Heavenly Father, you invite us to approach your throne of grace and that’s only possible through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. I do so this day with thanksgiving, for giving me the privilege of sharing the love of Jesus Christ. You inspired Paul the Apostle to write, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” In this day so many are looking for money to give them contentment. May they find out that contentment in this life comes only from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Touch our hearts this day. Send Your Holy Spirit to open our hearts to receive your Law and Gospel so that we can be new people. I ask this in the most precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
What a privilege it is to talk with you today. I grew up watching the Major League Baseball game of the week on Saturday afternoons. One of the great announcers of the game of baseball, Joe Garagiola, who was also a former major league baseball catcher, once told the story about the great Stan Musial. “Stan the Man” once came to the plate in a critical game. The opposing pitcher in the game was young and nervous. Garagiola, as the catcher, called for a fastball and the pitcher shook his head; Joe signaled for a curve and again the pitcher shook him off. He then asked for one of the pitcher’s specialties and still the pitcher hesitated. So Joe went out to the mound for a conference. He said, “I’ve called for every pitch in the book, what do you want to throw?” “Nothing,” was the pitcher’s shaky reply, “I just want to hold on to the ball as long as I can.” [Illustration ©2002 Communications Resources, Inc. All rights Reserved]
There are times when I have been afraid to act. I was scared of what might be the result of doing something. I didn’t trust that what I did was good enough. But I must admit that it was also a lack of trust in God and his promise, that he “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NASB) God can do this, even in something like the game of baseball. Baseball is a lot like life, it has its winners and losers. It has surprises. You can be as prepared as possible and still have to rely on something completely out of your control for results.
I love baseball because I see so much of life in baseball. I love little league, minor league and major league baseball. My seven-year-old son plays little league baseball. This past summer he completed his second season and it is amazing to watch him grow as a player, and as a person, playing baseball. He learns the value of teamwork and sportsmanship playing baseball.
Baseball and life have a lot in common. In many of the same ways, baseball and Christianity have a lot in common. They have Angels and Cardinals and Padres. It is also a game of miracles. In that aspect, baseball is a lot like life. Miracles touch many people. The miracle of a child born. The miracle of love between a man and a woman. God touches people in this life in many different ways that can be considered miracles.
But have you ever thought about what it would be like to be on the other side of a miracle? To be the instrument of one of God’s miracles instead of being the recipient? Maybe you’ve even experienced that. Well, you are not alone. Ralph Branca knows what that’s like. Who’s Ralph Branca?
Let me take you back 52 years ago. It is October 3, 1951. The time is 3:58 p.m. The place – Coogan’s Bluff, just outside of New York City – also called the Polo Grounds, home field for the New York Giants baseball club. It is cool and dark. Rain threatens; but the 34,000 people gathered are hoping for a miracle. The Giants are playing the Brooklyn Dodgers, one of the most bitter rivalries in all of sports. It is the third game of the best-of-three National League pennant playoff series. It’s the bottom of the ninth. Larry Janzen, the Giants pitcher, retires the Dodgers in the top half, but the Giants are behind 4-1. Dodger fans smell victory. The Dodger pitcher, future Hall of Famer Don Newcombe, is tiring. He’s given up a run to make it 4-2 Dodgers. Two more runners get on second and third, and the winning run is coming to the plate – Bobby Thomson. Manager Charlie Dressen decides to go to the bullpen, and brings in Ralph Branca to face Thomson and finish the game.
Ralph Branca was no slouch of a pitcher. Although two days before, he went eight innings only to see the Giants take the first game of the series, four years earlier, he’d won 21 games giving him his first of three appearances in the All-Star game.
Now, the miracle. Branca winds up and delivers a fastball. High and tight but instead of ducking out of the way, Thomson takes a step back and swings. Thomson hits the ball into the fifth row of the left field seats. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people claim to have heard Russ Hodges’ now famous call of this baseball miracle, “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”
Known as “the shot heard round the world” and “The Miracle at Coogan’s Bluff,” it was a great day for Bobby Thomson and the New York Giants – a miracle win! Ralph Branca was on the other side of that miracle. He was seen sitting on the stairs of the dugout with his face in his hands, sobbing.
In baseball there are winners and losers. There is someone on the other side of someone else’s miracle. This happens in life as well.
Christine was a normal college student but one day she was having trouble seeing. After her vision didn’t clear, she went to the doctor. The doctor told her that there was something seriously wrong with her eyes and she would have to go home and see a specialist. The specialist told her that to save her eyesight she would have to have a lens transplant, but the lenses had to come from a person about the same age as her. Someone in their late teens or early twenties would have to die and donate their lenses so Christine would be able to see. Soon after that, there was a tragic car accident and a 16-year-old young man died. His family agreed to donate his lenses and today Christine is able to see. It was truly a miracle for Christine; nevertheless, the family of that 16-year-old young man was on the other side of the miracle. What is it like to be on the other side of someone else’s miracle? Is it a place you’ve been? I would think that contentment would be the last thing that comes to mind to describe how it feels.
St. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:6, “godliness with contentment is great gain.” But how do you find contentment when you find yourself on the outside of someone else’s triumph? In baseball, as in life, there are winners and losers. Given the choice, we’d all pick winning – it feels better. But if you lose, and you will, how can you live in contentment? Can you feel at peace when what you feel is cheated? Ask Ralph Branca, he knows.
Sal Maiorana, a sportswriter, wrote, “Hours after Ralph Branca had thrown the most infamous pitch on which Bobby Thomson had hit the most famous home run to end the most famous game in baseball history, Branca stood face-to-face with a priest named Father Pat Rowley. ‘Pat, why me, tell me why me?’ Branca asked. ‘I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t run around. Baseball is my whole life. Why me?'” Father Pat gave him, and you, a great answer. “Ralph, God knows your faith is strong enough to bear this cross,” Rowley said.
Rowley’s words assured Ralph Branca that day. Sure, giving up the home run and losing the game hurt Ralph, but it didn’t destroy him. Father Rowley encouraged Branca that he was an instrument by which Bobby Thompson and the Giants received a miracle. [Illustration ©2002 Communications Resources, Inc. All rights Reserved]
Like in baseball, sometimes in your life you will receive the miracle and sometimes you will be on the other side of the miracle. But I can assure you that Jesus Christ can bring contentment into your life. Even more reassuring is that you are invited into a relationship with a God who knows exactly how that feels. You see, Jesus Christ was on the real bad end of the miracle that saves your soul.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, the promised Son of God, endured unimaginable pain as he suffered and was crucified. It says in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Why? Because He loves you. He wanted to save you. He paid the price that was needed to forgive you all your sins. The most spectacular miracle in the history of the world was that the Son of God died to forgive you your sins and rose again to give you new life. Jesus Christ gave up His life so that you could live yours, an abundant life full of meaning and substance in this lifetime; an eternal life in heaven where there is no more pain, sorrow, tears, or giving up home-runs.
This is not a miracle that happened long ago or a miracle that you will benefit from long from now. This is a miracle for you today. It comes to you in the miracle of Holy Baptism. It is as near to you as the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. You receive this miracle when you confess your sins and receive forgiveness, absolution from the pastor, as if from God himself. You can receive the benefits of this miracle every time you read or hear God’s Holy Word.
Ralph Branca was part of a baseball miracle. He was an instrument, a vehicle for the miracle given to Bobby Thomson and the New York Giants. But who wants to be on that end of the miracle? Maybe no one, but there are times when God does it, when God has reasons that we may not see or understand right away.
Like Ralph Branca, you may find yourself pleading “why me?” when you are on the other side of the miracle. When life throws you a curve, when it seems that life is pounding you down, you may look up to heaven and cry “why me?”
A few months ago, major league baseball umpire Tim McClelland said those words. He was working behind the plate at a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Home-run slugger Sammy Sosa was up to bat. Sosa hit a line drive over second base that broke his bat in two. The catcher for Tampa Bay saw the bat and asked McClelland to take a look at it. Sure enough, there was the telltale sign of cork in the bat. Using a corked bat is illegal in major league baseball. The first thing that ran through McClelland’s mind was “why me?” A few years earlier, McClelland had caught Cleveland Indian slugger Albert Belle with a corked bat. And in 1983, Tim McClelland was involved in an infamous home-run-that-wasn’t. Kansas City Royal George Brett had just hit a home run against the New York Yankees, and when the manager of the Yankees asked McClelland to examine the bat, Tim noticed that Brett had more pine tar on the bat than the rules allowed. McClelland, following the rules, called Brett out and the home run didn’t count.
Why does this happen to Tim McClelland? He’s a nice guy, a family man, good at what he does, well respected for 20 years by players, managers and other umpires. He is a man of God, a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yet, he finds himself in these, well, let’s just call them interesting, situations. A friend of his reassured him much the same way Father Pat Rowley assured Ralph Branca. God uses these situations to put Tim McClelland on the national stage. Tim was then given the opportunity to give witness to his faith in Jesus by how he reacted, by what he said and what he did.
Ok. Is God a baseball fan? I don’t know. Did God have it in for Brooklyn in 1951? Somehow, I don’t think so. I believe that there is something for you in what was called the “Miracle at Coogan’s Bluff.” This miracle is a lesson for you today.
If something leaves you reeling, if you feel life hasn’t given you a fair shake, then I’ve got good news for you, my friend. If you feel like shouting, “That’s not fair!” Shout it to God. He’s there to listen. He’s there to love. If you’re burdened by worry and bone- crushing despair, Jesus Christ reaches nail-scarred hands out to you. St. Paul says in our text for today, “godliness with contentment is great gain.”
But some might hear these words and realize with dismay that they are nowhere near godly. They may say, “I’m not godly, that must be why I’m not content.” However, when St. Paul talks about godliness, he means that Jesus Christ living in us gives us the contentment we seek in our lives. It isn’t anything that we do; it is having faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.
