Epiphany 4a - conclusion

Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12

I’ve been working all morning at the Starbucks on west 7th street checking off one by one all the things on my Outlook to do list. This blog is the last “to do” and then I’m going for a run in Trinity Park on a beautiful sunny day in Fort Worth, TX, temporary home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. My other downtown haunt, The Flying Saucer, has been surrounded by ESPN which will be broadcasting live from Sun Dance Square. When you see all of the resources that go into televising what is essentially a game of regulated aggression (as in they are not permitted to kill each other) played by really big, fast, smart and strong men it boggles the mind. But it does give one pause in light of this week’s texts. Micah’s “Do justice, act with kindness and walk humbly with God” probably won’t be on the minds of the offensive line. The psalmist wouldn’t last very long on the grid iron where doing harm to neighbor is what the defensive line intends to do. God coming in weakness and foolishness is certainly counter to the culture that created football. And finally the only “blessed are you” in the playbook is blessed are the champions. I know this is a pretty silly post this morning but it does beg the question, what if we were to put as much energy and resources and passion into the desire of God’s heart as expressed through the texts for Epiphany 4a? What kind of a world would that be? I’m just asking. That is not to say I won’t be jumping for joy when the Pack scores or yelling at the official for a bad call or crying out in agony if Rodgers is picked off. I believe watching football is a participatory sport. And so is the life of faith –as in participating, not the sport part. So let’s get out there and kick some butt, metaphorically speaking, of course.