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Front-Row Seats --by Bill
"Mr. Holt has a gift for you this evening." We were sitting in our usual seats before a Spurs game, when a young man wearing an ID badge approached us. Peter Holt is the majority owner of the Spurs, and his gift was the use of his front-row, courtside seats for this pre-season game against Oklahoma City!
We saw Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili work their magic, right before our eyes. When Kevin Durant drove for a powerful dunk, I flinched in instinctive self-protection.
This was not the first time I've sat in a front-row seat for a breath-taking performance, but it hasn't happened often in my life. I once got discount tickets for a play in London. The seats were front-row, albeit on the outside aisle. The play was completely forgettable, except for the female lead, Glenda Jackson, who turned nothing into something wondrous. Decades later, a similar ticket discount put me in the front row for a dazzling performance by jazz vocalist René Marie in New York City.
That's about it, for front-row experiences in my life. Except ....
Except for the times when I, as a pastor, have been invited into the deepest dramas of life and death. Except when friends have sat at the kitchen table and poured out their fears or their joys. Except when the hummingbird, just outside our window, hovers and delicately sips, while floating in mid-air. Except every Sunday, when I come to the table, and hear the words, "This is my body, broken for you."
Every day, I have a front-row seat at God's creation. Every day, I have a front-row seat at the drama of my own life. Every day, I have opportunities to deeply embrace the life of another person.
Every day I have a front-row seat at life.
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Up Front --by Jan
The human body is amazing. Power, animation, strength, agility. Up front and close at the Spurs game last night, it was fascinating to study each player fully engaged with his body: concentration, focus, intentionality, and function. I saw Richard Jefferson's eyes piercing the ball in his opponent's hands, and at the same time, focusing on his opponent's arm muscles to anticipate where the ball would go once it left his hands. Feet set apart, arms out wide, balance was everything. And lift. It's no surprise to anyone that Manu Ginobili can jump really high. From my perspective he jumped higher than I am tall. Thanks to Chris Monroe of the Spurs' staff, we got a new perspective from those front row seats.
I remember as an aspiring young ballerina at the young age of 8, sitting on the front row at a dance recital - in awe - watching the structure and movement of the grownup dancer. Power, animation, strength, agility. Focus, balance, and lift were everything.
Amazing, as well, is our spiritual life. Focus, balance, and lift are everything. Intentionality of focus upon God and our daily disciplines give us some indication of where our life will go. Balance of labor and leisure and love and learning, keep us from falling into acedia or bad habits. Lift of mind and spirit keeps us from depression or detachment from God. Let's get up front and close to Christ, so that our daily prayer would be, "Grant that I may see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly." (Spiritual Exercises §104) |
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