I’m not saying that you won’t feel loss just because you have faith in Jesus Christ. There are times when even the strongest Christian feels unsatisfied, resentful, or questions God about how their life is going. What gives contentment in these situations? Unfortunately, many people look to money to find that contentment.
One of the important things to remember here is that St. Paul links “godliness and contentment,” with the love of money. He writes, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich, fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Tim. 6:6-10)
The world is full of people who turn to money to fill the need for contentment and are tragically disappointed. Contentment doesn’t come from the things we do for ourselves. True contentment comes from the miracle of the salvation won by Jesus Christ on the cross.
The Holy Scriptures say that life is the most important game, and that we should pursue righteousness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. These bring contentment. These are all qualities that come with a relationship with Jesus Christ. No matter what, God is right by our side, with us through thick and thin, winning or losing, right there with us on the field, teaching us to keep our eye on the ball, which is the life to come because that life really is life. St. Paul encourages us to keep a heavenly perspective, not a worldly one.
The lasting miracle from Coogan’s Bluff may just be that Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca became lifelong friends, often sitting side by side signing autographs at baseball conventions. A real friend is worth more than any amount of money. That’s what Jesus wants to be for you. Real friends are ones who practice good works, generosity and sharing, which St. Paul says stores up “treasure … as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Tim. 6:19)
That’s godliness. That’s contentment. That’s great gain. That’s possible through the greatest miracle of your life – the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for you. Amen.
Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for September 28, 2003 Topic: Jesus the Only Way
ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus responds to a listener’s comment. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor Klaus, when Christians say Jesus is the only way to heaven, aren’t they being narrow-minded?
KLAUS: The first thing I’d like to say in regard to that question is: if the listener believes “The Lutheran Hour” preaches Jesus is the only way to heaven – they’re right! We do, He is! I’m glad this individual understands what Christianity believes, only Jesus offers salvation. The second thing I have to say is: although this question came from one individual, I think there are a lot of people out there who agree with that person.
ANNOUNCER: You mean there are many people who think we’re being narrow-minded when we preach salvation by faith in Christ as our Redeemer.
KLAUS: Yes.
ANNOUNCER: But, it’s bad to be narrow-minded, isn’t it?
REVEREND: Well, it certainly can be. But when it comes to the preaching of the cross of Christ, it’s not a question of whether it’s a bad thing or a good thing. It’s the only thing. Although it’s not fashionable to say so, there are times when it’s right to be extremely narrow.
ANNOUNCER: Now when would those times be?
KLAUS: When the truth is at stake.
ANNOUNCER: Could you give us an example of what you mean?
KLAUS: Well, we can give you a couple of them. For instance, when it comes to arithmetic, how much is two plus two?
ANNOUNCER: Is this another trick question?
KLAUS: No, not at all. How much is two plus two?
ANNOUNCER: Well, the last time I looked, two plus two equals four.
KLAUS: But couldn’t two plus two be six? Or two plus two, eight, or 22?
ANNOUNCER: No, two plus two is four.
KLAUS: Now Mark, don’t you think that is being narrow?
ANNOUNCER: Yes, but there’s a difference between mathematics and chemistry and religion.
KLAUS: Well, there is. And that starts to get at the heart of things. The problem isn’t whether Christians are narrow-minded or broadminded when they say, “Jesus is the only way to heaven.” The question ultimately ends up being, “Is what we believe, and what the Bible says about Jesus, really the truth?”
ANNOUNCER: And what does the Bible say that would lead Christians to make what some consider to be a narrow-minded claim for their faith?
KLAUS: I can give a few examples. Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. That’s a claim to uniqueness. Here’s the last one I have time for: “God did not send his Son into this world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” There, John (chapter 3) gives a claim to uniqueness. We preach Jesus is the only way to heaven, because the Bible says Jesus is the only way to heaven.
ANNOUNCER: But don’t all religions claim to be the only way?
KLAUS: Many do, although some say it doesn’t make much difference what you believe.
ANNOUNCER: So what makes Christianity special?
KLAUS: Three words, Mark: Christ is risen!
ANNOUNCER: The way you begin all your sermons.
KLAUS: Yes. And that’s why. Those three words, Christ is risen, separate Christianity from every other religion in the world. If Jesus has risen, that means He has successfully conquered sin, death and devil – something no human being could do unless He was God. If Jesus hasn’t risen from the dead, then He is a liar and a fake. Within a generation after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Saint Paul said the same thing: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost … but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead …” (1 Corinthians 15 excerpts).
ANNOUNCER: But how do we know for sure Jesus rose from the dead?
KLAUS: You know Mark, all of the disciples, with the exception of one, died in terrible ways rather than deny the resurrection. People don’t die that way for something they know to be a lie. After Jesus’ resurrection, there were hundreds of witnesses that saw Him alive. To stop Christianity, all that would have been necessary was to put Jesus’ dead body on display.
ANNOUNCER: And they never did that, did they?
KLAUS: No. They didn’t – never. Because they couldn’t. And that’s why we say…
ANNOUNCER: Jesus is the only way to heaven. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.