Gordon E. Ellis
February 5, 2006
PICKING A WINNER !
OK, WHO is going to WIN today? It’s the big game! It’s the SUPER BOWL! So, how many want the STEELERS to win? And how many want the SEAHAWKS to win? Come on, people: let’s get INTO this! THIS is a HUGE game! MILLIONS of people are going to be WATCHING it! This country is spending BILLIONS of dollars on it! I’ll bet you’d be EXCITED if the PATRIOTS were IN it, or the GIANTS! So, LET’S get INTO it! Let me ask you AGAIN! How MANY want the STEELERS to win? Shout it out! And HOW many want the SEAHAWKS to win? Shout it out! Now, that’s at least a LITTLE better! After all: WINNING is really IMPORTANT, isn’t it? I mean: after today, NOBODY’S going to talk about the LOSERS anymore! So, it’s IMPORTANT to be winners! And it’s important for us to BACK winners!
And WE do it all the TIME, don’t we? Before we buy a CAR or an ENTERTAINMENT system, we check out Consumer Reports! We TALK to people! We do RESEARCH! WE want WINNERS! We want to work for a COMPANY that’s a WINNER! We want to buy STOCKS that are WINNERS! We want to send our KIDS to SCHOOLS that are WINNERS! WE love WINNERS! And that’s why UNIVERSITIES will pay untold MILLIONS to hire WINNING coaches, who will build WINNING athletic teams, because THEN their school will MAKE millions, because people LIKE winners!
And THAT was true in JESUS’ day TOO. In fact, THAT’S what Andrew and Philip are doing in our SCRIPTURE lesson today from JOHN’S gospel. They’ve been disciples of John the Baptist, who was CLEARLY a winner. People came for all OVER to be baptized by JOHN. But NOW, John’s telling them that Jesus is even BIGGER than John, that JOHN’S not even worthy to untie the thong of His SANDAL! SO, off go Philip and Andrew to CHECK out this NEW preacher, JESUS, because THEY want to join and follow a WINNER!
WELL, I think it’s all well and good to back WINNERS. HOWEVER, IF we could x-ray our SOULS to see what REALLY makes us TICK, to see what REALLY gives our lives MEANING and purpose, I think we’d FIND that EACH and every ONE of us has chosen ONE particular winner that’s more IMPORTANT to us than any OTHER; that EACH and every ONE us has, CONSCIOUSLY or UNCONSCIOUSLY, made a SUPREME investment in ONE particular SUPER-winner, or ULTRA-winner, that we’ve made into the MEANING-GIVER of our lives. And friends, THAT’S where we get into TROUBLE!
You see: for MOST Americans today, that ULTRA-winner, that MEANING-GIVER in life, is our AFFLUENT lifestyle. Now, the Bible NEVER says that money is BAD! Money’s not BAD; it’s morally NEUTRAL. In fact, money CAN be a POWERFUL instrument for GOOD in this world! However, money and affluence make LOUSY meaning-givers! I’ve KNOWN people who WORSHIP their money and their affluence. And I’ve REALIZED that they NEVER get ENOUGH of it! And so they NEVER feel SECURE! They always WORRY about LOSING it -- that THIEVES, or the STOCK market, or SOMETHING else, will TAKE it away. I’ve ALSO found that the MORE people WORSHIP their money, the LESS they enjoy SPENDING it. SO, in the last ANALYSIS, the WORSHIP of money and affluence just ends up SHRIVELING up our SOULS -- as WELL as our DISPOSITIONS, because it MOCKS us at midnight, DENYING us the very PEACE of mind which we THOUGHT it would BUY!
ANOTHER super-winner these days is STATUS, or REPUTATION. SOME people focus their PRIMARY attention on having a HIGH, positive PROFILE in the community. And AGAIN, that’s not bad as SECONDARY aim in our lives. Even the BIBLE says that a good NAME is to be SOUGHT after above SILVER and gold. But, IF it’s what gives our lives MEANING and PURPOSE, we stand on VERY shaky ground! One problem with the CHURCH sometimes is that we often PRETEND to be BETTER than we are. SOMETIMES we get holier-than-thou and judgmental, as if WE are somehow BETTER than everyone ELSE! Oh yes, in our prayers of confession, we CALL ourselves SINNERS, but HOW often do we really MEAN it. How often are we just POLISHING up our HUMILITY. One day an elderly woman came out to the Narthex after worship and said to me: WHY do we ALWAYS have to pray a prayer of CONFESSION? I’m not the ONLY one around here who doesn’t FEEL like a sinner! The WAY we CONFESS all the time, you’d think that we were a church full of lustful PAGANS and adulterers, crooked politicians and PORNOGRAPHY addicts! WHY do we need to CONFESS so much?
