Sermon
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Comparing Christianity to the Superbowl
In
honor of the Superbowl being played in
There
is no one on either team who is a slacker, or lazy. All are in top physical condition. All are dedicated. All have to be consistent. This is what it takes to reach the pinnacle
of success in the National Football League—the Superbowl. These past two weeks since the Championship
Weekend, these players have still been hitting the weight room, still been
watching game film, still been practicing.
During the season, and even during the off-season, none of them take
very much time off—staying in top physical condition takes constant work and
dedication. The Superbowl is what every
little kid who’s ever picked up a football has dreamed about. It is what keeps athletes motivated in
training camp when it is 100 degrees in July.
It is why they compete—to be the best.
The
pinnacle of success for the Christian is salvation, entering into God’s
kingdom. Our life on earth is a
combination between training camp and the regular season. During training camp, teams focus on
developing skills, not wins and losses.
In the regular season and in the playoffs, wins and losses are all that
matter, because wins and losses determine who is going to the Superbowl to
play, and who is sitting home today and watching. There are periods in life where we are
training—when we are young and learning about God, when we were going to Sunday
school, when we are in church on a Sunday worshipping and learning, when we go
to summer camp, during Lent and Holy Week, when we go to confession, these are
all opportunities to train to be better Christians. The regular season is the rest of life—our
faith and how we live it out, our marriages, how we act at work, what we
contribute to the world, who we help, how much we share, our overall demeanor,
are we a happy person or a miserable person, do we spread happiness or misery—this
is where our salvation is in large part determined. So that when the regular season ends, when
our life on earth ends, some go to the pinnacle of success, heaven, and the
rest do not.
Every
member of the football team has value.
Most people key in on the quarterback as the glamour position. Every kid who dreams of playing football
wants to be the quarterback, not the offensive guard or the special teams
player. But where would the quarterback
be without the offensive line? Put a great
quarterback behind a mediocre offensive line and he won’t do very well. Any team’s passing attack can be neutralized
if there is no running game. Even the
most potent offense eventually is on the sidelines—without a defense it’s
awfully hard to win. And as the saying
goes, if you can’t score, you can’t win, so the best defense goes for naught if
the offense can’t put some points on the board.
In football, there are 11 people on the field at any one time—all are
needed in order for the plays to be successful.
Every
Christian life has value, just like every member of the football team has
value. We have our idea of the “glamour”
positions in our society. Most kids grow
up daydreaming about being athletes or actresses, some want to be President of
the
On
a football team, there is a coach who provides the direction, coordinators who
help develop the plays, and the players who execute the plays. On a football team, there is one goal—to
win. But how a team wins is based on a
system, based on the coach and the personnel on the field—the Pittsburgh
Steelers rely heavily on their defense.
The Arizona Cardinals focus on trying to outscore their opponent. The Steelers have a balanced offense that
mixes up the pass and the run. The
Cardinals throw on almost every down to a large group talented receivers.
Every
church is like a football team. In the
church, there is one goal—to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But there are various ways in which to do
that, based on the priest and the make-up of a particular congregation. What
this congregation will support—increased use of English, strong catechism for
children and adults, weekday liturgical life—this is not only my vision, but it
is supported by the people we have here.
In a different church, maybe there would need to be more Greek, or more
services, or catechism wouldn’t be supported to the degree that it is
here. So we work to our strengths. And just like on the football team, the
church has a coach, the priest who provides the direction, leadership and
vision for the team. The parish council
acts like the offensive and defensive coordinators, helping the coach to call
the plays. There are some “skill”
positions, like the festival chairman, the choir director, the chanter, and the
Sunday school director and others. And
there are support positions like the Sunday school teachers, the choir members,
and the faithful stewards of the church.
Who is more important, the choir director or the choir members? A good choir director can’t do much without a
good choir, just like a good quarterback isn’t going to go far without an offensive
line. And vice versa, the offensive line
goes for naught if the quarterback can’t get the ball where it belongs, and the
good choir falls apart without a leader providing the direction. And I could make dozens of other example on
how the people and the ministries in this parish are interdependent on one
another.
A
football team normally carries 53 people on the roster in the NFL. A coach was once asked, which of the 53 could
you afford to eliminate? He thought hard
and said, “If one or two were not playing very well or very hard, or were
ruining the team chemistry, I would eliminate those one or two. However, when all are playing well, playing
hard, and contributing to the team chemistry, they are all of value, from man
number one to man number 53, so I’d keep them all.” Who is of the most value to the church
community? Each person who is
contributing in a positive way. The ones
who are worshipping, praying, learning and encouraging have infinite value,
whether they are the priest, the person who has been in this community 80
years, or the baby who just got baptized.
The only people who lack value in the community are the gossipmongers,
the antagonists, because they aren’t team players, because they isolate
themselves from the team. Elite football
teams don’t “carry” players—every player on the roster has value. And elite churches shouldn’t “carry” people
either—every member must have value.
Every
Christian life is like a football game—football games are generally won “in the trenches”. They are generally won with statistics like
who commits the fewest turnovers, who has the most time of possession, who
gives up the fewest sacks, or who has the fewest penalties. Football is not won by who throws the longest
bomb, but who can get the short yard when they really need it. Football games are not always won by the team
with the most talent, but usually by the team with the most discipline, who has
prepared well, who makes the fewest mistakes come game time.
There
is a term in football that is called the “Hail Mary” pass—it is used in
desperation, when the quarterback heaves the ball down the field and hopes that
someone catches it. Once in a while,
this play works and most of the time it doesn’t. That’s why it is saved for times of desperation
and not done at the beginning of a game.
The players know that a Hail Mary pass isn’t usually going to win them
the game. They know that consistency on
each play is what is important. Ask a
coach how many plays in a game are unimportant, and he is going to say none of
them—each team has to make the most out of each play. In the Christian life, some people use the
church and prayer the same way the football team uses the Hail Mary pass—in
desperation. They get so far behind in
the game of life that they just toss up a prayer and hope it hits
something. And just like the desperation
pass in football doesn’t usually work, the prayer made only in desperation
doesn’t have as much value either. Its
consistency and discipline in prayer that make for a consistent and disciplined
Christian life. And just like in the
football game, every play in life counts.
When a play goes bad for the football team, and they lose two yards on
first down, they know they have to try harder because they now need 12 yards to
get a first down. When there is a
penalty, there has to be extra effort.
And when the team turns the ball over, they have to work hard to get it
back. In the Christian life, when one
makes a bad play, they have to try harder on the next one. When one is setback by sin or by life’s
circumstances, again there needs to be extra effort to get going on the right
track. Finally, the successful football
team is constantly making adjustments, after each play, after each series, at
halftime, right down to the last play.
And the successful Christian is making adjustments constantly as well,
each year, each month, each day, and at several points during the day. And sometimes, just like with the football
team, all it takes is one or two plays to turn the entire game, or a person’s
life around. It takes discipline and
lots of good plays to keep the game going well.
It’s not one or two plays that wins or loses the game—it’s all of them
in total. And most of all, what impacts
the outcome of a game is what happens before the game—it’s the coaching, the
conditioning, the preparation. One
cannot cross the goal-line into heaven without the proper coaching,
conditioning and preparation. The church
provides the coaching, the scriptures provide the conditioning, the preparation
is up to each player on the team, each member of the congregation. Each player on the field tonight will
experience the glory of playing in the Superbowl—know that each experienced the
pain of the weight-room, the heat of the summer, the loneliness of running, and
the tediousness of the playbook in order to get here. Each person who gets to heaven will
experience the glory of God. But each
must experience the struggle with sin, the pangs of doubt, the sadness of
disappointment and times of loneliness in order to get there.
I’m
looking forward to watching the game tonight—I don’t really care who wins as I
am not really a fan of either team. I am
a fan of two players, however, one on each team. The quarterback of the Cardinals is a devout
Christian—he has won the Superbowl before, and the last time he was on the
victory stand, first said, “I give glory to Jesus Christ my Savior.” The safety of the Pittsburgh Steelers, their
best player, is a devout Orthodox Christian.
He makes his cross on every play. He worships at a monastery every
Tuesday on his off day, since he can’t go to church on Sundays. His name is Troy Palomalu but his Orthodox
name is Tryphon and ironically, today is the feastday of St. Tryphon. I printed an interview he gave in the January
Messenger—as I said, he worships every Tuesday, doesn’t go out partying with
the guys, but puts faith and family first.
What a witness for Orthodoxy. In
almost every article you read about him, you hear about his hair, his hard
hitting, and his FAITH. Amazing that his
faith makes it into every article written about him. Do we witness for our faith in any way at our
jobs? Is there an icon on our desk, or a
cross on our neck? Does Orthodoxy ever make it into a conversation in the
lunchroom? Do you ever make the sign of
the cross around other people who are not Orthodox? I’m not saying brow beat people with
Orthodoxy, but rather a simple witness.
Either
the quarterback of the Cardinals or the Safety of the Steelers is going to go
out a winner on the football field tonight.
The other will go out a loser.
But I guarantee that while this game is of great importance to both, on
a spiritual level, they know it is just a game, that the most important thing
in life is the battle for God’s kingdom, not NFL supremacy.
The
biggest difference between the NFL and the Christian life is that only one out
of the 32 teams will end the season as Superbowl champs. And while many teams have a shot at the
playoffs each year, you know that when the year starts, there are a few teams,
like the Lions or the Raiders that really have no chance. In the Christian life, there is parity, that
means everyone Christian has the potential to go to heaven—all you’ve got to do
is practice hard and be disciplined. And
in the game of life, you don’t have to do spectacular things, just do the
little things well—avoid penalties, don’t turn the ball over, play hard on
every play, and when you lose a yard, dust yourself off and get it back. Enjoy the game tonight.