Relatively Speaking

by Gene Shelburne

Some things are relative and must be taken on a “compared to what?” basis. A fifty-year-old memory of mine has met its relative comparison and has faded in importance considerably.

Four huge propellers vibrated air and earth as the B-29 Superfortress flew past barely above treetop level, its cockpit crew clearly visible, as I stood wide-eyed in Shreveport, Louisiana, so many years ago. It bristled with armament and seemed the most formidable war machine imaginable. B-29s had dropped our atomic bombs on Japan, and we were using them in Korea at the time this one flew into my memory. I thought the impression could never be surpassed.

But on a Sunday night some months ago, as I walked across our church parking lot, a huge, black, bat-shaped, low-flying B-2 Spirit “Stealth” bomber approached from the east. I watched it pass and bank into a left U-turn as it headed for the Bank One Ballpark in downtown Phoenix. Timed to the closing notes of the Star Spangled Banner, it would make a flyby over the ballpark’s open roof for the opening ceremonies of the final World Series game.

Yes, the Superfortress deserves its honored place in war museums, but the sky belongs to the Stealth. It’s a fearsome piece of equipment, as the Taliban are learning.

Since September 11, most public events have been impacted by what occurred that horrible day. The Air Force flyby for the Series games added a military touch to the already patriotic ceremonies dedicated to the memory of our recent losses. Some people wondered if it was proper to play something so relatively unimportant as the World Series games, considering September 11th. Others said they’re just games and that’s precisely why we need them. Relative importance is not always immediately obvious.

But one event that will occur in the experience of each of us, relatively speaking, clearly out-ranks all others. In the Judgment we will hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father,” or he will say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed” (Matthew 25:31-46).

Come or depart. Blessed or cursed. The contrast could not be more sharply defined. God allows us choices in life which will ultimately lead to this defining moment. It seems obvious, relatively speaking, that we should choose to be blessed by the Father.