SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2008

THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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Dear Friends in Our Lord Jesus:

A story is told about the great Babe Ruth -- a story that illustrates the fickleness of crowds and the love of a child.

The story goes like this: At the end of Ruth’s unparalleled baseball career in the 1930’s, his considerable skills had deteriorated dramatically, and the crowds were becoming impatient with his on-the-field lapses. In one of his last games -- the Braves versus the Reds in Cincinnati -- Ruth struck out a couple of times and committed several errors. The crowd was livid.

One account of the story continued with this amazing description: “As the Babe walked off the field and headed toward the dugout, a roar of yelling and booing reached his ears. Just then a boy jumped over the railing and onto the field. With tears streaming, he threw his arms around the legs of his hero.”

Author Ted Engstrom, in his Pursuit of Excellence, described the encounter between Ruth and the young boy in this manner: “Ruth didn’t hesitate for one second. He picked up the boy, hugged him, and set him down on his feet, patting his head gently. The noise from the stands came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly there was no more booing. In fact, a hush fell over the entire park.”

The crowd saw two heroes that day. Ruth, despite his errors and strikeouts, still cared enough about a young boy to comfort him in his sadness. And the young boy, despite the overwhelming anger of the crowd, still cared enough about an aging ballplayer to climb the fence to comfort him.

As the New Testament says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear” (I John 4:18a).

-- The Very Rev. Dr. Steve Sellers +