Well, I hope you’re NOT one of those people she’s talking about, who doesn’t think we NEED to confess, because GOD sees the HEART! And which ONE of us can HONESTLY claim that we NEVER feel any pride or selfishness, any envy or lust, any prejudice or desire for revenge? And friends, THESE are the very SINS that sent JESUS to the cross! The great Protestant reformer, Martin LUTHER, used to say: WE carry His very NAILS in our pockets! Yes, Jesus is CRUCIFIED again and again in this world – DAILY – by OUR sins, and NONE of us is guilt-free! SO, so MUCH for our all-important STATUS and REPUTATION! WE are sinners, like everyone ELSE!
ANOTHER super-winner these days for SOME people is APPEARANCE! Being BEAUTIFUL or handsome or YOUTHFUL is what gives their lives MEANING. How MUCH do people SPEND today on COSMETIC surgery, on MAKE-UP and on other appearance-related items? Yes, we ALL want to be BEAUTIFUL! So is it any WONDER that teenagers sometimes STARVE themselves nearly to DEATH, becoming psychologically TROUBLED in the process, ALL because they’re STRIVING to LOOK like the MODELS on TV and in magazines? Friends, what a FICKLE meaning-giver APPEARANCE is! IMAGINE the TERROR of those who believe that IF they put on a few POUNDS, or LOSE some HAIR, or get a few WRINKLES, or wear BIFOCALS, they will somehow be LESS worthy and LESS loveable! How SAD to believe that our ESSENCE is the OUTSIDE of the package, rather than what’s INSIDE.
And the LAST super-winner I will mention may SURPRISE you. It’s FAMILY! For SOME, it is their FAMILY that gives their lives MEANING and PURPOSE. Now, I know that family sounds WHOLESOME, because IS a wonderful BLESSING, but LIKE the OTHER things I’ve mentioned, it makes a LOUSY meaning-giver! When you make your SPOUSE or your CHILD what gives your life its MEANING, you’re LOADING your family relationships with EMOTIONAL baggage that THEY are NOT meant to BEAR. NORMAL people DON’T want to be WORSHIPPED; they just want to be LOVED! And IF someone who is NOT perfect -- and who makes MISTAKES, as we ALL do -- is what gives your life it’s MEANING and PURPOSE, then you are setting yourself up for a HUGE fall, because your GOD (the thing that gives your life its MEANING) is too SMALL! And ONE day, your whole UNIVERSE will TEETER (or is it TOTTER – teeter totter – I don’t know), because we CANNOT worship PEOPLE or RELATIONSHIPS! WHEN we DO, our relationships become DISTORTED and UNHEALTHY. Friends: FAMILY is a GREAT and wonderful GIFT, but it is a LOUSY God! So, be CAREFUL about THIS one! You DON’T want to lose your life’s MEANING and purpose when your NEST empties, or when your child REJECTS you, or when, God forbid, someone in your family DIES….
So you SEE: we ALL pick our own WINNERS, don’t we? And we GIVE them ultimate importance and ALLEGIANCE! And there is NO lack of choices! There are MULTITUDES of WANNABE gods in this world! There are MULTITUDES of wannabe SUPER-WINNERS! But every ONE of them is BOUND to let us DOWN, and BOUND to disillusion us! And WHEN they do, it HURTS! They MAY bring us JOY for awhile, but they CANNOT sustain it, because they’re NOT God!
Do you remember Nancy Kerrigan, the former U.S. figure skating champion who was BRUTALLY attacked by Tonya Harding, because Tonya wanted to ELIMINATE Nancy from OLYMPIC competition? Do you remember Nancy Kerrigan’s REACTION to that attack? I was very IMPRESSED with her, and still THINK of it whenever the Olympics come around again as they will be next week. She said: I want to TELL the people who are WORRIED about me that I’m OK! Skating is NOT the most important THING, so IF I can’t SKATE, I’ll have to DEAL with it. It COULD have been a lot WORSE! Friends, here was the U.S. Figure Skating CHAMPION, who spent most of her waking hours on SKATES and who was favored a WIN the Olympics, PUBLICLY declaring that SKATING was NOT her super-winner, NOT her meaning-giver in life, NOT her god! It was FANTASTIC, because if skating HAD been her GOD, and IF that attack had shattered her KNEE-CAP, her GOD, the thing that GAVE her life its MEANING and purpose, would be DEAD and GONE!
