

Emmaus’ and find a rational explanation in terms of paint and canvas.

Faith in God is less apt to proceed from miracles than miracles from

faith in God.”

Boston’s victories over our Angels and the Yankees and the

Cardinals no more “proceed ... from faith in God” than did the

“Miracle Mets” victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World

Series or Cal’s defeating Stanford with “The Play” in 1982. But, as a

former graduate student/seminarian in Cambridge/Boston, I’ve enjoyed

lots of time in Fenway Park and the triumphs of the Red Sox have

strengthened my faith that “miracles happen!”

VERY REV. CANON

PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

In the wake of continuous victories in repelling numerous Arab

invasions, an Israeli general asked a rabbi, “How is it that we have

overcome such long odds and won the battles?”

“We have succeeded in one of two ways: the natural or the

miraculous,” answered the rabbi.

“What was a miracle?” Asked the general?

“That we won in a natural way,” answered the rabbi.

“And what would be a natural way?” asked the general.

“To win by a miracle!” replied the rabbi.

I would hedge my theological bet in the case of the Boston Red Sox

and conclude that their victories are due to a mixture of natural

ability and an element of heavenly intervention. There must be a

divine dimension at play here, as we witness the unfolding of

familiar religious themes: the testing of God’s creatures, their

long-suffering patience and God’s ultimate compassion and mercy.

Obviously, God is instructing us here that money cannot buy

everything. No matter how bloated the New York Yankees’ payroll, it

could not purchase team cohesiveness, the joy of playing and that

fire in the gut so essential to a championship. Not that we have to

take up a collection for the Red Sox players, but this was a victory

of the spirit over the material.

By the way, Bostonians may feel they have labored under a cloud,

but we Chicagoans know they are amateurs where curses are involved.

One serious note: a prominent player for St. Louis frequently

demonstrates his gratitude to God after smashing a home run or

winning a game. As he gestures heavenward, he obviously credits God

with a role in the hit or triumph. I noticed that after losing the

World Series he did not acknowledge heaven’s part in the outcome.

We cannot only thank God in our successes; we must also appreciate

his role in our losses. Since God does only what is good for us, even

the losses are victories for us.

And, as a Chicago Cub fan, I almost believe that.

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yam

Newport Beach

Taking a walk by the Back Bay the morning after a heavy rain was a

miracle I recently relished. The Red Sox victory, the Cardinals’ loss

and the excitement of sports fans watching the games on TV are all

miracles.

Every moment of life is a miracle, but we are not usually aware of

it. Appreciation and gratitude emerge naturally in those times when

we do wake up to the true nature of our life.

A wreck on the freeway, a family reunion, a repeat mammogram,

preparing for the holiday -- these events remind us not to take our

days for granted. It is easy to become caught up in demands,

expectations and complaints.

Zen offers ways to become less caught up in the chatter of the

mind and to become better able to genuinely experience the moment. In

Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic manual on Zen meditation, “The Miracle of

Mindfulness,” the practice of awareness in meditation and daily life

is the miracle that will help us to live joyfully.

One definition of a miracle is something that is unexpected or out

of the ordinary. Zen teaches us how to wake up to the true nature of

the ordinary. We don’t need to look to special events, entertainment

extravaganzas, altered states of mind, distractions, chemicals or

escapes to make life fun or tolerable.

Someone from a different religious group asked 17th century Zen teacher Bankei, “Our founder possesses such miraculous powers that he

held a brush in his hand on one bank of the river, his assistant held

up a paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the name of

Buddha through the air. Can you do such a thing?”

Bankei replied, “Perhaps your fox can perform such a trick, but

that is not the manner of Zen. My miracle is when I’m hungry, I eat,

and when I feel thirsty, I drink.”

“Divine intervention” is another meaning of “miracle.” In Zen, the

only effective intervention is our own determination to wake up: to

learn about the thought processes or filters which prevent us from

being present, and to give ourselves more fully to experiencing each

moment of life as it is. This intervention is easy enough to

understand, but we all know how difficult it is to do, especially on

a regular basis.

REV. DR. DEBORAH

BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa