Ready For Kickoff

I wasn’t raised in a family of athletes, unless you want to count cheerleading!

But as far back as I can remember, every weekend there was a home football or basketball game, you’d find my family at our high school along with the rest of the community, cheering on our Goshen Redskins, now known as the Redhawks! Football and basketball games were something that brought our community together. It was unifying! We could disagree on a lot of things, but we were “one” when it came to cheering on our team!

In 1988, when Rick Mirer, who went on to Notre Dame and then played 12 years in the NFL, was our quarterback and my baby sister was a cheerleader, we won the state football championship! Think of a pro football team coming home after winning the Super Bowl! Schools and businesses closed in Goshen for the parade. There were sights of strangers hugging in the streets everywhere. We did it together!

That is a memory I treasure to this day. When Ken and I started dating, I quickly learned that Sunday after church no longer held a long, leisurely lunch at a restaurant, but rushing home to a pot roast, everyone huddled around the television and the sounds of shouting at “dumb” plays by Jim McMahon and other Chicago Bears players. As you might imagine, I’ve spent the last 45 years learning players, watching games, playing fantasy football in the Ingold Family League (and even winning a few years back).

I’m so excited for that first college kickoff! I just ordered my new Notre Dame t-shirts! I’m ready for the Notre Dame-Ohio State game coming up in a few weeks!

Why am I telling you this? There are some parallels between a football team and Jesus’ prayer right before He is arrested in John 17. First, in verses 6-19, He prays for His disciples that they will be sanctified, have joy, be protected and have unity. Then He goes on to pray for all believers - let’s pick it up in verse 21-24:

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.  Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!”

- John 17:21-24

Jesus prays for unity - for both the disciples and for us! In verse 23, He even prays for “perfect unity” so others will know Him and His father.

A football team needs to have unity, and to win the championship, perfect unity, to execute the plays for the touchdown and the win. They are all different, there is a quarterback, a center, running backs, and so on… Can you imagine if everyone wanted to be the quarterback? What a catastrophe!

As believers, we are to be united - working towards one specific goal, much like that football team does every game. We are all created uniquely different. We are people from every race, ethnicity, gender and walk of life, but we have one common purpose - to love God and love people! No wait, it’s actually a command in John 13:34:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

- John 13:34

This week, let’s make hugging and loving and living together in unity our top priority. Pick up the phone and call someone to whom you need to apologize.

We may be cheering for different football teams come September, but we are all on the same team in eternity football!

Pastor Pam

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