Watching the Gonzaga basketball team play in this tournament is truly something special. In the game against USC, freshman point guard Jalen Suggs was clearly setting the pace, making eye popping bounce passes between defenders on fast breaks, hitting open shots, etc. He has great athletic ability and great court awareness. But this is true of all the Gonzaga players. They are great athletes, but they play for one another. As Suggs put it in the postgame interview below:
“We play together as a unit, man, and we play for each other. That’s what makes us so special. Everyone gives their all, for each other, for the coaching staff. And when we get out there, we’re all in unison, and man you see it, we have so much fun, we’re always smiling.”
If I was teaching my sports class right now, I would ask my students to reflect on what all of this has to do with Holy Week and Easter.
Since I’m not teaching that class this semester, I will just offer a brief thought. When we give our all for one another, put our gifts at the service of one another, it builds up the community. This is how we find life and our way forward. We even might find a smile break out on our faces, as we are having so much fun. Joy is breaking in.
Ego, on the other hand, or our false self, always brings the focus back to me. This is a dynamic we all struggle with every day, in small and large ways.
The whole point of this week is that Jesus gave his very self, out of love, for others. According to scripture, his death and resurrection break the power that the devil has over people that keeps them in bondage. You might recall that this devil is traditionally known as the father of lies, who tempted Jesus with “all the kingdoms of this world” and their glory. Underlying the most consequential lies we tell is the attempt to gain something for ourselves: usually power, wealth, or fame. In this sense, the bondage we are set free from is precisely our self-centeredness, our need to turn the spotlight back on ourselves at every turn.
The Gonzaga players have found a way to break the spell of ego or the false self and to begin to play and live for one another and for their coaches. Joy is breaking in to their lives.
May joy break into your lives as well on this Easter weekend.
