Recently, my friends from high school and I went to Iowa to visit the place where the iconic movie “Field of Dreams” was made. We rented the field and played baseball for two hours. It was just like the movie.
That script had some great lines: “If you build it, he will come.” … “Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa.” … “Go the distance.”
But Costner also starred in a lesser-known baseball movie – “For the Love of the Game.” In it, he plays an aging pitcher who has a perfect game going, but is distracted by many things – including his arm injury and a relationship. He forces himself to focus with another great line: “Clear the mechanism.” That line helps him to push the unhelpful thoughts away.
For many, that is the gift of daily meditation. It is a time to sit and be still. There are many ways to do this. For me, it is focusing on my breath. It’s not easy. I was greatly helped by a wise spiritual teacher who said this: “It is a four step process. Focus on your breath. You get distracted. You recognize you are distracted. And you recommit to focusing on your breath.” The gift is the constant recommitment. Clear the mechanism.
I want to go to another line that I find helpful in times of stress. It is not from a baseball movie. It is a line that I use in providing pastoral care. I say: “You are not alone.” No matter what we are facing, we have friends. We have people who want to be there for us. We have the church or the synagogue or the mosque. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded that being human is a team sport. In these challenging times, it is more important than ever.
Back to “Field of Dreams.” When “Shoeless” Joe Jackson appears on the ballfield Kevin Costner has created, he asks if he can come back and play some more. After getting an open invitation to come anytime, Joe turns and says, “There are others.” Costner assures him that all eight players are welcome on his field. We have others, too: our loved ones who are alive in God and still live in our souls. When we need to focus, to still our souls, to navigate challenging times, they are with us. St. Paul confirms this.
“Surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses, we run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
It might not be the race we would choose, but it is the race set before us. Life is no ballgame, but we are not alone. We can choose community. We can persevere with faith and with the help of others who have gone before us. This is how we will go the distance.
The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher is bishop of the Episcopal Dioceses of Western Massachusetts, over 50 congregations and community-based ministries in the Berkshires, the Connecticut River Valley, and Worcester County.