In Chapel

I sit in this place,
  alone and surrounded;
there are others here,
  there is God here.
The past and present are here,
  memories and hopes.
Silence.

The quiet moment,
  waiting, praying,
  dreaming, yearning.
Look down in humbleness;
  look up to the heavens.
Kneel reverently,
  pray boldly,
  praise the glory of God.

And the service begins....

rain

The clouds were gathering and the thunder was distantly rumbling,

I grabbed my umbrella to take a pre-rain walk.

It was coming, the storm, thunder and lightning, and downpours ;

but it wasn't here yet.

I walked the length of the quad, knowing the raindrops were approaching;

the closer I got to the building at the far end, I could hear the beginning.

Plop, plop, gentle and sparse,

the sound coming up behind me as if someone

was following me, yet I stayed a few paces in front of them;

a few quick steps as I round the building to the front door,

the drops chasing but not catching me.

Inside for a moment or two until the storm fully roars.

Back outside, umbrella open,

walking under the protection of old trees,

breathing in the scent, having puddles splash onto pant legs,

 and feeling embraced by the storm.

Inside again,

the joy to sit and listen as creation gets a long soaking bath.

admitting weakness to God

I do not deal with change well. I am not sure anyone really does.

   There are those changes that are planned, that you have control over and then those that are unplanned and you feel as if there is no control. The feeling of being overwhelmed. The fear of what is to come next. The pressure of making the right choice or decision. The mixture of anxiety and excitement.

These are some of the feelings I have going through over the past few weeks. And I have prayed about it.

     Praying for courage and strength;

     praying to the see the joy in new beginnings;

     praying to know what is the right path and the right choices.

The answer I got this morning is to let the emotions out: to feel the sorrows and the losses and the fears.

      To cry when I need to; to admit my weaknesses.

      To embrace the lament psalms.

      To find comfort in God's love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psalm 90     God’s Eternity and Human Frailty

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn us back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.
The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.

Turn, O Lord! How long?  Have compassion on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!

SORRY! (the board game)

Cultural Artifact paper for Theology II              SORRY!                                        

 How can a board game have theological aspects and how can theology be seen in a game that has been played by families for many decades?  This paper is an attempt to see if those questions can be answered.  I have chosen the game of SORRY!  because I see it as unique.  There are many board games where the object of the game is to get home; to race around the board faster than your opponents to get your piece there first.  Also most board games that are ‘race around the board’ are dice games.  Whether it is bubble popping dice in Trouble or free rolling dice of Parcheesi, it is always about moving forward and reaching the goal.  “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.”[1]  The goal of the game of SORRY! is to get all your pieces home, but the game has some unique aspects which I hope to put into a theological discourse.

The dictionary definition of sorry is ‘a feeling of sorrow or regret’.  The game title comes from the many ways a player can stop his opponent, while issuing an apologetic "Sorry."[2]  In other board games the option to send someone home is only from landing on the space they occupy.  In SORRY! cards are drawn and instructions are followed, sometimes choices are given, and on occasion your pawn[3] may even be moving backwards.

There is not a theological definition of ‘sorry’, however there are Biblical examples of being sorry or having regrets.  In Genesis God regrets creation.  “And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”’[4]  God also had regrets about Saul.  “Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.”[5]  Humanity has regrets as well.  Saying you are sorry can be seen as asking for forgiveness. There is sorrow for sin and a need of forgiveness of sins, both sins against God and sins/wrongdoings against others.  Psalm 38 is a plea for healing, for reconciliation; the Psalmist admits his failings. “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”[6] Thus saying ‘sorry’ is a plea for reconciliation, an act of asking for forgiveness.  The theological definition of forgiveness is "pardoning or remitting an offense. It restores a good relationship with God, others, or the self after sin or alienation." [7]

A unique feature in SORRY !is the use of cards that give you direction and on occasion choices.  As in life we are presented with choices, some beneficial to us alone or perhaps to all concerned.  What is the motivation of the decision?  In life how much theological or ethical discernment is included in the process of making a choice?  In a game that promotes family fun, there is probably little time spent on how the choice should be made.  However, in the playing of the game, even small decisions can affect the outcome.  When drawing a 1or a 2 do you continue on your path with the pawn already in play or do you use the card to come out of start and begin a new journey?  Drawing a 7 gives the option or moving one piece seven spaces or splitting it between 2 pawns.  This card is especially helpful if two pawns are nearing home and suddenly both pieces can make into the home space.   A 10 gives the choice of moving ahead 10 or moving back 1 space.  Moving backwards may seem to have you going in the wrong direction, however, on occasion it has its benefits.  Drawing a 4, which only goes backwards, immediately after coming out of start allows the player to skip the long journey around the board and be almost home.  And the 11 gives the choice of moving eleven spaces or trading spaces with your opponent.  This is usually to the player’s benefit and can on occasion be a mutual benefit to the opponent.

