God’s Creative Activity

One of my favorite baseball stories is about three umpires who were discussing how they did their jobs, especially when they were working behind the plate, calling balls and strikes. The first umpire said, “Some of ’em are balls; some of ’em are strikes. But I calls ’em as I sees ’em.” The second one said, “Some of ’em are balls; some of ’em are strikes. But I calls ’em as they are.” The third one said, “Some of ’em are balls; some of ’em are strikes. But they ain’t nothin’ until I calls ’em.”

A sermon is in that story because it’s a parable about life. Each of those umpires tells us something about our relationship to the truth. (Read Matthew 16:13-16, 21-25; John 8:32). The third umpire is my favorite. Here is a man who creates truth by his word. When we create truth or meaning or relationships, we are sharing in God’s creative activity. Made in God’s image and likeness, we are all artists and creators. The Bible uses the metaphor or speech to describe God’s creation: “God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) The parable of the umpires teaches us to never be afraid to call life as we see it, to express our love for God and for our fellow human beings.

Let us pray: How great thou art, O God, without whose spirit nothing grows, without
whose love, we wither and fall away. We thank you for Jesus of Nazareth who leads us
in this way…

where to be great, one has to be humble,
where to be exalted, one has to serve,
and where to find life, one has to lose it.

Teach us that great truths are great simplicities. Awaken us today that we hear the
singing of trees and watch morning and night changing guard. Through the grace of
Jesus. Amen.