Thursday, Februrary 4, 2009 » Super Bowl Sunday 2007: Colts versus Bears. My pastor, not a native Hoosier, in the presence of a blue-and-white-clad congregation, attempts to give the most appropriate sermon of the season: love your enemies.
Pastor Paul splits our congregation according to teams. Bears fans sit on the left, Colts fans sit on the right. My youth group friends and I stole the last few seats on the right side. And because the Colts fans outnumbered Bears fans at least 2-1, a tiny seventh grader had to sit on my lap.
Pastor Paul began, �A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. �� He proceeded to tell the story of the Good Samaritan, reminding us that we are called to love our enemies, no matter what team they root for.
Then, as a church, we stood up, greeted one another, drove home, ordered pizza, flipped on the TV and began screaming at the rival team for gaining points.
Eating with my family last Sunday, after finishing the first draft of this column, my mom asked me what it was about. I told her that I was writing about the Super Bowl. She laughed. �Your stepdad could do a better job at that,� she said. This isn�t really about sports, is it?
My mom asked me what I could possibly say about sports. I said that I was writing about why people like sports so much.
My stepdad, getting up for more food, answered, �Because people love competition � plain and simple.�
I don�t think that�s it. That may be part of it, but I don�t think that�s all of it. Here�s what I think:
We follow sports because we love being a part of something bigger than ourselves. We realize that our lives aren�t as thrilling as we�d hoped, so we rely on sports. This way we�re part of an adventure.
We follow sports because of community. We like being around people that agree with us. Why do we sit in the appropriate �home� or �visitor� sections at the stadium? We like sitting next to the people who want the same things we want. We celebrate wins with our team; we mourn losses.
We follow sports because we love being the best. Even if we can�t dribble a ball or hit a puck straight, we can associate with people who do. We can still be number one without having to do any work on our own.
So what�s the point? Why does it matter whether or not we follow sports for admirable reasons or not? Or even more, why am I telling you this when I, Lauren, could care less about sports?
I am concerned. I worry some of us try to live vicariously through sports teams the same way others try to live through the media. Do we get caught up in stories that are bigger than ourselves, yet miniscule in the grand scheme of things?
In my communications courses, we talk a lot about why we consume media. Most of the time, we consume media to escape from the world. I watch TV when I need a break from the reality of homework. I listen to music to drown out the noise around me.
There�s nothing wrong with that per se, but if media or sports become our only safe haven, why rely on Christ? If movies can bring us hope, why go to God in prayer?
I wish I was as passionate about God as I am about finding a new favorite band or seeing an epic movie. I wish I was as quick to love my neighbor as I am to put ear buds in.
I like that sports and the media let us practice living for bigger things (for a team instead of just little old me). But frankly, there are more important things than sports and more important than the media.
We are children of God. We are called to live for something not only bigger than ourselves, but bigger than sports, bigger than the media, bigger than anything the world offers. So on Sunday, when the Colts take on the Saints, try to remember that in the grand scheme of things, it�s just a game.
(Go Colts!)