How the Phillies Glorify God (except for that recent 8 game losing streak)

The vision statement of , where I serve as Assistant Pastor, usually starts, ‘Filled to overflowing by the love of Christ…’, but this October it will be ‘PHILLed to overflowing by the love of Christ’.  The reason is simple; the Phillies.

The Phillies have the best record in the Major Leagues, and they are the first and only team to win 100 games this season.  They have the lowest ERA (earned run average) of any pitching staff at 3.04, and the lowest WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) of any team at 1.17.  The Phillies didn’t just beat their opponents; they WHIPed them. 

Cliff Lee threw 34 consecutive scoreless innings and earned 6 shutouts; rookie Vance Worley gave the Phillies 14 consecutive wins in his starts as pitcher; Hunter Pence’s .320 batting average helped the fans get over the loss of Jayson Werth (along with Werth’s abysmal .233 batting average with the Nationals); Ryan Howard hit 33 home runs and 115 RBIs, and it still seemed like he had a bad year; John Mayberry Jr. came out of nowhere to get a .519 SLG, while having enough moxie to pursue a date with one of the mermaids from the recent ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie; and Chase Utley still makes women swoon.

By any measure, the Phillies have had an amazing season (except for that recent 8 game losing streak).  But as we bask in the accomplishments of the Phillies, what can get lost is how the Phillies have glorified God (except for that recent 8 game losing streak).

What does it mean that the Phillies have glorified God? 

A few years ago, I got a t-shirt for my father that read ‘When God made me, He was just showing off’.  It seemed like a silly t-shirt at first, but as I thought about it, I realized that the shirt held much truth.  When God created the world and all that is in it, He did it to manifest His glory.  God is immeasurably good, wise, and powerful, and He demonstrates these attributes in creation.  The complexity of my body, with lungs that bring oxygen to the heart, and the heart that takes the oxygen to the veins, and the veins that take the oxygen to the organs, demonstrates the wisdom of God in how He has created me.

God has also created humans with great potential as well.  We are not static creatures; we can grow in intelligence, skill, strength, and ability.  The Phillies, by fine-tuning their skill and strength on the baseball field, demonstrate the potential God has placed within mankind. 

The potential of the Phillies is shown all the more clearly because skilled players are trying to frustrate them.  Ryan Howard is not hitting a motionless ball on a tee when he gets a 496 foot home run; he’s hitting a ball thrown by a pitcher who has trained his whole life to strike him out.  Thus, the home run more clearly manifests the potential God has placed in the human body, and thus God is all the more glorified by it.

When you eat a good meal at a restaurant, you compliment the chef.  When you read a good book, you praise the author.  When Roy Halladay strikes out a batter, you cheer him.  Praise is a natural response to something praiseworthy.  If these created people are all praiseworthy, how much more, then, should we praise God, the creator of the chef, the creator of the author, and the creator of Roy Halladay? 

So when you watch the Phillies in the playoffs, don’t just cheer them; cheer the God who made them.  Because when God made the Phillies, He was just showing off.