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SUPER BOWL SUNDAY I’ve always enjoyed a good pep rally. Back in my high school days, we’d all meet at the empty football stadium right after school. There’d be a big huge bonfire where we roasted the other team’s mascot. There’s always be someone yelling through a megaphone and the crowd would roar whenever given the right cue from the speaker. There’d be cheerleaders in their uniforms dancing, the band would be playing all the school songs, people would be dressed in the school colors and have banners, and of course, the football team would be there. The event was always a success. No one ever walked away from these events saying, “This was a dud, that did nothing for me.” Pep rallies work because people who attend are not looking for what they can get out of it, they are there to be a part of it. There’s a purpose – appreciating and supporting the team. Everyone understands why they are there. Just before our gospel lesson for today, Jesus holds a pep rally. He gathered all the disciples around at Caesarea Philippi and he asked them, “Who am I?” And they respond, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Only can you picture him doing it pep rally style. WHO AM I? MESSIAH! WHO AM I? MESSIAH! And then after he gets them giving the right answer, he tells them about what the game is going to look like. I’m gonna go straight to Jerusalem, and I’m going to challenge those Pharisees, and they’re gonna beat me down, and rough me up. Heck, they’ll probably even kill me - but then I’m comin’ back to life, baby! And everyone cheered, right? Okay, probably didn’t happen quite like that, but you get the idea. In the story before our gospel lesson, Jesus is prepping the disciples for the big game to come. Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of people who get confused about what the big game is all about. A lot of people think that coming to church every week is like the big game. And what we do here in this building is all God wants us to be doing. These people have confused the big game for the pep rally. Coming to worship on Sunday mornings is not the game – it’s the pep rally. We get all dressed up, we sing songs, we listen to some sometimes-inspiring speeches, the band plays, and we all gather altogether – fans and players alike. We all consider ourselves on the same side, rooting for the same team……but yet, not all of us feel or act like we’re actual players. We sometimes just come to church on Sundays, sing the songs, and go home…we’re either reluctant to get involved or don’t know how or don’t feel like we can. Many of us act more like fans of Jesus, rather than actually being on the team – faithful pep rally attenders, but not much more than that. On January 2, 1922, Texas A&M was playing football against the greatly favored Center College. As the game wore on, A&M was running out of playing through injury and exhaustion, when the coach remember E. King Gill. He was a guy who sometimes practiced with the team, but never really made the team. Gill happened to be in the stands that game, cheering the team on. So the coach looked up in the stands, found Gill, and called him down from the stands. “Go grab a uniform and get in this game!” He told Gill. And thus, the 12th Man tradition was born at Texas A&M. To this day, all the fans at their games stand at the ready, just in case the coach decides to call one of them onto the playing field. I tell you that so I can tell you this – God calls all of us to be on the team. He doesn’t want us just standing there, cheering other people on – he wants all of us doing something, playing a vital role on the team. So, what is the purpose of God’s team? Its probably not to play football. I have a clip to show you about the purpose of being on God’s team. The clip is from the movie Facing the Giants, and the coach is struggling with that same question – What is the purpose of his team? As you watch this, everytime he says football team, substitute in your mind “going to church”.
PLAY CLIP
Coming to church is too small a thing to live for. Life is not about us. If we come to church every Sunday and fail to honor Jesus in the rest of our lives, we’ve done nothing. Going to church is just one of the tools we use to honor God. What are you living for? My friends, coming to church is just the beginning, the pep rally. Worship is not about what we can get out of it, but rather, being a part of it. The big game starts as soon as we walk out those doors and begin honoring God with our lives. That is what we are living and preparing for. So, what on earth does this have to do with the Transfiguration story? Well, what is clear from this story is that Jesus knew the importance of the huddle. With his team of disciples – Peter, James and John – Jesus heads up the mountain. And before his disciples can even figure out what was happening, Jesus changed – big time! His face was so bright it hurt your eyes to stare at it. His clothes became so white that they look like thousands of those stadium light were shining through them. And then…the huddle. At a professional football game, there may be 60,000 people watching you huddle, but they don’t mind you taking thirty seconds to call the play. They understand that you have to get organized, you have to know where you are going to go, the receivers need to know where to run, the quarterback needs to know where to throw it, and the blockers need to know who to block. The huddle is important because it puts everyone on the same page. But let me inform you, 60,000 people do not pay $40 a ticket to watch you huddle. People come to watch you play the game. The Transfiguration was the huddle before the big play. Moses, Elijah and Jesus were the key players and they were all getting on the same page – the lawmaker of all lawmakers, the prophet of all prophets, and the King of all Kings sat down to verify the next, very important play – the one that would lead Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross. Jesus knew the importance of the huddle, but Peter didn’t. He rushes in, tries to break it up, and wants to just get on with it, calling his own play. But he messed up big time, because he didn’t know the next play. Like each of us often does, he tried to do it on his own and do it his own way. Thankfully, Jesus broke his huddle with Moses & Elijah and then huddled with the disciples, making sure they were good as well. You know, without huddles, we don’t know the next play either. Without gathering with other Christians –outside of our pep rally and on the actual field – we can’t possibly know what plays God is calling in our lives. Without taking some time out there in the game and consulting our playbook, we can get all messed up like Peter did. Here at Hope, we have opportunities to huddle throughout the week, during the game – they’re called ChristCare Small Groups and Adult Christian Education. And each of these huddles has leaders who call the huddle together and working together, the group makes sure everyone is on the same page with the plays that God wants us to run. In your weekly, you have an insert that talks briefly about our ChristCare Small Groups. If you’d like to join one of these groups, please mark that sheet and one the leaders will contact you. We’re also beginning the process of recruiting new ChristCare leaders – our quarterbacks. Please take that insert out and everyone write down at least one name of someone you think would be a good quarterback of a Christcare Group. We’ll be contacting these people and training them this summer – kind of like that Texas A&M coach calling someone in from the stands. We have lots of potential ChristCare leaders out there, we just need people to call them in. GIVE JUST A MOMENT I’ve got one final football story for you. At a recent high school football game in McDermott, Ohio, in the final quarter, Dave Frants and Derek Dewit, the rival coaches called a timeout, conferred together, and agreed upon a highly unusual play. On one team was 17 year-old Jake Porter, a mentally-challenged player. In his 3 years on the team he suited up for every practice, attended every game, but never participated in a game for his own safety. Near the end of this game, the coach called him to come on the field, and the quarterback handed off the ball to him. In a brief moment of confusion, Jake hesitated, then began to run. The opposing team gave way, but without looking too obvious, and Jake ran 49 yards for a touchdown. Then something unexpected occurred. Both sides of the spectators stood up in the stands and cheered. Both bands played. Players from both teams celebrated with their helmets raised to the sky. Jake’s mom ran onto the field to embrace her son. At that moment, for both schools, it became more than a game. Over the next 40 days, we are entering the season of Lent. This Lenten season, God is asking you to join the team. Through Jesus, we learn that there is more to life than just pep rallies and coming to church. He calls us to play the game – honor him with our lives - go out there, suffer, sacrifice, even die – and then, truly live! God’s team is the one that wins and he wants you to be a part of it. Amen.
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