Good morning, I'm
the Rev Steve Page from St Patrick's Anglican Church, and you're
listening to the Daily Devotional moment, sponsored by the Hudson Bay
Ministerial.
This month, I'm
drawing our images of Christian faith and spirituality from the
world of Sports.
Sports are always
at their most exciting when the game comes down to the final seconds,
or the last at-bat, or the final hole of the final round. And the
bigger the stage, the more exciting and tense these final moments
are.
The Super Bowl is
one of the biggest stages in the world. This year's is just around
the corner. Every year a hundred million people watch the Super Bowl.
Not everyone stays to the end of a blow-out, but the close games are
riveting.
That was
especially the case in Super Bowl X in 1976, between the
defending-champion and heavily favoured Pittsburgh Steelers and the
underdog Dallas Cowboys.
The game went down
to the wire. Dallas scored first, when Roger Staubach connected with
Drew Pearson for a touchdown. But behind Terry Bradshaw, the Steelers
tied the game at 7 a few minutes later.
A field goal put
Dallas up 10-7 at the half, a score that held through the end of the
3rd quarter.
But the Steelers
were known for a ferocious defence, nicknamed the Steel Curtain. And
they turned the game in Pittsburgh's favour. They blocked a punt
through the end zone for a 2-point safety, cutting the lead to 10-9.
Then, as the momentum swung to the Steelers, they added a pair of
field goals and a long touchdown by Lynn Swann with just 3 minutes to
play, opening up a huge 21-10 lead.
But Staubach led
the Cowboys back down the field in just 5 plays. He hit rookie
receiver Percy Howard for a 34-yard touchdown, making it 21-17. It
was the first and only catch Percy Howard would ever make in an NFL
game. Someday I'm sure I'll turn that little bit of trivia into an
illustration. But not today. Because the game wasn't over.
Dallas failed to
recover their onside kick, but the Steelers could not run out the
clock. Dallas got the ball back with just 1:22 left, and had one last
chance to pull off the come-from-behind upset. They moved to the
Pittsburgh 38-yard line, but Pittsburgh safety Glen Edwards
intercepted the ball in the end zone as time expired.
Pittsburgh won the
Super Bowl! Dallas almost pulled off the big comeback. But almost
doesn't count for much in the Super Bowl. The cliche says that
“almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” Almost
winning the Super Bowl is not the same as winning it.
Life, unlike
football, is more of a mixed bag when it comes to almost.
Sometimes, almost is ok. I almost hit that deer, but thank God, it
got out of the way! Or almost can give us the encouragement to try
again, and maybe achieve our goals and dreams next time.
But other times
almost is a failure or a disappointment. For example: The rich young
ruler in the Gospel of Luke chapter 18 almost became a follower of
Jesus, but walked away. Following Jesus was too hard for him, and he
chickened out and went home. King Agrippa in Acts chapter 25 and 26
almost became a Christian, but turned away when the moment of
decision came.
Such examples are
sad. God does not want us to almost follow Christ. To almost believe.
To almost trust him. If we almost do good things for others, or if we
almost spend time with God in prayer and with other followers at a
local church, almost but not quite, in such cases Almost is a
sad word.
My prayer is that
you will really and truly seek to follow God with your whole heart
and mind and life. That you won't turn away like the rich young
ruler, or run out of time like the Dallas Cowboys. “Come, follow
me,” Jesus said. No Almost about it.
For St Patrick's
Church, I'm Steve Page.
Another fine example of ALMOST in the Super Bowl was Rams - Titans back in 2000, when the Rams stopped Tennessee from scoring the tying TD inside the 1-yard line on the final play of the game.
ReplyDelete