Last night I witnessed one of the most exciting endings to a high school football game I have ever seen. It was Rochester versus Farmington. Rochester had a 14 - 6 lead with less than two minutes left when Farmington got the ball. It was a back and forth battle. On one play, Rochester would tackle the Farmington player for a loss. The next play would be a good gain.
The anxiety in the crowd rose to another level when a pass interference penalty was called against Rochester, and Farmington found themselves inside the 10-yard line. With less than a minute to play, the Farmington quarterback lofted a pass to the right side of the endzone, the receiver stretched out his arms, caught the ball, and kept his feet inbounds. Touchdown!
You could sense the disappointment in the stands, but there was still hope. But on the extra-point conversion, Farmington scored to tie it up at 14 - 14, with 33 seconds left to play.
On the ensuing kick-off, the excitement returned to the crowd as Rochester ran it back to the Farmington 30-yard line. Rochester took one shot at the endzone, but the pass was incomplete. With only eleven seconds left in the game, the coach sent the field goal unit onto the field to attempt a 46-yard field goal. The crowd was tense as they remembered the much shorter field goal the kicker had missed only moments earlier.
The ball was snapped. The holder placed the football on the kicking tee. The kicker's foot made contact with the ball and it cleared the outstretched hands of the defenders. It was one of those "slow motion" moments where it felt like everything was going at half speed. You could sense the collective holding of breath throughout the stands. The ball was getting closer and closer. It didn't look like it would make it. But, looking like it was willed there by the crowd, the ball hit the upright and bounced through for a field goal.
The score was 17 - 14 with less than ten seconds left. The crowd was both shocked and elated. People were cheering in disbelief. There are a lot of NFL kickers that might have missed this 46-yard field goal. But this high school player gave it just enough leg to get through the uprights and bring his team the victory.
Why don't followers of Jesus take risks like this more often? It was a risk. The kick could have been blocked and returned for a touchdown. A lot of "bad" things could have happened. But he elected to go for it. There would be no "take a knee and try in overtime." The coach didn't want to throw one more pass down the field hoping for something to happen. Instead he put the fate of the team in the kick of a 46-yard field goal.
We will often choose to walk the other way than help the homeless person or someone we see crying.
We think it's more important to get to church on time than to stop to help someone stranded on the side of the road.
We find ourselves laughing at gossip or tasteless jokes instead of taking the risk of standing up for the other person.
We might choose to spend evenings in the comfort of our homes instead of reaching out to help the untouchable of society.
We can buy into the lie that a nicer car or home is more valuable than giving our time and money to the people Jesus would have served.
Many of us like "play it safe" Christianity. You know, the Christianity where our giving is only in a plate and our sacrifice is really not much sacrifice at all. In our culture of Social Security, nest eggs, and safety nets, we have lost something. Social Security in Jesus' economy means that the young take care of the elderly. It doesn't mean we let the government take over the roll God intended for the church. In Jesus' world, a nest egg is what a family builds together and passes down from one generation to the next. Safety nets in the Kingdom of God is the trust in a family of believers that is present in times of need.
Trusting God is risky business. But with pensions, 401(k)s, and IRAs, we have been trained to take care of ourselves. We have been taught that we are responsible for our own future. But is that really what God calls us to do?
I am not against being responsible, hard-working, and wise, but I fear that our economic system has, in some ways, robbed us of the importance of community. We have lost sight of the trust and faith that comes out of placing our security in a group of people, not a bank account.
Would people look at Christians like we were weird if we all stopped putting money into retirement accounts and gave it to our elderly members instead? Probably.
Would the world think we were insane if we all canceled our health insurance policies and helped pay each other's medical bills?
Would our neighbors make fun of us if we moved to a neighborhood with smaller, less expensive housing so we could cut back our hours at work and spend more time with our friends and family?
Would friends at school think a teenager was crazy if he tutored the student struggling in school instead of making fun of him?
God has called us to be risk takers. He has created us to do things the world thinks is foolish. The apostle Paul wrote, "The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for
destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of
God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Why does Christianity seem to be a dying religion in our country? Many would say it is irrelevant, outdated, and unnecessary. I would argue that Christianity is losing it's power because we have stopped taking risks for the Kingdom of God. Maybe it's time we stopped making the cross a piece of jewelry and a topic of discussion, and instead, live out the risky sacrifice it represents.
shine!
Jason
No comments:
Post a Comment