I heard ANOTHER example on the NEWS Friday night. By the way, I’M routing for the Seahawks tonight, even though Diane and I have cheered on the Steelers ever since she was in college near Pittsburgh back in the days of Franco Harris. And THIS news story is WHY. Mike Holmgren, Seattle’s Head Coach, has sent his wife, Kathy, on a medical mission trip to the Congo this week. She did one 20 years ago and has long wanted to RETURN, and NOW their daughter, Calla, is a medical missionary there, a DOCTOR. SO, for Kathy’s BIRTHDAY, Mike bought her tickets to GO there. And it’s THIS week. SADLY, Kathy won’t even be able to WATCH the Super Bowl. SO, an interviewer ASKED Kathy: Isn’t it upsetting that you’re NOT going to be here for the MOST important day in Mike’s life? And she replied, in FRONT of Mike: It’s TRUE that Mike spends his DAYS on FOOTBALL, and he THOROUGLY enjoys it, but in last analysis, WE know that it’s ONLY entertainment. What’s happening in the CONGO is about LIFE and DEATH. So you see: FOOTBALL, and even winning the SUPER Bowl is NOT what gives the Holmgren family MEANING and purpose in life. And PITY those who DO find their meaning and purpose THERE….
And friends: THAT’S why Christ COMES to us, JUST as He came to those in the SYNAGOGUE in Capernaum in our Scripture Lesson. And BY His teaching, He confronts the DEMONS, the FALSE gods that we WORSHIP! And those demons RECOGNIZE His authority, and feel UNCOMFORTABLE in His presence. And RIGHTLY so, because WHEN we really LISTEN to the gospel, we REALIZE that its DEMANDS are incredible -- and TERRIFYING -- and that NONE of us can even BEGIN to measure UP! NONE of us CONSISTENTLY keeps GOD – and God’s WAYS and God’s VALUES – at the CENTER of our LIVES! Friends, HAVE you ever felt CONFRONTED by the JESUS you meet in the Bible, and STRUGGLED inside, knowing that you AREN’T really living UP to His DEMANDS? Well, I sure have! And the NEXT time you FEEL it, I want you to LISTEN to the FALSE gods WITHIN you! THEY will literally start TALKING to you! THEY will start making up EXCUSES for themselves! THEY will start trying to CONVINCE you that it’s OK to WORSHIP them, because they’re VALID and WORTHY to give your life its MEANING. And THEN, if you BEGIN to let GO of the and they BEGIN to feel THREATENED, they’ll EVEN cry out: WHAT have you to do with US, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to DESTROY us? And they’ll start DEFENDING themselves! They MAY even take you AWAY from CHURCH, or from WHEREVER it is that the gospel is CONFRONTING you: I’m going to QUIT that Bible study. And why IS that our demons DO that? It’s because, deep down, they KNOW how WEAK they really ARE! Deep down they KNOW who the REAL winner is, and WHO has the power to offer you REAL life, or life in ALL its fullness, as Jesus promises! Deep down they KNOW that St. Augustine was RIGHT when he said: When we have traveled ALL ways, we shall come to the END of ALL ways, who says: “I am the WAY!” Yes, deep down, THEY know who God really IS! And they are scared to DEATH that we will STOP worshipping THEM, and START worshipping the one TRUE God!
And CHRIST, of course, wants to HELP us to DO just THAT! CHRIST wants to EXORCIZE those demons, those WANNABE gods, from their seats of HONOR in our lives! CHRIST wants to CONVERT us to the one TRUE and LASTING God, the ONE who will NEVER let us down, and the One who will BRING us FULLNESS of life! Yes, CHRIST wants to SHOUT at our demons: be SILENT and come OUT! And He wants to watch us CONVULSE, because it WILL hurt to let GO of them! Those DEMONS, those false gods, WON’T let go of our lives EASILY or HAPPILY. Yes, CHRIST wants to do BATTLE with our DEMONS! WHY? Because Christ LOVES us and wants us to pick the REAL winner, so that we’ll HAVE fullness of life, rather than living an ILLUSION that will ultimately HURT us, or even DESTROY us, as our ADDICTIONS will, for example.
BUT, the choice is OURS! We EACH have to CHOOSE whether to LISTEN or not, just like ANDREW and PHILIP had to CHOOSE. But NOTICE that ONCE they CHOOSE, it DOESN’T take them LONG to REALIZE who He IS, OR to decide that they will sacrifice EVERYTHING in order to FOLLOW Him! It doesn’t take them LONG before they’re saying: Thy Kingdom COME, which REALLY means, OUR kingdoms GO! NO, it doesn’t take them LONG before they UNDERSTAND who the REAL winner IS! And THAT will be true for US as well, IF we will just PICK the REAL winner and follow HIM. Amen.