I am Tiger Woods
On Thursday, February 18, my wife and I were sitting in Denver’s airport. On the television there was a special news report. The report was about Tiger Woods, and his decision to hold a private press conference on Friday, February 19. Following this announcement the news reporter brought in comments from all over the country. Sports analysts, PGA Tour Pros – they even included comments from Facebook, Twitter and “person-on-the-street” interviews. I sat listening to multiple people rip Tiger apart for his poor choices. They critiqued his decision, his timing, his demand for privacy, and pretty much anything else about the man.
Beyond the criticism was the underlying sense of entitlement that exists in so many. One person even went so far as to talk about his anger at Tiger. Mind you, this person has never met Tiger. But, in his words, “Have been a huge fan.” Does someone like that even have a right to be angry at Tiger?
Since all the news broke more than three months ago I have heard scores of opinions about Tiger from multiple sources. Yet on this morning, in the airport something struck me. For just a few hours before, as I was getting ready for bed I wiped the ashes from my forehead that I had received on Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It is one of the most sobering days in the Church calendar. It is a day in which we reflect on the brokenness in our hearts and lives, confess, repent, and prayerfully consider what it means to continue to be transformed. Worshippers who participate in this Holy Day receive ashes on their forehead. However it has not always been like this.
The Ashes used to be reserved for those people who had committed the really “big” sins. You know, the sins that are fun to talk about. The sins that make for a good Google search. The sins that are exposed for all to see. The sins that we can easily throw rocks at because it is such a big, satisfying target to hit. These people were called penitents, and they were given the mark of the ashes as a public sign of their disgrace.
Over the years some of the more truly pious in the Church in an act of humility and a show of solidarity with the penitents would receive the ashes. They willfully stepped forward to be marked as “sinners.” Eventually the number of people who bore ashes extended to all who were a part of the Church. It was a way for everyone to say that though their sins may not be as public, their brokenness was just as grievous as anyone else’s. It was a way for the Church to say to one another, “We are all in the business of sin, shame, guilt, and brokenness together.”
As I sat and listened to Tiger get torn to shreds by most everyone, and reflected on all the derogatory, arrogant, and condescending comments that have been made about Tiger (by all people – Christians included) I began to think about my ashes. I heard the words that our faith community prayed together the day before, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” I began to think about my shortcomings, my sin, and my arrogance. I began to contemplate that if everyone knew the sins of my heart, the sins that I am capable of conjuring, the schemes I have considered - then you would know that I, too, am a sinner. And you would probably want to treat me the same way Tiger is being treated.
I found myself reflecting on the first series of Tiger Woods Nike commercials. And like all those kids, but in a completely different context, my ashes were a declaration saying, “I am Tiger Woods.”
Some content adapted with permisson from Stuart Malloy, Copyright 2009 CRI Voice, Insitute