Whose World?

For Wilshire Baptist Church

“It’s Luka’s world, and we’re just living in it.” 

The local sports anchor gushed on Sunday night as he described the NBA All-Star performance of Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic. There’s no arguing the kid has game like nothing we’ve seen lately, but I bristled at the notion that it’s all about him and we’re just spectators. And I don’t like any statement that might lead some to believe that unless they rise to Luka’s level, they’ll never be more than just another schlub watching life from the grandstands.

I know I’m overreacting, and no, I’m not one of those people that is perpetually offended by everything I hear. But perhaps my reality meter was still set on high when I heard the declaration about Luka because we had just come home from this year’s production of the Spotlight: Musical Theatre at Highland Park United Methodist Church. It’s an experience that always recalibrates my notion of whose world it really is.

I’ve written about this group before under their former name: Jesters. It’s a theatre group sponsored by HPUMC’s Belong disABILITY ministry for adults with special needs. We learned about it some years ago from Wilshire’s George Gagliardi, who composes the music each year. LeAnn has played flute with the show band in the past; Mark McKenzie played sax this year. The theatre group spends six months creating and rehearsing an original show and then they perform it on two nights to a packed, enthusiastic house.

This year’s show, “It’s Not Just a Song,” was the story of an aging male rock band, an up-and-coming girl band, a hit song writer, and a promoter who tries to manipulate them all for the sake of money. Woven through it all was a message about gender equality and pay equity, which was a bold theme coming from performers who live in a world of inequality. But the twist is they weren’t talking about themselves; they were speaking to everyone.

I don’t believe that God intentionally gives any of us a disadvantage or a disability; I believe nature happens and life happens and that impacts each of us in different ways. What God does give each of us is a spirit to thrive and contribute, and where we go horribly wrong is in squelching or simply discounting that spirit in others and especially those who don’t look and sound and function the same as us. 

Back when I used to go to rodeos – really, I did – sometimes when a rider got bucked off a bull or bronc before the eight-second buzzer the announcer would say, “Give that cowboy a hand because that’s the only pay he’s gonna get.” I think most of us live in that world; we don’t get the adulation and the pay of a star. We get a pat on the back and a “well done” and hopefully a living wage or better if the compliment is tied to what we do for a living.

The Spotlight performers don’t get any pay for their show, but they don’t expect it either. They perform for the love and the joy of it and the heartfelt appreciation that the audience gives them, and perhaps that’s the world that those of us not named Luka should strive for. And who knows, maybe Luka is striving for that too. He’s still young and doesn’t seem to have been swept up by the glamour and fame that overtakes some in his business.

While writing this an email popped up on my screen from Barnes & Noble announcing the release of “I Promise,” a new picture book for kids by LeBron James. And there it is: another basketball player getting attention, but this one is standing in my world. I mean, really? Come on, LeBron, you don’t see me shooting hoops at the AAC, do you? Big sigh. Still, I like the message of his book: work hard, respect the game, and be your best self. 

It’s that last word that is so important: self. That can be anything and everything – whatever you and God work out together and build a world around for living in and sharing with others.