Bishop Shawn McKnight, the head of my diocese of Jefferson City, has a slogan he’s been using since he was installed back in February: Better Together. I think his hope is that, inspired by these words and the solid actions he is taking with them in mind, the members of our diocese will come to see each other as belonging to one Church, hopefully seeing as less important our ideological differences, the distance felt between parishes and the chancery, the us vs. them mentality noticed between some clergy and laity, or any other point of tension. “Better Together” is a wonderful goal and I’m glad to be part of the effort
I was thinking about that slogan today because of a concert our friends treated us to this past Friday night. The concert featured a fantastic band, called Walk Off the Earth. The show was amazing. Walk Off the Earth puts on an unbelievably unique show. Seriously. Google them. You’ll thank me.
In the middle of the show, the band did a cover of the Queen classic, Bohemian Rhapsody. The lead singers sang the first verse but then turned the song over to the crowd for most of the rest of it. As you might imagine, the place lit up. Not unlike the Amsterdam crowd from the video below. Like Amsterdam, our audience knew the whole song and sang it like it was the last thing they were ever going to sing. It was so cool, but it wasn’t the first time I’d ever been part of something like that—
Those of an age old enough to remember the horrific events of September 11, 2001, will also remember that all of the major sports leagues suspended play for about a week after the attacks. Major League Baseball was the first to resume, with four games scheduled on that following Monday, September 17. I was fortunate enough to be at Busch Stadium in St. Louis that night as the hometown Cardinals squared off against the Milwaukee Brewers. There were several moving 9/11-related activities that took place prior to the game, including a stirring poem, written and read by Jack Buck, the then-Cardinals radio announcer. That’s not what I remember most, though. What I’ll never forget were the patriotic marches blasted through the stadium sound system, and fifty thousand fans on their feet, clapping along, singing every word. It was so cool, but it wasn’t the first time I’d ever been part of something like that—
That sense of unity…that feeling that we’re part of something bigger…that acknowledgment that whatever divisions we arrived with at the door with is left there—I get that feeling every single weekend at Mass. When we gather together, pray together, express reverent silence together, and especially sing together, I know we are being made part of something extraordinary: the immense and palpable love of God.
Friends, we are better together. When we are together, truly together, we become our best selves. And I believe that it’s only through this unity that we will find a way to solve our differences for good.
-Shannon