Say It Ain't So, Joe

I am told - and one day I hope to see for myself - that the baseball shoes, glove, hat and bat that were used by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson are on permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Joe Jackson was one of the great, legendary baseball players and even if you're not a fan of baseball then perhaps you saw the movie "Field of Dreams" where Joe Jackson was the first ballplayer to emerge from the rows of corn that surrounded that Iowa field. As baseball's spring training comes to a close and the new season's games begin this week, chances are that Joe Jackson, "Field of Dreams" and a lot of other baseball images and conversations will be in the public vision.

Ball players, professional and amateur, and fans of the game still talk about "Shoeless" Joe. Born in 1888, he started playing pro ball in 1908. He still holds the third best life-time batting average in the majors (at .356); his first year in the majors he hit .408, the highest average ever by a rookie; in perhaps the greatest compliment, Babe Ruth said he copied Joe Jackson's batting stance. He was also quite the outfielder: base runners feared the ball in his hands because Jackson could throw them out at any base; to this day, he still holds throwing records for major league baseball. Well, by now I hope you get the point: if you're not familiar with "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, he was one of the truly incredible ball players of all time.

Yet, in spite of all this, in spite of the fact that his cleats, glove, bat and hat are proudly displayed in Cooperstown, Joe Jackson is not - that is, he is not recognized by the Hall of Fame as one of the greats because he was banned from baseball in 1921. Jackson has the distinction of being a member of the 1919 Chicago White Sox team that "threw" the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds after taking bribes from bookies. And legend has it that when the eight members of the team who had been indicted were leaving their hearing, a young baseball fan outside the offices who had come to catch a glimpse of his hero, shouted out to Jackson in disbelief and angst "Say it ain't so Joe!"

Jackson, as you heard in the interview I read, says it never happened - there was no kid that ever shouted those now immortal words, and he never took the bribe. In fact, Jackson maintained his innocence to the day he died. Evidently, the jury of 1921 believed him. Not only was he found not guilty, but when he sued the White Sox owner for back pay, he won that case too. Yet, despite all of this, he was still banned by the then Commissioner of baseball Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. It's this 1921 ruling that people like Ted Williams and Bob Feller (two still-living baseball greats and members of the Hall of Fame) are asking to be overturned so "Shoeless" Joe can at least be eligible to join his equipment in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But as Peter Fleck reminds us in the story about his grandson Benjamin - and perhaps it's something that we really don't need a lot of reminding about - life is not always as clear as we would like, life can be very messy and anything but straightforward. For example, in a sardonic twist to their name the 1919 White Sox were dubbed the "Black Sox" which I always thought was because of their evil, sneaky, loathsome, un-American regard for the nation's great pastime. Not true. They were the "Black Sox" because team owner Comiskey was so cheap and punitive that he wouldn't give his players the 25 cents a week they were supposed to get to wash their uniforms. So the team played in dirty uniforms and it wasn't long, as you could imagine, before their white sox became black! Owner Comiskey's lack of respect for his players as well as his on and off the field dealings were quite notorious - all of which made the banning of "Shoeless" Joe and the alleged bribes and throwing of the World Series suspect if not ridiculous. All of this gives greater credence to something Ted Williams said (and Williams has never been known for his outspokenness or great insights). At a news conference where he announced his hope for Jackson's eligibility to Cooperstown, he told those gathered: "[Joe Jackson] served his sentence and it's time for baseball to acknowledge his debt is paid ... . It's time [to list him as a nominee to the Hall of Fame], it's the right thing to do."

"It's the right thing to do." Why? Because whether he did anything wrong or not (and a strong case could be made that he should never have been banned from baseball), the time has finally come to put all of that aside and move ahead. "It's the right thing to do." In other words, there seems to be a window of opportunity to do some good here. Peter Fleck told us in his story: "Benjamin was not ready to accept the ambiguity of life's messiness. He still lived in the world of fantasies and fairy tales in which things happened without effort. But we know that in the real world it isn't that way at all, that in the real world nothing happens without the proverbial, blood, sweat, and tears ..." (18) "It's the right thing to do" because the blood, sweat and tears that must go into the process of righting wrongs have been paid, the time commitment has been made, and now here's a chance to set things right.

Williams, Feller and those who are making the case for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson might not put it this way, but they are speaking the language of forgiveness - and there is a lot of forgiveness to go around here, forgiveness on everyone's part. Unfortunately, all of the principal players in this drama have long since died - so much has been forgotten or will never be known. This too is a part of the forgiveness process and not simply something to be dismissed - sometimes remembering and forgetting can be critical pieces in forgiving.

Who hasn't had some experience with forgiveness, at some level? It's part of Fleck's messiness, it's part of life's blood, sweat and tears. To have lived is to have been part of this process we all know as forgiveness. And so, we also know that forgiveness can take all kinds of people and all kinds of meanings. Ken Bode writes of one these ways: a view of forgiveness in an entirely unforgivable way:

These observations remind me of the occasional TV-talk shows I've seen or heard about where the hosts and audiences seem to thrive on pouring salt into the slightest of scratches, and then watching the unforgivingness fester and boil over. But what I have also seen and heard, which I find intriguing and fascinating, is how different individuals and communities of people take very different forgiveness approaches. For example, during Marion Barry's last campaign to be Washington's mayor, it was striking to hear and read what seemed like most white people's total disgust with him - he was unfit to be mayor, and why couldn't everybody see that. Yet in the black community, there was generally a spirit of forgiveness - that yes, he had made some mistakes, but he knew that, they knew that, so let's move on it. Very different responses that seemed to be suggesting that historical and personal background and culture could all be factors in one's approach and willingness to enter the forgiveness process.

