Well, the Big Lug got his shoulder patched up this summer. At least a lot of us are praying Curt Schilling came through with the operation a healthy success. His surgeon says he his quite content with the procedure, although there is no guarantee the shoulder will be good as last time, when Shilling was in his late twenties. Now he’s 41. The doc says there is nothing he can do to fix that.

Life tends to judge us by how we produce. Schill has produced for the Red Sox. And how! It seems he breezed into town just yesterday and announced to the world he was here to break the 86 year old curse. He did it big time! He has produced for us, bloody sock and all.

Curt Schilling seems quite content with the possibilities his future holds. Of course he would like to pitch again. But in a recent WEEI interview he says “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do a case study. I’m 41, I’ve got over 3,000 innings under my belt....” As far as Red Sox Nation goes, he’s also got the curse firmly buried under his feet, deep under the pitcher’s mound at Fenway. He seems to have it all in perspective: “I don’t want it to end this way but if this is the way it has to end, I’m ok with that. If it’s over and my last pitch was in the 2007 World Series, honestly, I’m ok with that....I have not a regret in the world.”

A major part of who Curt Schilling is goes far beyond his pitching arm, and even, believe it or not, beyond his big mouth. The core of Curt Schilling is his faith. He is a Christian, a personal Christian who takes his faith public, and who is not afraid to express his opinions. Oh yes, he opens his mouth at the wrong time, but he also opens it at the right time when a witness to the power of Jesus Christ might make all the difference is someone’s life. Schill draws constantly upon the strength God gives. That is what gives him the perspective to handle his shoulder surgery and his future. He knows what’s important.

My daughter Christine has a friend, Bridget. They attended the same church, until Bridget, her husband and three year old daughter moved to the west coast. Bridget is a radiant Christian, with the healthy glow appropriate for someone 26 weeks pregnant. She also has stage four cancer, and six to nine months to live. Curt Schilling has been talking to Bridget, ministering to Bridget, even while facing his own troubles. He knows it’s all about perspective, and that whatever happens here, from the viewpoint of eternity, everything looks ok. That’s because Jesus Christ stepped up to the mound, and buried the curse -- the real curse -- forever. The curse has caused much grief throughout human history. Worn out shoulders. Cancerous bodies. Even death itself. It took Jesus considerably more than a bloody sock to be successful, for the mound he stepped upon was the mound called Calvary. It was there he spilled his blood, an atonement for sin. Because of what
he accomplished we have the possibility of living lives that are whole, complete and productive.

The Big Lug says “This is all about perspective. Wouldn’t we all like to throw a no-hitter in the World Series at the age of 40 in our last start and walk away? Who wouldn’t? That’s not real life.” Schill knows. He knows real life is found in Jesus Christ. There’s nothing else like Jesus in the whole ballpark.

Jon Dale Hevelone, D.Min.
Pastor