Asking for a SPIRITUAL MULLIGAN
PSALM 118: 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone*. 23 This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (*Matthew 21:42)
Today I need a MULLIGAN.
Because I blew it yesterday.
Ever had one of those days?
It starts off badly, maybe for reasons beyond your control.
And before you know it, the whole day becomes a series of mistakes and missteps?
That was yesterday. Or was it? Some days the problem might actually be the fruit. But other days, the problem just might be our system for measuring our fruit.
Some days the problem just might be our system for MEASURING our FRUIT.
All we can do with every day is try the best we can. Yes, with the help of God. But every day cannot yield a fantastic crop. Some days, we may be able to produce an abundance of fruit. Yes, with the help of God. Other days we seem to produce very little. What feels like nothing at all. And yes, that too is with the help of God.
Or worse. Some days, every bit of fruit we produce looks flawed on the surface or corroded to the core. And still, it is so important to remember, this is also with the help of God. Whose steadfast mercy endures forever.
On days like yesterday, I have learned not to trust my measuring system.
When I am exhausted. When I have become overloaded with expectations, mostly self-imposed. Eventually I will stumble. Maybe even fall. Tired limbs and a spent spirit will do that. Fail us at that moment we need them to rapidly respond the most.
And yesterday I stumbled in a most public way. Yes, with the help of God.
It wasn’t a big deal really. Just a mistake. Or a few of them. Humbling more than humiliating. As long as I can remember. That I made the mistake with the help of God.
Yesterday my best was never going to meet my expectations.
Before yesterday really started I was already pushed beyond my limits.
Even if I tried my best, my best was never going to be good enough.
As long as I kept measuring my production of fruit the way I was measuring it.
Yesterday I needed mercy. From a God of mercy. But to receive that mercy, I needed to humble myself. And ask. For mercy.
Yesterday I needed grace. From a God of grace. But to embrace that grace I needed to humble myself and ask.
Yesterday, I needed a spiritual mulligan. But a mulligan isn’t really allowed in the rules of golf, is it? The strictest reading of the rules of golf do not allow for any grace or mercy. Everything is measured in the ledger. Every swing is recorded. And no mulligans are allowed. Or are they?
A mulligan is a second chance when we tee up and swing our club. And we slice our shot badly. Or hook it horribly. Or duff it completely. The first chance went wrong. Bad luck? A blunder? A stumble? A failure and a fall?
Whatever our reason or explanation. One thing is clear. The first shot didn’t work. And another chance is needed. But will we get another chance? God says yes. God has created a measuring system with mulligans. Grace is available. Mercy is abundant.
But will we ask for the mulligan?
Therein lies the challenge.
Now nobody really knows if the mulligan is actually named after David Mulligan or not. Once upon a time, as the story goes, he managed the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. And at a country club someplace near Montreal in the 1920’s he hit an errant tee shot and re-teed his ball.
In one version of the story he had overslept and rushed to the golf course. He hadn’t taken enough time to calm down before taking his first shot. So he said he was taking a “correction shot”.
In another, more dramatic version, crossing the St. Lawrence River along the Victoria Bridge was a bit more harrowing than usual. And he arrived at the course a bit jumpy. Rattled. Shaking.
We all know that the wisest course when we are not ready to perform is to stop immediately. Take a breath. Or more than one breath. Take a moment before starting. Or before we begin, get the rest we need. Plan ahead. Take enough practice swings. So we are poised and relaxed when the moment that counts arrive.
But wisdom sometimes escapes us. The best of plans are foiled by chance and circumstance. And the moment arrives. And our nerves are frayed. Our mind is scattered and unfocused. We become distracted. Or even desperate. And our best shot. Is a blunder.
In the rules of golf, once that shot is taken, it is too late. And that makes sense. If the game is a competition. And we are measuring ourselves against an equally matched opponent. It is never fair to take a mulligan.
But. In the game of life.
If we are measuring ourselves AGAINST somebody else.
It is the measuring system itself.
Not the mulligan.
That is the problem. Most of the time. When we think we’ve blown it. That’s what we are doing. Measuring. Against.
Somebody else wouldn’t have made the mistake we did. Somebody else wouldn’t have done what we did.
True or not. What does that matter? What somebody else might or might not do?
What somebody else might or might not think.
There is only one Somebody whose measurement matters.
Our God of grace and mercy. And the steadfast mercy of the Lord never ceases.
His grace endures forever.
And God gives us each day as a mulligan. God gives us each moment as a mulligan.
Another chance.
A second chance.
Repeated chances.
A whole world of chances.
A whole world of chances for the whole world.
That doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible for our mistakes.
That doesn’t mean we don’t need to clean up our messes.
But it does mean that today is a new day. Yesterday is gone. Wiped away. This moment is a new moment.
So let us rejoice. Take a mulligan. And be glad in this new day.
God has given us. Amen.