But even with this, we all know about forgiveness - chances are we have all experienced the turmoil of its possibility, the anguish in its necessity, the blessings of the forgiving moment, the despair of its absence, the disappointment of its inability to resolve, the relief and grace that forgiveness can bring. Which is all to say - we have a sense of its sting and zing, we sense or know the power of forgiveness. This power comes from five shared understandings, experiences, assumptions, five elements of forgiveness.

First, the process of forgiveness - and by that I mean everything that could go along with forgiving, be that repentance, punishment, salvation, confession, guilt, suffering, and you could probably name a few more - the process of forgiving and forgiveness has its origin in our common power and plight of choice: we are free beings who makes choices and decisions and sometimes - often times - we make mistakes, mistakes that hurt ourselves and others. If this were not the case, there would never be any need of forgiveness. But, it is the case and it is fundamental to the messiness of it all. Because we stumble and fall, because we can bring others to the ground with us, we need a process that not only picks us up, but something that can and will set right our relationship with others, as well as restore our own being and dignity.

There's also the belief that the desire for forgiveness - the giving of an apology - must be heartfelt, earnest, sincere, not cheap. We seem to hear a lot on this lately. Just a quick summary of any weekly news venue is bound to find someone making an apology to somebody for something. A classic example of what I'm talking about in terms of cheap forgiveness would be one U.S Senator's response to accusations of sexual harassment: "I'm apologizing for the conduct that it was alleged that I did." (Packwood) What does that mean? That's an apology, a person wishing to be forgiven? You try saying something like this to your friend, lover, partner or child and see how far it gets you! Needless to say, you'd have to question the sincerity of the person who said it. Or, how many times we have heard (or maybe even said): "I am really sorry that you feel that way." Apologizing for the way someone else feels is not an apology. This kind of passive approach really does lack the sincerity and honesty that most of us would want in the forgiving process, there's not even the hint of forgiveness in it - in fact, its kind of insulting, it's a put down, it's shifting the burden away from the person who's apologizing and onto the person seeking an apology, almost to say it's their problem! What a strange turn of events!

Third, another common ingredient that gives forgiveness and forgiving its power is that it can only be done in relationship and it means setting things right with another. Now some have taken this to mean setting things right with themselves - as in the person who says "I have a clear conscience" - or having set things right with their God - as in those who might say, as Joe Jackson did, "I'm willing to let the Lord be my judge." But I prefer the Jewish idea on this: it's not enough to seek (and receive) the forgiveness of one's self or God, but of our neighbor too, when that's possible. There's a story about this:

With or without your God, forgiving and forgiveness means being in relationship with your neighbor, it means nurturing the bonds that tie, it means stepping up and showing a good faith effort to stay in relationship.

Fourth, we must bring to the forgiving and forgiveness process an attitude, desire, and an authentic craving to do the right thing. Yes, we might fail and that's okay because the spirit must be there, and that spirit will allow for mistakes and that same spirit will try again and again. This spirit of authentic hope and desire is captured so well in an inspirational reading by Jane Rzepka (#510)

This sense of hope and renewal as well as commitment, perseverance and determination to the process of life is as descriptive of forgiving and forgiveness as it is the return of spring. Without this desire for change, anyone is cursed with missing the mark over and over.

Finally, there's the value of community, the community of support and witnesses which has traditionally been one's congregation. This faith community can be the gateway through which full participation and at-onement can begin to take shape. I sense that most see forgiving and forgiveness as a personal or one-to-one kind of thing - and sometimes it is. But the power and healing aspects of the community of faith is not to be dismissed, which it usually is in this privatized and very individualistic culture. The opportunity, support and recognition in this community is here not just for the good times of celebration, for rites of passage, but it's also here for the times of doubt, despair and when the bonds of trust have been damaged. Personally, I experience this congregation as a powerful and intensely spiritual and forgiving context - but I know that I do because I allow it to become that, I seek it, want it, often put myself in the way of it and so I receive it. It's there for everyone - this has been and always will be a purpose of the church: this faith community, just like others before us and the ones yet to come, can and could be a part of the process of forgiving and forgiveness. There's a simple story that speaks to this point:

There're at least two messages in this story for us. First, there's value in sharing those times you feel you've missed the mark, when you are seeking forgiveness or an apology, when you simply are confused about what you've done or what has been done to you. I find a lot of meaning in the statement attributed to Jesus in The Gospel According to Thomas: "If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don't bring forth what is inside you, what you don't bring forth will destroy you." I believe we all, at some level, seek to be at peace with ourselves and our world, to be centered, to be in right relations with our neighbors and community. Forgiving and forgiveness is integral to this wholeness and one place to begin is with sharing what is inside you.

And second, this story speaks about forgetting. And while forgiving is not forgetting, there is something to this forgetting point. People do forget, or maybe while not forgetting time and distance can put things in a different perspective and what may have once been poignant and full of energy now is dulled, lackluster, it's just not as important. It doesn't have as much energy around it as it once did.

And when that happens, those opportunities must be seized, embraced and taken advantage of, they are opportunities to set things right, when healing can begin, forgiveness can be initiated and life can move on. As it has been with "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. A lot of time has passed - almost 80 years, Jackson has been dead for 47. Nobody really wants to continue with this folly, not when we don't have to.

I believe people wish to forgive, we want to be forgiven, we all want to live in right relations - "If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you." And that is so!

© the Rev. Fredric J. Muir
March 29, 1998

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