In the Shadows
Saturday night Matt and I went to a baseball game in DC. The new ballpark has no parking (except for the season ticket holders who basically bought a space when the park was built) so everyone attending the games has to find nearby street parking, park at the old ballpark and bus in, or take the metro. Unless - you are in the military and then you are one lucky duck.
Fort McNair just happens to be 3 blocks from the main entrance to the park. We drive into the city, pull up to Nationals Park, hang a quick right and then left, and "tada" we roll into the gate to Fort McNair. We park for free and walk over to the park. It is a great setup.
There is one small downside to the McNair parking set-up though - the projects. In order to get from McNair to the ballpark you have to walk through one of DC's finest projects. We haven't ever felt threatened while walking through that area, but we don't dilly dally there either.
As we were leaving the game this past Saturday something struck me. These projects sit in the shadows this huge ballpark. Hundreds of nights are filled with the sounds of fireworks, cheering, songs, and crowds. Thousands of people who can afford to spend $10-$300 on game tickets, who knows how much on food and drinks and fan gear come in and out of the area while the people who live in the projects are sitting on their porch, roaming along the street, or going about their daily lives. The mix of want and wealth is amazing. Would it be hard to watch people come and go each night? How much would you hate to look down your street and see a 10 story building with all its lights and action?
I was feeling sorry for the people who live with a constant reminder of what they don't have, for these people who live in the shadows of this ballpark. It also reminded me of Herod's palace and how it stood on a hill over Bethlehem and could be seen as far away as Jerusalem. Jews throughout that region couldn't help but see this powerful fortress perched in the distance. This fortress represented the power that Herod had over the Jews as a people. How could you not be intimidated by it?
In that little town of Bethlehem, just miles from this great palace Jesus was born - literally in the shadows of Herod. And though his birth was in a lowly place, his life and death would be extraordinary. Jesus provides hope to those in the shadows.
That big new ballpark or mighty fortress in my life is anxiety over the unknown and fear of how much hurt I will feel in coming weeks. It looms over me. So I choose to fix my eyes - not on that man-made giant casting shadows on me, but on Jesus. The giver of life, hope, grace, and peace.
Fort McNair just happens to be 3 blocks from the main entrance to the park. We drive into the city, pull up to Nationals Park, hang a quick right and then left, and "tada" we roll into the gate to Fort McNair. We park for free and walk over to the park. It is a great setup.
There is one small downside to the McNair parking set-up though - the projects. In order to get from McNair to the ballpark you have to walk through one of DC's finest projects. We haven't ever felt threatened while walking through that area, but we don't dilly dally there either.
As we were leaving the game this past Saturday something struck me. These projects sit in the shadows this huge ballpark. Hundreds of nights are filled with the sounds of fireworks, cheering, songs, and crowds. Thousands of people who can afford to spend $10-$300 on game tickets, who knows how much on food and drinks and fan gear come in and out of the area while the people who live in the projects are sitting on their porch, roaming along the street, or going about their daily lives. The mix of want and wealth is amazing. Would it be hard to watch people come and go each night? How much would you hate to look down your street and see a 10 story building with all its lights and action?
I was feeling sorry for the people who live with a constant reminder of what they don't have, for these people who live in the shadows of this ballpark. It also reminded me of Herod's palace and how it stood on a hill over Bethlehem and could be seen as far away as Jerusalem. Jews throughout that region couldn't help but see this powerful fortress perched in the distance. This fortress represented the power that Herod had over the Jews as a people. How could you not be intimidated by it?
In that little town of Bethlehem, just miles from this great palace Jesus was born - literally in the shadows of Herod. And though his birth was in a lowly place, his life and death would be extraordinary. Jesus provides hope to those in the shadows.
That big new ballpark or mighty fortress in my life is anxiety over the unknown and fear of how much hurt I will feel in coming weeks. It looms over me. So I choose to fix my eyes - not on that man-made giant casting shadows on me, but on Jesus. The giver of life, hope, grace, and peace.
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