Jesus on MY team!

With two hours to go before kickoff at the Super Bowl, the guys at the party headed out back for a quick game of pick-up football.  Just like on the playground they had to organize teams, so Colin and Ray appointed themselves as captains and flipped a coin to decide who got to choose first.  Ray won and didn’t hesitate.  “I choose Jesus.”

Colin looked around.  “Jesus?  I don’t see a Jesus here.”

“You mean to tell me that you don’t think Jesus is here?  Isn’t Jesus everywhere?”

“THAT Jesus?  Well, yeah, I guess.  But Jesus on your team?  I don’t get it!”

“It’s simple, Colin.  With Jesus on my team, we can’t lose.  We’ll make all the big catches…the right throws…the best moves.  Everything is bound to go our way.”

Colin shook his head and called Tim over to his team.  Soon the teams were divided and the game could get underway.  Since Ray chose first, his team had to kick off.  Colin’s team lined up, ready to return the kick.  Ray’s team stayed in a huddle for a long time. 

Finally Colin yelled, “Hey Ray!  Are we going to play or just sit around all day?”

Ray stuck his head from the huddle, “Shh!  We’re praying!”

“You’re what?”

“We’re praying!  Jesus is on our team and we need to be sure he’s in on the plays.  Give us a minute and we’ll be set to go.”

Soon the game began with a booming kick, which Colin tracked down…and promptly dropped.  Ray pounced on the fumble.

“There you go, Colin!  It’s working.  I asked Jesus to make you fumble.  It worked.  Looks like my choice of team isn’t so bad after all, is it?”

Colin dusted himself off.  “You’ve got to be kidding me.  You can’t seriously believe that Jesus is helping you to win this game, do you?

 “Why not?  We got it all figured out.  We’ll pray before each play.  We’ll point to heaven after each touchdown.  Look at who I chose to be on the team!  These are men who believe.  We’ll be the faithful ones.  We can’t miss!  You’re going down, Colin!  Admit it!”

“What makes you think that God cares about a silly football game?”

“I’m not alone, Colin!  According to the Public Religion Research Institute, more than a quarter of Americans believe that God plays a hand in the outcome of sporting events, and more than half believe that God rewards religious athletes with health and success.  Just look at Ray Lewis!  He talks a good talk of faith and he’s gotten his team to the Super Bowl and played brilliantly.  Trust me, it works!  Jesus got you to fumble the kickoff, didn’t He?”

“Sounds crazy to me!”

“Colin, are you trying to tell me that God doesn’t care about football?”

“Not at all.  God cares about everything that happens in this world, but for every person praying for your team to win there is another person praying for the other team to win.  How does that work?”

“I don’t know, Colin.  Maybe God weighs all the prayers from each team and decides who’s the most faithful group.  In this case, it’s us!”

“If that’s the case, Ray, then Packers fans must pray a whole lot more than you Vikings fans.  I think the Pack has four Super Bowl rings…how many do the Vikes have?”

“Ok, ok, I get your point.  I never thought of Packers fans as overly religious.”

“Ray, it sounds like you want to control Jesus.  You think that by doing the right things you can twist God’s arm to do what you want God to do.  That’s a lot of power you think you hold over God!  Maybe instead of using prayer as a tool to get God to help your team, perhaps you could be asking God what you can do on Jesus’ team.”

“Jesus’ team?  I know the Cowboys are America’s team…who is God’s?  The Saints?”

“Faith isn’t all about football, Ray.  God’s busy all over the place using God’s people to make a difference in this world.  God can use you in great ways, Ray.  There are hungry people to feed, lonely people to comfort, folks in need of love and compassion.  There may not be a Super Bowl ring waiting at the end of it, but perhaps you’ll get a fist bump from the man in charge.”

“God does fist bumps?”

“Why not?  I think it’s in Leviticus somewhere.  Enough talking…we have a game to play!  It’s first down.  Bring it on!”