‘Hail Mary pass’

The Wisconsin Badgers Football team lost a game last night when the other team threw a ‘Hail Mary pass’ and scored a touchdown in the last seconds of the game. A ‘Hail Mary’ pass is one in which the quarterback, with seconds to go in the game, throws the football high into the end zone and hopes one of his players catches the ball or it is deflected into his teammate’s hands. The referee said the person catching the football was down a few inches from the goal line but instant replay overthrew this call and called it a touchdown.

Quite often in life all we can do with a crisis or problem is throw a ‘Hail Mary pass’ and pray and hope it is completed. Mary, the Mother of God, is looked on in some religions as the great mediator or intercessor with God, since she is the mother of God’s son Jesus.

In our Faith In Recovery, a mental health support group, gathering this morning we talked about doing our best but being helpless often to change people. We try very hard to change people with a brain diseases or mental illnesses but quite often all we can do is accept it as any other disease with professional health treatment and just love and respect the ill person.

There is a story in the Gospel when Jesus was talking with what some considered ‘crazy talk’. Out of concern for him his mother, Mary, and his brothers and sisters were called to come and take him home. When his family arrives Jesus utters the famous lines of who is my mother or father, brother or sister? He answered his own question by saying anyone who does the Will of God.

This begs the question of how do we know the will of God. When Jesus was tested in today’s Gospel he gave a simple answer: “Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” If this answer does not work you can just do your best and throw up a ‘Hail Mary pass’. If that does not work ask Mary for a replay.

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