Somebody Else (Matthew 25:35-40)

This looks like a job for
. . . SOMEONE ELSE!

I coach t-ball. Well sort of. I am the second base coach for my son's t-ball team. I'm actually more like a gas station attendant. For the fortunate t-ballers who make it to second base, I give directions to third base. Occasionally a kid will come, straight from home plate, looking for first base . . . sorry bud, it was the last exit, you just passed it. The amazing part of this whole scenario is that I've never in my life played organized baseball. Thankfully, I took a few geography classes in college, so finding third base wasn't a problem. For a guy whose natural inclination is to flinch when in the presence of sporting goods, how did I end up in this position?

At the very first t-ball practice, the coach remarked that parents were able to stand on the field and help out. In a very general way, he asked us to direct the kids to the bases. This job seemed too easy. All I needed to do was stand by a base and tell the kids how to get to the next base. Here was my rationale: I need to do this job before they find out I'm an English teacher and recruit me to organize a league newsletter. Here is where my brilliant plan backfired, there were no other jobs.

Hear me out. I don't mind my new responsibility, but there are times when I would like to take an inning off to eat fruit snacks in the clubhouse. Sometimes I hesitate before running out to second (and by running, I meaning walking very slowly). I've offered to apprentice other parents. I've even sent a few kids to the wrong base (not really, but the thought has crossed my mind . . . ). The response is always something along the lines of "but you're doing such a great job" or "the kids already know you." I never planned it, but all of the sudden, my new role as second base gave me a new identity: "somebody else."

Someone else? Oh, you know him. He's the guy, or gal, who gets all the mundane jobs we assume will get done. Who is going to put the toilet paper roll on the holder*? "Someone else" will do it. Who will tell Uncle Larry he can't dance? "Someone else" will do it. Who will take out the trash? unload the dishwasher? coach second base? You get the picture. Notice that "someone else" will never be called on to eat the last piece of pie or take the first swing at the piñata.

Unfortunately, we also rely on "someone else" to do the difficult, yet important tasks that seem overwhelming to us. Who will feed the poor? defend the weak? bring peace to those plagued by war? You guessed it, when it comes to solving the big problems we often leave the answers to "somebody else". Maybe that means the government or the church. The problems of this world seem so daunting that we either feel helpless to solve them or, in frustration, stopped caring. True, by ourselves completely solving these problems is impossible, but isn't there anything we can do? As we sit and wonder, how many helplessly wait on "somebody else"?

* I honestly had no idea how this worked until I was about 22 and living completely on my own. For me, it was one of life's mysteries, you know, like who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong.