“Football isn’t a matter of life and death; it’s much more important than that.” For years, Bill Shankly’s famous quote was just a catchy soundbite until I arrived in Scotland, immersed myself in its culture and realised that for the great Scottish manager’s compatriots, football is as important as he’d described it. I’ve seen weddings planned around fixtures so as not to collide with major games and experienced unsuccessful parish events “unwisely” scheduled at the same time as important football matches. I quickly learnt that for some hardcore supporters, the latter phrase applied to every game played by their team. In practical terms, to me, it meant holding a diary in one hand and the fixtures table in the other while planning anything in the parish. I’ve always liked football but more as a spectacle rather than a part of my identity. So, I don’t really get the tribalism (in a positive sense) of so many football fans. It’s evident in expressions like “we won” or “we lost” after the game while it was actually the eleven or so players on the pitch who did it. Those fans in the stands, sometimes called “the twelfth player”, can rightly claim some credit for their active support; the rest, comfy on their sofas and in armchairs, probably less so… And yet, whether in the stands or in front of the telly, the sense of belonging to the tribe is unshakably firm.
“Through Jesus Christ our Saviour, […] being justified by his grace, we might become heirs.” It’s hardly modern terminology that is used in the conclusion of today’s second reading. These days, in our Scottish and British context, we occasionally hear it in reference to the royal family, but not that many people are interested in it. To our mind, shaped by the experience of living in a modern, widely democratic and meritocratic society, the idea that someone can be in power solely on the virtue of being born at the right time into a royal family seems strange and completely outdated. But there’s another meaning to the “heir”, this seemingly outdated term, a meaning much closer to our lives. It’s associated with a strong sense of belonging to other people: the family. We take it as obvious that when one generation passes away, their children rightfully “in-heir-it” their wealth and possessions. Even when there’s no will left by the deceased, the children’s right to “heir-loom” is solely based on the merit of being born into the family. Sometimes, when families fall badly apart, some members might be “disin-heir-ited” as a form of punishment or estrangement. The latter word means turning someone close and familiar into an unwelcome stranger. The reverse action was described in these words: “Through Jesus Christ our Saviour, […] being justified by his grace, we might become heirs.” We are no longer strangers; we are God’s children, with all the rights and privileges which come with that.
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” These words were addressed to Jesus in today’s gospel. But He didn’t need to hear them; He didn’t need this sort of assurance from on high. As Jesus commented on a similar occurrence, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.” (John 12:30). He was called a “beloved son” after He’d been baptised in the river Jordan. That event caused some controversy as “John [the Baptist] would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented.” (Matthew 3:14-15) Jesus’ insistence was a natural consequence of His incarnation, God becoming man: He immersed Himself in the human condition, and that was symbolised by His immersion (baptism) in the river Jordan alongside His fellow human beings. The point of Jesus’ self-abasement was to raise us up. St Paul explained rather well in his letter to the Romans: “All of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were […] buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (6:3-4) Then he continued: “you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (8:15-17). Consequently, the words addressed to Jesus in today’s gospel also apply to you: “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”