Holy, Holy, Holy

It’s Good Friday, yesterday was Holy Thursday, and Sunday is Easter. The term, “Holy Thursday,” led me to contemplate the other things we call holy and to wonder what we consider to be holy in the world of sport. Further, what is it for something to be holy?

 

A thing is holy when it is set apart for special use. Holy Thursday is holy because of the Lord Jesus’ use of it in preparing His disciples for His departure and their leadership, His Gethsemane prayers, betrayal, trial, and beatings. It is holy because of Jesus’ purposeful use of it.

 

My love for the music of Terry Scott Taylor and The Swirling Eddies has also fed my thought process. In the Swirling Eddies’ 1994 album, “Zoom Daddy,” the song, “Holy, Holy, Holy” provokes thought and contemplation about the mystery of holiness in common things.

 

i was feeling kind of haggard,
low, and shadowy
like a ghost involved in assault
and battery
just a figment of my own dark
imagination
hangin' around backstage for
an invitation to

walk the streets of light in new
jerusalem
see what in my dreams at night
she had always been
in a wedding dress of white,
and crowned with seraphim
now she's putting the magic
bite on me once again

it's holy and still a book
I believe it's holy, and still the
sky it's
holy, and still tap water
holy, holy, holy

i caught a glimpse of
something in someone else's eyes
there in the least likely face of
someone i despised
a trace of new beginnings,
when tears are cried no more
and the moment that i knew it,
i walked out my prison door
and into

golden streets of light in new
jerusalem
see what in my dreams at night
she had always been
in her wedding dress of
white, and crowned with
seraphim
now she's putting the magic
bite on me once again

it's holy, and still a kiss
i believe it's holy, and still the
moonlight
it's holy, and still the wine and
bread
holy, holy, holy

holy in a baby's breath
in an unexpected guest
in a friend or an enemy
in a poor man's misery

holy, and still the rain it's
holy, and still a strangers face
holy, and still a song it's
holy, and still a prayer it's
holy, and still a sunset it's
holy, and still a starry night
holy, and still laughter it's
holy...

 

http://www.releaselyrics.com/0596/the-swirling-eddies-holy,-holy,-holy/

 

• We’re comfortable with a book being a “Holy Bible.” Can we see holiness in a baseball bat?
• We’re accustomed to receiving “Holy Communion.” Can we see a football (soccer ball) as a holy thing?
• We’re okay with “Holy Water” being used for baptism. Can we embrace the idea of Gatorade being holy if it’s given to Christ-loving competitors?
• We’re happy to confer holiness onto books, water, bread and wine, a family,  a sepulcher, a city, a place in the Temple, a See, and a Father.
• May we also see the holiness in sticks, gloves, balls, helmets, boxing gloves, benches, courts, cricket grounds, race tracks, swimming pools, rugby pitches, wrestling mats, coaches, and competitors as they are set apart for the Savior’s purposeful use.

That would be my Good Friday prayer. Let’s allow the Lord Jesus to sanctify even the most base and common things of our life in sport, as they are committed, consecrated, and set apart for His special purposes. Let’s use everything at our hands to honor Him as we declare His glories among the nations.