Board Member Guest Column by Cody Carlson
I recognized Isaac’s form at a distance. As he approached closer I saw blood streaming down his face. The crowd parted slightly to let him through, but people only stared! I was embarrassed to be that dad, the one who lost his kid at the zoo, but I was furious with others because no one was helping him. As I moved as quickly as I could manage, it flashed through my mind that he had fallen into a pit with wild animals. But he wasn’t afraid at all. He didn’t appear to be in pain. On closer inspection I saw that it wasn’t blood, it was face paint! Isaac, being Isaac, slipped away undetected and gave his allowance to the zoo’s face-paint artist demanding that he paint him as a zombie, while I anxiously searched for him. Though it wasn’t what it appeared, momentary shame, fear, and anger imprinted the motion of the crowd on my mind.
The “motion” is a metaphor to me. It comes in stark contrast to the “Good Samaritan”, or the heroics of the “Paris Spiderman” Mamadou Gassama who heroically ascended balcony after balcony to save a four year old child dangling from a railing 40 feet above the ground. When Jesus told the Pharisees “Go find out what this means, I desire mercy not sacrifice” wasn’t he saying “remember and read again that God said the greatest commandment is to love your Creator (because he loved you first) and your neighbor (because God loves him too)… your laws are of no value without your compassion and without God’s compassion.”
It is with this in mind that we should applaud Baylor student-athletes and staff members who traveled to Puerto Rico in May to give assistance to people who endured great hardship. Instead of taking a well-deserved rest during the semester break, they embarked on an exhausting mission trip to help others! Our young fellow letterwinners, through the Baylor Sports Ministry program, continue to present Jesus Christ in word and in action, expressing God’s desire.
Cody Carlson
Football Letterwinner 1983-86
“B” Association Board Member
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