May the mumbling commence!
Super Blackout Bowl! Like many people in the US, I went to a Super Bowl Party. I even watched a majority of the football game. After a halftime a brazen sexual innuendo, there was a half black of the lights in the Superdome.
There are many theories that can be constructed as to the cause of the blackout. I wonder, though, if God wasn’t voicing His displeasure. And I am not only speaking of the halftime show. On a day set aside to worship God, millions of Americans ere worshiping football and consumerism and sexism.
Sports Illustrated had a thought-provoking article about the intersection of football and religion. Are they truly compatible? They vie for the same time in our Sundays. Jesus spoke of peace and justice and reconciliation. Football is about might being right and about dominance and intimidation.
How would Jesus play football? Better yet… would Jesus play football?
For those of you who do not know me, these words are hard to speak and swallow. I was raised in Northeastern Ohio. I was raised on football and rock-n-roll. But I am openly asking myself the question: can football’s violence be integrated into the mission of Jesus?
How would Jesus redeem football? It is the modern day version of gladiators who fight for our entertainment. Would Jesus seek to redeem the violence and the “anything goes to win” attitude? I believe that Jesus seeks to redeem the men of football… which may mean the demise of football – at least as we now know it.
Psalm one-hundred forty-six tells some about the mission of Jesus. Read a passage from it below:
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down. (Verses 5-9)
It is the upside-down kingdom of God. Our happiness and hope depend only on Him – not on who wins the football game on Sunday or Saturday or Friday. Our Lord made everything that we can see. That same Creator offers us truth through His Word.
Are you ready for some… JESUS?
The oppressed get justice. The hungry are fed. Can I hear a Souper Bowl out there?!? The prisoners are freed. The blind gain new sight. The bowed down are raised up. The righteous are loved. The strangers and aliens (illegal or not) are watched over. Widows and orphans are cared for.
That, my brothers and sisters, is the kingdom of football and commercialism and sexism turned on its head!
Praise the Lord!
Let us learn His ways. Let us listen to His learning goals as expressed at the beginning of the book of Proverbs:
To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion –
A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles. (Verses 2-6)
The student will be able to… know wisdom and instruction, perceive words of understanding, receive instruction of wisdom and justice and equity, and give prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young. Increase our learning and understanding of Your ways, O Lord. We want Your upside-down kingdom.
Solve the riddles that perplex us. Show us a new way – The Way, the Way of Jesus.
Are you ready for Jesus?
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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