Football and Faith

Okay, so today is a football playoffs Sunday... not quite the Super Bowl but still high up on the chart of “where are all the people this Sunday morning?”

Some people have argued that sports have become the religion of America and sporting venues the new cathedrals of our generation.  Perhaps in some way that is true.  Considering all the Tebowmania this year, I’ve been wondering about it.

I’m happy to note that St. Andrew was fairly full this morning.  If the Giants were playing the 3 o’clock game, might there might have been a few less?  Hmmmmm.

To our credit, we seem to be able to pull a fair number of attendees for our annual congregational meeting which always seems to fall on Super Bowl Sunday, even though we have a fair number of football fans on the Church Council.  Maybe it’s because we entice them in with lunch, and then the specter of the ULTIMATE football game keeps the meeting short.  A 6:30 pm kickoff time doesn’t hurt either.  I’ve always been somewhat proud of us that we put the business of the church as a top priority and recognize that we can do both… have an early afternoon congregational meeting and still leave time for football.  If the Super Bowl was being held in Giants Stadium (ooops, sorry Jet fans, MetLife Stadium…or better yet, let’s just call it the Meadowlands and leave the corporate sponsors out of it), then perhaps there might be some squawking about the changing the meeting date.

Since the Broncos and Tim Tebow are now officially out of contention for the Super Bowl, it is interesting to reflect on the hype that surrounded that team’s quarterback.  Was God granting success to the Broncos because of the faith of Tim Tebow?  Doubtful.  I don’t think God plays favorites in the football arena.  Plus, there are plenty of other faithful athletes, but none so recently under the national media microscope.

But I do think God was/is there.

If the people will not go to the Church, then perhaps God has come to the people in the place they deem worthy to worship?  If we remove God from schools, government, work places, public places and our everyday lives, then perhaps He has chosen sports as the place to walk among us?

God will not be silenced.

He equips the called and gives them voice.  Through the acts of a faithful football quarterback, the eyes of a nation have been focused on the heart of an athlete… an athlete equipped with the quirky athleticism that makes secular football professionals wonder if something divine isn’t happening, and makes a nation remember that the God of all creation will find a way to walk among us and grab our attention… even when our worship has been misdirected.

(Psssst..... Go Giants!) 

Come and worship with us on Sundays: 8:30 & 10:45 am

Christian Education: 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave.

Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaAndy.org

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today is January 11, 2012 and a day set aside by the U.S. Congress to pay attention to the horror of human trafficking.  I received an e-mail today through our web site from She Is Safe.  (www.SheIsSafe.org)  They have produced a very nice video to introduce people to the problem.  It is nicely and tastefully done.  Check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ughWb-W7OI&feature=youtu.be     I don't know much about this organization so proceed with care if you decide to donate to them, but the video is a great opportunity to begin the discussion of what we can do to help stop the practice of human trafficking.

The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) web site also provides information about how the church can respond to this crime against humanity and offers links to several web sites where additional information can be gathered or where you can donate to help support the efforts of these organizations.  For more information go to:

The Polaris Project  http://www.polarisproject.org/

Cherish Our Children http://cherishourchildren.ctsmemberconnect.net/home-ctrl.do

The U.S. State Department http://www.state.gov/g/tip/

It is so incredibly heart-breaking to think that this crime is growing and is found nearly everywhere, even here in the United States.  The State Department web site notes that UNICEF claims that nearly 2 million children worldwide are subject to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade.  2 MILLION!  And that is only the children...

What can you do?  Learn about the problem.  Talk about the problem.  Seek to support those organizations making a difference.  Pray.

Have you ever encountered a person who was subject to human trafficking?  How did you react?  What did you do?  What should the Church do?  And what should our local churches do?

Would you want to be involved in a study of the subject?  Leave a comment below.


Join us for worship: 8:30 & 10:45 am
Christian Education: 9:45 am
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

Epiphany - Light Comes to a Weary World

The craziness and excesses of the holiday are over.  Winter is settling in and we seem to want nothing more than to stay home and curl up in bed or by the fire.  You know the snow is coming soon.  The days are short and the nights are soooo long.  We wake up in darkness and come home from our daily travels in darkness.  Sometimes we are cooped up in a cubicle with no window, to top it all off.  “Blah,” we say, “What good comes of January?”

It is during the winter, when the snow covers the ground, that roots and seeds that were tucked into the frozen/thawing/frozen ground are insulated and watered by the snow pack and begin to do their molecular thing.   Energy is drawn up from roots.  Flower and leaf buds get their cells together in preparation for the wonder of spring. 

Nature is busy on a molecular level…. And so are we.

God’s work.  Our Hands.

Our hearts and minds have been fed with a heavenly gift, the birth of a Savior.  The seeds of love have been sown.  The stirrings of hearts reaching out to others in a burst of December altruism have put roots into our souls, yearning that it might always feel this way.

January is a recovery time, a planning time, a nurturing time.  Our January calendar is relatively simple… the cleaning up of holiday decorations, the continuation of our regular worship and education programs, and the preparations and planning for a new season… Lent and then Easter.  Already February is full of fun and spiritual events.

So while Epiphany might seem dark, light dawns in our hearts and minds as the seeds of what has been planted in us begin to germinate.

What will become of the seeds planted in you this year?  Will you nurture them with worship and community in Christ?  Will you feed them with Word and Sacrament?  Or will you curl up and leave them dormant within you, just waiting to burst forth with the joy of a God who loves you so much that He would send His Only Son to live within you?

Make your New Year’s Resolution to be a plan to GROW your spirit and plant your roots firmly in a relationship with God and your fellow believers at St. Andrew. 

(come back tomorrow to read some New Year’s Resolutions)

We are called to let our light shine!  Hide it under a bushel?  NO!

How do you plan to let your "God light" shine this year?

Join us for worship on Sundays @ 8:30 and 10:45 am.

Christian Education at 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaAndy.org