OK – can you put up with one more football reference?  I promise this will be the last one, at least until the new season begins [which, in case you’re wondering, starts with the NFL draft on April 29, unless you count, as I do, Spring Training for College Football which usually starts in March; so, maybe this isn’t going to be all that long of a long break!].   

The Super Bowl - which the League and CBS hyped for the past two weeks as being the quintessential “showdown”, a battle for the ages - turned into a sadly boring affair, more interesting for the brief on-field verbal altercation between New Orleans’ native Tyrann Mathieu and Tom Brady just before the end of the first half than for what happened during the other 59 plus minutes of game time.  You probably had to be a true fan of one of the two teams to “keep your head in the game” after the first quarter was over.  For the rest of us casual fans, the biggest debates were over which commercial was the best, and what in the world the half-time show was all about.  

The fervent desire of most of the football watching world [with the exception of the Kansas City and Tampa Bay true believers] - that this Super Bowl would be exciting, and that victory would be in doubt until the final second - did not come to pass.  And maybe we could debate about the reasons for the lop-sided Tampa Bay victory – was it great defense, or was it pretty much all Tom Brady?  But, perhaps the biggest reasons for why Kansas City was out-played so decisively had more to do with Kansas City than with the winner.  If you watched more than a few minutes of the game itself, what stood out was how often the Kansas City quarterback was running for his life.  His offensive line simply could not protect him – especially in the second half.  The major reason for this is because an injury two weeks ago to offensive lineman, Eric Fisher, forced the coaches to bring in a back-up and move two other men into different positions.  The result was what we saw Sunday night.

There was one more thing too -  the Kansas City quarterback had an injury to one of his toes – an injury which will likely require surgery in the off-season.  It became clear as the game progressed that this quarterback was not physically able to do the things he usually does on the field.        

So, a hurt toe and a hurt guy who, let’s face it, doesn’t exactly play a glamorous position, and it’s another Super Bowl snoozer.

Isn’t it amazing how things which seem, at first glance, or to the casual observer, to be of little consequence, can often be more important that we ever realized?  It’s hard to believe that we actually need all of our toes to be in good shape in order to function at our best.  It’s hard to believe that you can’t just plug in a new guy and expect the job of protecting the quarterback to proceed without a hitch.             

It might be hard for people like us to realize these things [except for the toes, as anyone who has ever slammed their little toe into a couch leg on a dark night can attest].  But I can tell you who knew the Kansas City offensive line was going to have a problem protecting the quarterback Sunday night – every coach on both teams.  That’s because, unlike the casual football observer, coaches know the extreme importance of every position on the team – even the non-glamorous positions. 

I guess you know I’m not really talking about a football team put together by people who make lots of mistakes and who cannot really see the big picture.  Let’s let The Apostle Paul make it clear – “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.  Now you [The Church] are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”  1 Corinthians 12:14,18,27.   

Do you think you are a part of this church by accident?  Do you think you do not have something important to contribute to this church?  Do you think that you make no difference in this church?  Do you think you do not need this church?  The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “NO”!   God put you here, because He WANTS you to be here.  You are here because it is part of His Master Plan.  

That’s comforting – and a little terrifying.  Responsibility is always scary, once you know it is yours.

And now – you know.  

Maybe the first thing to do is pray – “Lord, I could really use Your wisdom right about now.”        

Ambrose Ramsey | Shepherd