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.
Back in the mid
and late 1980s, the Edmonton Oilers were an awesome, dominant,
Stanley Cup winning team. But things have changed since then, and
they seem to be perpetually rebuilding, hoping to contend “next
year”.
That was the case
in 1997, when they squeaked into the playoffs at the end of the
season and drew the Dallas Stars in the first round. Dallas had a
great team that year. They were second in the overall standings, and
entered the playoffs on a serious hot streak. And since they had
swept the season series with the Oilers, they were heavy favourites
as the playoff series began.
In the series
opener in Dallas, it was all Stars. The final score, 5-3 Dallas,
sounded like a closer game than what the fans and TV viewers saw. But
Edmonton earned a split of the first two games in Dallas, when their
defence clamped down and gave them a 4-0 shutout win in game 2.
The series moved
to Edmonton for game 3. And again, it was all Dallas. At least, for
most of the game. As time ticked down in the 3rd period,
Dallas had a comfortable 3-goal lead. But with the game seemingly
well in hand, Dallas fell asleep on defence. Bang! Bang! Bang!
Edmonton scored 3 times in the final 4 minutes of the 3rd
period, to tie the game, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and the
game to overtime.
Then, 9 minutes
into overtime, Edmonton beat goalie Andy Moog, a former Oiler no
less, for the game-winner. Now, with back-to-back wins, especially,
the thrilling come-from-behind victory in game 3, Edmonton played the
rest of the series with new confidence. And when the series went to
game 7 in Dallas, the Oilers did not break under the pressure. They
forced game 7 to go to extra time, and won that one, too, taking the
series 4 games to 3. If anyone broke under the pressure, it was
Dallas.
Despite their
awesome regular season, Dallas seemed unprepared for the defensive
effort and tenacity of the Oilers. They seemed to lose their focus at
times in the series, especially in that crucial game 3, and the loss
of focus led to a loss in the series and a surprisingly early exit
from the playoffs.
I see a parallel
with our lives. It would be an interesting exercise to make a list of
our activities and priorities and commitments, and see where God
ranks on the list. Because it is so easy to become distracted by
things like health worries, or family squabbles or making ends meet,
or paying for that new toy. And before we know it, our lives have
lost their focus.
In Luke
12, Jesus tells a parable about a rich fool, a man who was so focused
on building bigger and better barns and increasing his personal
wealth, that he stopped paying attention to the things of God and put
his focus on the wrong things. But like game 7 in Dallas, when the
time of the rich man's death came, it was too late to put his focus
back on God where it belonged.
My prayer is that,
as you face life's complications and responsibilities and
commitments, you will involve God in your life at every opportunity.
It's the best way to stay focused on God, and will prepare you for
what really matters.
For St Patrick's
Church, I'm Steve Page.
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