For those who know me well and tolerate my die-hard fandom, it will come as no surprise that I fully intend to be in my “other sanctuary” today: Citi Field. I will be there to watch last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, Paul Skenes, and his Pittsburgh Pirates take on my New York Mets on Opening Day.

It is Game One of a 162-game season. Our national pastime offers a welcome distraction amid the busyness of life. Yes, I am excited for Day One.

My Mets boast the best Opening Day record in Major League Baseball. I am hopeful today adds to that legacy and perhaps signals a more successful 2026 season after last year’s disappointment.

Baseball is rich in tradition, many of which begin on Opening Day. One such tradition is the presidential first pitch. In 1910, President William Howard Taft threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Senators game. A large man seated in a small wooden chair, Taft stood during the seventh inning to stretch. The crowd, thinking he was leaving, rose out of respect. Thus began the now familiar seventh-inning stretch. Today, I will gladly join my fellow fans, standing, swaying, and singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” likely a bit off-key.

As much as I love the game, an even greater “Opening Day” is just ten days away. It comes not with the cry of “Play ball,” but with Mary Magdalene’s proclamation: “I have seen the Lord.” The opening of the tomb.

Before that moment, however, there is a kind of spiritual spring training. Holy Week invites us to walk with Jesus through Jerusalem, from the triumph of Palm Sunday to the sorrow of the cross, and finally to the joy of Easter morning.

I invite you to worship with us this Holy Week. We begin this Sunday, March 29, at 9:30 AM with the Passion of Our Lord. After the solemn journey, we will celebrate Easter with a joy greater than any championship parade.

Blessings,

Pastor Marc