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Rector's Reflection—Easter 2 C There's an observation in the world of folks who run in high fashion and high dollar circles: "You can never be too rich or too thin." Of course there are those who would disagree with that, but I didn't originate that saying. One observation I am prepared to make, however, is that "you can get too much of the Tiger Woods saga." I'm not sure that the assassination of JFK got the media play that this unfortunate 'fall from grace' has received. Of course the JFK story was covered by real reporters and not voyeurs, but the coverage has been a non-stop frenzy. It reminds me of going down to the pond at John's parents' place out in the country to feed the catfish. The catfish seemed to know we were coming and when the first pellet hit the surface, the water veritably boiled with activity. I'm not sure whether the fish ate the food or ended up eating each other in their effort to go in for the 'kill,' so to speak. Since Tiger decided to play in the Masters, the press was poised for yet another round of interviews, and Monday (the 5th of April) was the day. The channel I was watching actually interrupted its regular broadcast to go live to Augusta for this breaking news. The catfish went for the pellet—metaphorically speaking—with remarkable zeal. Of course by now you have probably realized that I watched the press conference. I admit it's like the compulsion to slow down and look at a traffic accident, but I'll defer to Flip Wilson on this one—"the devil made me do it!" It was painful, and I mean painful for me! I can only imagine the pain that Tiger and his family must have felt. Did Tiger make a mistake? Make that, did Tiger sin? No. Tiger made a slew of mistakes. He sinned copiously. One might call him a serial sinner, and the distance that he has fallen from squeaky clean to sullied is enormous. But the press wouldn't let up. From wanting more details to extracting more apologies, they were relentless. It seems to me that the Tiger debacle is a good time to talk about the whole notion of forgiveness. We have just celebrated the Resurrection of Our Lord, and among the benefits of God's sacrifice for the repentant sinner is the forgiveness of sins. Tiger seemed repentant to me, but I'm not the one to assess his repentance. That's God's job. God knows what is in his heart, and you can't lie to God. Moreover, regardless of my opinion of Tiger's sincerity and repentance, Tiger doesn't—repeat, does not—owe me an apology. Frankly, he doesn't owe you an apology or NBC news or Sports Illustrated or People Magazine or any of the myriad reporters who seemed to relish seeing him squirm. Tiger didn't betray me. He didn't sin against them. The one to whom Tiger must apologize... the one whose forgiveness he must seek... is the one to whom he has made vows of fidelity. We have become a nation pleased with pain, as long as it's not our own. We want the sinner to do the whole mea culpa thing (the more times and the more details the better) and then we can decide if we forgive the offender. The problem is, in Tiger's case most of the world doesn't have what the legal system calls 'standing'. Our forgiveness is neither necessary nor efficacious because we haven't been harmed. Within nanoseconds of the press conference, blogs and commentators deemed that Tiger had not been remorseful enough... that he had been evasive with some answers... and one talking head even stated that "He didn't get my forgiveness." So? Which leads to a comment about shame. You may remember Don McLean's hit from now many years back entitled "The Day the Music Died." He was lamenting the death of Buddy Holly, but the song has spoken to many people on many levels through the years. Not memorialized in a song, however, was the death of shame about 25 or 30 years ago. I bring this up because, in just a few more nanoseconds than it took for the media to assay Tiger's apology, some were interviewing one of the women with whom Tiger had hooked up. Did she think the apology was sincere? Did she think he should be playing in the Masters? What??? I grew up in the 50's and 60's and there were plenty of things that brought shame on one's self and on one's family. I remember my mother worrying about what people would think of her and of me if I were to ride the bus into town without wearing gloves. Whether left over from the Victorian era or manufactured later on, lots of shame didn't need to be classified as shame. The liberating years that followed the 60's endeavored to get rid of false shame. Unfortunately, in a classic example of throwing out the baby with the bath water, real shame evidently got eradicated with it. An 'other woman' gets air time? An 'other woman' gets, in the vernacular, props? We seem to have come to the point in our culture to where if you can do it then it's okay to do it. But many of the players in this continuing drama ought to be ashamed. I have no idea what will become of Tiger's marriage or his golf game. It's a shame that he felt compelled to behave the way he did, but the constant attention both to him and to the other parties in this train wreck seems to me just as salacious and shameful. This Easter season as I reflect upon God's abundant forgiveness, I pray that Tiger has an amendment of life. But I still contend you can get too much of the Tiger Woods saga. Susan+ |
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Last Modified: January 7, 2012 |
