Last week I watched a YouTube video with some 8th and 9th graders that I teach. You may have seen the video as it has spread like fire. It’s the one about the high school boy named Mitchell who has developmental disabilities and is the varsity basketball manager. Mitchell loves basketball more than anything and just wants to be a part of the team. What he doesn’t realize is that his coach wants to play him the last few minutes of the last game of the season no matter what the score is, even if they are losing. The coach does put Mitchell in because he says he want to do it for Mitchell, to let him have “his moment in time.” Mitchell does take his place on the court and tries several times to make a basket to no avail. Then what happens next defies all reason. With seconds left, an opposing team member shouts Mitchell’s name and throws him the ball right under the basket. Mitchell throws the basket up and makes the basket as the buzzard sounds. Cheers and roars of Mitchell’s name can be heard. It is a glorious moment.
Did Mitchell make the winning basket to lead the team to victory? No. His team was ahead by 15 points or so but that is not the point. The victory was centered in Mitchell. The display of love and sportsmanship among all the players to give Mitchell his “moment in time” was exemplary. The opposing team member was filled with compassion and was quoted as saying “I was taught to treat others as I would want to be treated.”
When have we been that person who has treated someone else with such love and compassion? When have we put someone else first no matter what the consequence? When have we given someone else their “moment in time” without thinking about ourselves? When have we realized and honored the sacredness and Godliness in every person around us?
During this time of Lent, we are called to examine and reflect upon ourselves and our relationship with our Lord. Do we see God in others and are we being Christ for others? This journey is not about us but about those around us in the dorms, in class, in the dining hall, on the fields, and anywhere you may find yourself. Our role is to be Christ for someone else. Our role is to love one another. Our role is to build God’s Kingdom one loving deed at a time or in this case, one basket at a time.
by Kaky Bowden
Catholic Campus Minister