Saturday Down South

It's Saturday down South!

SUV's and RV's parked in the lot outside the stadium. Antennas tuned in to ESPN College Game Day. The FM station on radios tuned in to everyone's favorite pre-game show.

Drinks in the cooler. Dogs on the grill. Corn hole. Ladder ball. Sitting under canopies in the shade. And stories of last year's win against today's chump change team.

Guys three cars down that you've never met take a seat or play a game like they've attended your backyard BBQ's for years.

As time nears kickoff you begin making your way to the stadium. Filing in. Through the gates. Down the aisle. To your seats. It's a sea of our favorite fall colors. Red. Crimson. Orange. Gold.

We stand. We kneel. We salute. We pledge. We pray. We play.

Opening kickoff jitters and jeers. Flags and towels waving. Voices screaming. The offense takes the helm. Marching the ball down the field. Cheering on every caught pass. Booing every missed penalty. High-fiving our new found friends in seats 23 and 24 on row CC near the forty yard line.

Isn't it funny the emotional highs and lows we experience based on a nineteen year old's ability to catch or throw a football?

Can't wait for the third quarter. Halftime speech. Second half defense. The athletes are gonna start pulling away in the fourth quarter. Grinding. Pounding. Overpowering. Running five stars in one right after another.

The final second ticks off the clock. Our team on top. Again. Crowd goes wild. Teams shake hands. Players make their way to the student section to sing their beloved alma mater. It's something heavenly.

Saturday down South! It's truly a wonderful experience. A worshipful experience.

Gathering in our sacred cathedrals. Dressed in our sacred attire. Chanting our sacred hymns. Sacred leaders reading the script of their sacred book.

Don't get me wrong. I live in the South. And I have a team. I may not be tailgating in a college football town but I'm gathering with family or friends on Saturday afternoon sporting my team's colors, eating pizza or burgers, watching the game on the big screen with surround sound.

But Sunday's create a similar experience. Gathering in our churches. Singing our songs. Praying our prayers. Preaching our sermons. Giving our money.

And if we're not careful it will be brought to our attention that all we did was shift our focus from the god of Saturday to the god of Sunday; from the god of sports to the god of religion.

Perspective; that's all I'm saying. Perspective. God gave us competition, entertainment, and community that could be built around our favorite schools and sports teams. But He never intended for it to dominate our affections, attitudes, and actions.

On Saturday's we have permission to cheer and laugh and play and enjoy spending time with friends and family. But choose to find Christ at the center of all we think, and say, and do.

On Sunday's we have permission to be more reverent and reserved. But choose to remember the great sacrifice Jesus has made to give us reason to celebrate all the more.

Passion and enthusiasm are words that can cross all cultural lines. Therefore, passionate worship can be a spontaneous yet deliberate act of gratitude toward One greater than your favorite team or player; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Cheer. Support. Watch intently the games of your favorite teams. Wear their gear. Talk about the game with your friends. Find the highs and lows. Offer words of encouragement in plausible ways.

And as a Christian, cheer on those running this same race. Watch their lives. Look for the fruit of their faith. Make them a priority. Encourage them. Worship God together.

Don't just be a fan in the stands. Don't just find your name on the injured reserve from some story in your past. Don't be envious of your teammates or fear your rival.

Get on the field. Play the game. The head ball coach is calling your number. He's calling your name. He's inviting you to play. This is your spiritual act of worship!

The Good Portion

Do you know what Memorial Day and Labor Day have in common? 

Food. 

Firing up the grill. Opening up the pool. Horseshoes. Corn hole. Watermelon. Homemade ice cream. Meat. Lots of meat. And all the fixins'.

At these shindigs you have the fixers and the eaters. And I'm an eater. 

Sure, organization and preparation and serving are necessary. But when you've been in the family long enough, no matter how many people show up, everybody quickly assumes their position. Table setters and consumers. 

I'm generally stationed by the pool with the kids. Why? Because I'm a kid at heart. I'd rather play than work any day. I'm not bringing potato salad, baked beans, or churning ice cream. I'm swimming laps around the eight year old's. Loving every minute of Marco Polo, sharks & minnows, and flips off the diving board. 

My set of eyes on others' kids frees them to prepare a delicious cuisine fresh off the grill that we can all enjoy. I'm making the sacrifice. Just doing my part!

Have you ever thought about your role? Are you a fixer or eater? Producer or Consumer?

These questions took me back to a story about two individuals that were serving and sitting. It's the story of Martha and Mary. Martha was busy in the kitchen while Mary appeared to be doing nothing.

Luke tells this story, "Martha welcomed Jesus into her house." How thoughtful. How sweet. How hospitable. But that kind of makes sense. It was Jesus. Many were intrigued by Him. Others had grown to adore Him. Martha had become friends with Him. 

But then the story makes a strange shift. "Martha became distracted with much serving." In the kitchen cooking, in the living room decorating, on the front porch sweeping. I don't know. Those seem to make sense. But she had become distracted. Too busy to notice. Notice what? I don't know. Maybe too busy to notice Jesus. 

And her busyness led to frustration. "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" You see when we get busy and place our worth and value on our deeds we get tangled up in this web of comparison that sets our gaze on others instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus. It's a slippery slope that's extremely dangerous and deceiving. 

Her frustration led to anxiety and worry. Do more. Do different. Catch up. Not good enough. Not fair. And Jesus said, "Martha, you're worried and troubled about many things." It makes sense that Jesus would come to her rescue. Console her. Feed her impulse of feeling neglected and alone. 

But check this out. He cut her no slack. "Mary has chosen the good portion." In other words, Mary has chosen the better thing. Talk about a slap in the face. Working, working, working. Your sister has chosen the better thing. 

What was Mary doing that constituted something better than Martha's hospitality and service for Jesus? "Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said." Wow! Mary was sitting down at the feet of Jesus, doing the better thing, and received His praise. Wouldn't you be a little ticked if your sister was sitting there in the floor instead of being in the kitchen making preparations? 

And here lies the great dilemma of yet another sibling rivalry. The clashing of personalities. A difference in perspective. The re-arranging of priorities. So, what does having a Mary heart in a Martha world look like? It looks like this. 

Neither of them had done anything wrong. There's a time and place for both sitting and serving. For dispensing and consuming. But Jesus lends us His words to prioritize the heart of these two ladies. Martha had become worried while her sister was worshipping. 

In John's account of this story, Martha was serving, Lazarus was reclining at the table, and Mary had taken an open vessel of perfume to wash Jesus' feet. She wept, she washed, she wiped, she worshipped. It was a beautiful picture with a wide angle lens of community and fellowship. 

In a world where our accomplishments so readily receive the applause of man, Jesus said it was better to submit to His authority, hear His word, and gladly obey His teaching. 

There's no place to advocate laziness or the skillful art of abdicating our responsibilities but we must learn to prioritize our lives so that we are constantly seeking to do the better thing. Organization, preparation, and work are necessary. But not at the expense of spending quality time with Jesus. He's not called us to do things for Him in place of being with Him. 

Religious activity apart from a meaningful relationship will produce begrudging obedience instead of glad obedience. Jesus desires for us to have an inexpressible joy and peace that can only be found in wholehearted submission to Him. 

Setting the table is necessary. But so is supervising the kids in the pool. One's not more important than the other. But we must remember "whatever we do, we do for the glory of God." That's the better thing!