Who Trespass Against Us

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 2 Corinthians 2:5-7


(If you know the story about Armando Gallaraga, feel free to skip to paragraph 2)

Here is a story for the ages. If you had not heard, the world of baseball was about to have one of its most historic moments as Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga was completing something that had only happened twenty times in the 111 years and over hundred thousands of games in the history of baseball by throwing a perfect game, which means to not let anyone reach base for the entire game (27 straight people to be exact). To put it in perspective, you and your family almost have a better chance of winning the lottery than you would of seeing a perfect game. However, as he caught the ball and stepped on first base to record the final and historic out, the first base umpire, Jim Joyce, erroneously called the runner safe, which thus ended Armando’s dream and disappointing the many who were watching sports history. Or at least we would think. On one side, a childhood dream was wrongfully shattered. On the other, one’s nightmare (the umpire’s) was about to begin. A soon to be hometown hero was robbed of baseball immortality. A once favored and respected professional umpire was soon to be robbed of his credible reputation. And then the unexpected happened.

In the midst of something tragic, something noble and good was discovered. The nation and many in the world were about to witness one of the greatest modern day examples of both humility and grace we have ever seen. In a world as competitive as ever and where tolerance for mistakes are unmercifully punished, Gallaraga said to the press of the call made by Joyce with a smile on his face, “Everyone makes mistakes.” Who does that? Who is willing to show that level of mercy when they could have been put on a pedestal that few have ever reached? Gallaraga did, and as a result, he not only gained even greater accolades, but he may have saved someone else in the process; Jim Joyce. A man who humbly felt remorse was given a reprieve and an opportunity to continue on doing something he dearly loved. To me as a Christian, there can be no better lesson learned than that.

We can look at this story and see in it our relationship with God as clear as day. The only difference is we do not just make a mistake once or twice. We do it at times daily, weekly, and/or monthly. We are that umpire who blew the call, and yet like that pitcher, our God shows us grace and forgiveness. As today’s verses illustrate, we too as Christians are called on to be the forgiving and comforting person to one who the world persecutes and punishes. That is what walking the Christian walk is all about; showing love to others because God through Jesus Christ first showed love for us. As the umpire and pitcher met at home plate the following day, we knew that is how the picture of forgiveness looks like. My prayer is that we can remember ask to forgive us of our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us. Amen.