A question from the game of SORRY! is when you are taking someone’s space and sending them back to start, are you really sorry for this action?  Other ethical considerations may include Do you share with an opponent who doesn’t see a possible move that would benefit them and possibly send another player back to start?  Or do you sit quietly?  Do you take some joy when it is your turn and you draw the sorry card?  In the game human attitudes of being selfish or doing good for others may come out.  SORRY! is the board game my mother and I enjoy playing.  It is understood that when we play, we play ruthlessly.  We play to our own advantage and yes we take pleasure in sending someone back to start.  For it is only a game and this adds some excitement and competition into the fun of playing.

So what would happen if the game was played to the benefit of all, to only ‘sorry’ someone if there was no other choice?  Mom and I tried this.  After playing a few ‘normal’ games, we switched to ‘playing nice’.  Then we tried playing with different motivations, Mom playing a self-interest strategic advantage and me playing nice.  What did we learn? One player’s motivation can affect the other’s player’s behavior.  Especially the player ‘playing nice’ has a stronger influence on the one playing selfishly, even if the one playing nice is not winning.  Is winning defined by the winning of the game or the way the game is played?  “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”[8] Actions and attitudes represent who we are as individuals.  Thus in the world as we present ourselves in words and deeds to others we can present out faith to them. 

Motivations of play aside, the game gives a place of connection, a coming together in fellowship, and a place for conversation.  Many churches offer a family game night and this type of fun fellowship may be the reason.  As in life there is structure and order in the game but some things come by chance.  This is seen through the journey around the board /life’s journey.  Your travel along the path with the goal of getting home.  What is encounter along the journey?  I have already discussed forgiveness; there is also hope and reconciliation, which can lead to second chances.

Hope in the game is present on the journey, the continuation of the goal of getting ‘home’. There is a feeling of relief when entering the final 5 spaces before the home space.  Here you are in a safety zone where other players cannot touch you; you are protected.  The protection is not by anything you have done; you have not battled to get here, you have only traveled the path before you.  It is a place of grace and rest.  And related to grace, along the board there are certain spaces you land on where you can slide ahead.  This can only be on other color slides, not your own.  Others aid in your journey, you cannot do it on your own.

Reconciliation is always a goal in life, both reconciling with others and with God.  SORRY! gives an opportunity by using fellowship and fun to begin conversation with the other players.  Some subjects may be more easily discussed during a low pressure activity.  It is important to come together in our mutual faith and be in community with others.  If the board is life’s journey, home is the place of reconciliation with God.  You have made it into a place of grace and mercy where you are protected from harm.  The next step brings you into home, the deeper relationship with God.

Second chances are present in the game as they are in life.  Being able to start anew brings unforeseen opportunities.  In the game, a sorry card that sends you back to start lets you have a second chance to begin again and maybe take a different path.  Scripture is full of second chances given by God.  The re-creation after the flood. “Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh –birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth –so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”[9]  The continuation of the covenant with Israel, even when they have turned away.  “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”[10]   Healing in both the Old and New Testament gives people second chances.  The psalmist in Psalm 30 gives thanks from being brought back from the edge of death.  “You have turned my mourning into dancing.”[11]  Jesus heals many throughout the gospels, giving each of them a new way of life.

SORRY! is a simple chase game.  Life is a simple journey along the path put before you.  Yes and no.  The encounters, challenges, possibilities, setbacks, opportunities, regrets, and grace all make each journey unique.  You never know how the game will conclude.  The old phrase ‘it is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game’ comes to mind.  Do we identify as the person Jesus speaks of in the beatitudes?  Those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers.  Or do we run the race alone?  God and community with others must be present on our life’s journey.  Faith is found together on the journey.  Paul nearing the end of his journey says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”[12]  How we encounter each other and God is the goal of a good game/life.  And remember there are times when you need to say ‘sorry’ along the way.

 

---

[1] 1 Corinthians 9:24

[2]http://www.amazon.com/Sorry-Classic-Edition-Board-Game/dp/B00B28IQ50/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=09DKRNMRX7RWKJMKS0QC

[3] I am using pawn or piece, 1972 version of SORRY! uses the term ‘man’ on the cards referring to the pieces on the board.

[4] Genesis 6:6-7

[5] 1 Samuel 15:35

[6] Psalm 38:18

[7] McKim, Donald K   The Westminster dictionary of theological terms

[8] Matthew 5:7

[9] Genesis 8:17

[10] 1 Samuel 16:13

[11] Psalm 30:11a

[12] 2 Timothy 4:7