In the name of Jesus. Amen. Two little Borghardt boys ran up to me before lunch, fighting for position to be the one who asks the question first. “If now I seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there… But I will find in the sacrament or Gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the Cross.” (AE 40, 214)
In the name of Jesus. Amen. Two little Borghardt boys ran up to me before lunch, fighting for position to be the one who asks the question first.
“Dad.. Dad... Dad...” pants the oldest. The younger son puts his arm in front of his brother, pushing him back and himself forward, “Dad, can you answer an argument for us?”
“Yes?” It's fun being a Dad. I have no idea what's coming, but I knew one thing for sure: This was going to be funny.
“Dad, Dad... is there any such thing as luck?” He said it so fast that I couldn't understand him. Thomas and I have a game where he says things and I act like I don't understand him. It works well when he says stuff like “Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide” and other things that I just like to hear him say. But this time, I really didn't understand him.
“Luuuuuuck.” He said slowly so that I would understand. His older brother chimed in, “Thomas thinks that luck exists, I told him that it didn't.”
“There is no such thing as luck, boys. Nothing happens by chance or accidentally. We believe that we have a heavenly Father who gives us good gifts in Christ – all the time, more than we can count.” One brother celebrated, the other brother said, “Awww, man.” I laughed.
Then, I got to thinking.
Tonight is one of the biggest sporting events in our little lives. If LSU wins, we'll have to get all sorts of gear, I'll have a new poster in my study, and a DVD to watch over and over on my iPod. We'll have shirts and happy feelings.
If LSU loses, we'll remember this as the chance we had and didn't take. I'll probably begin a month-long hiatus from watching all sports. I'll lament that LSU drew me in like they always do and then set me up for heartbreak.
And all of that causes all sorts of idolatry. Sports idolatry is kinda comical, if you think about it. Some athletes won't change shirts or socks for seasons. They won't wash or change things during streaks. They won't mess with anything that might cause them to lose.
It trickles down to the fans too. My brother won't watch an LSU news clip since he watched some clips before the Arkansas game and we lost that game. I have an LSU shirt I wear for every “big” game that is so old that it has numerous holes in it. We don't move during drives. We don't talk about winning during the game. We don't “jinx” them.
Once during a Mets six-run rally, I refused to talk about the fact that there was a rally going on and ignored everyone in my house. My mother once got all four of her sons mad at her because during the ninth inning of a college World Series game that LSU was winning she said, “The other team looks so sad, I feel sorry for them.” Stanford then scored three runs and won. We've never let her live it down.
Did my mother's comment really affect the universe so much that LSU gave up those runs? Did my finally acknowledging that the Mets were having a rally really cause it to end one run short of a win?
No, this is idolatry. All of it. It all flows from unbelief. We don't believe that God loves us – not enough to give us what we really want. So, we trust in ourselves – our mannerisms, our shirts, our clothes, what we do, what we don't do, anything so that someone, something, has mercy and gives us the victory we want.
No. No luck. No lucky shirts. No jinxes. Only a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He would die for such unlovable idolators.
When the ball bounces funny tonight, it bounces that way because God loves us. When it bounces the way we want it – He loves us in Christ. When it bounces the way we don't – He loves us in Christ. He's working all things out for our good – win, lose, sickness, health, life, or death.
That's the sort of God we have the One who loved us in the giving up of His Son. Who gives us life in the waters of our Baptism, enlivens us with His Word, forgives us of our sins in Holy Absolution, and feeds us His Body to eat and His blood to drink for the remission of all our sins. That God – the only God there is – bids us live through life's events not avoiding cracks in the sidewalk or throwing salt over our shoulder, but calling upon “Him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give Him thanks.”
No luck. Not tonight. Only God giving us gifts. Whether it is a gift we like or don't like, we'll see after the game. Geaux Tigers! In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Good luck, errrr, God's Blessings on your LSU team tonight.