They call it Mahomes magic

Over the 7 full years of the artistry that is the work of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, I have heard the phrase Mahomes Magic over and over from commentators and pundits. And I appreciate their descriptions of the left-handed sideline pass or the final run into the end zone in the Titans game or... and the list goes on.

Last week on Christmas Day I saw something that could only be described as artistry. The Chiefss were playing the Steelers and were succeeding in situational football. But one particular play characterised the artistry of the young man Mahomes and this photo shot by someone, maybe even there at the stadium showcases what I mean.

Patrick scrambled to his left and saw his running back, third down specialist Samaje Perine on the ground in Pittsburgh. He saw what no one else would ever see, a receiver looking away from the play, on the ground, and Patrick threw him the ball. And Perine looked up while the ball was in the air and reached out and caught it for a first down. 

I call it artistry because only an artist could see this. Imagine Michelangelo in Italy looking at a block of marble. And he sees inside that block the statue of King David. He begins chipping away at the marble and eventually, you and I can see only one thing, and we could never see it when it was a block; only when he stripped away the dross, the excess, did the artist reveal to us what he saw all along. That's art. That's the Michelangelo Magic. (I prefer to label it artistry)

Seeing what no one else sees is the work of an artist and a work of faith. In fact, the writer of the letter labelled in the Bible as the "Book of Hebrews" says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

So yes, Mahomes is a man of faith. And Perine is a man of faith who cooperated with Mahomes on that play and many others in this season. 

When God says of you that he loves you and wants you to know him personally. When he seeks you and brings light to your darkness. When he sent his only son to bear your sins and to die to bring you to himself. When God does all this, you are like Perine, lying on the ground, eyes away from the play, eyes and hands and feet failing you, unable to get up, unable to carry on. When all this happens, what do you think God is trying to do with you? Is God looking at the block of marble and seeing only stone? Or is he looking underneath, seeing what he wants to make of you? 

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

Look up and live. 

Look up; the play isn't over.

Look up and see the hand of the Master Playmaker who wants to make us and our lives in his image. 

That's not magic; it's artistry by the Master Artist of Eternity. 

The results are in, or are they?

It was last Monday night, 4 November, my birthday. The Kansas City Chiefs football team was playing at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rain had been falling in Kansas City all day. I had flown that morning from Sydney, and now, on arrival in England, I began to spend time with some of the other folks at the conference we were attending. Seventy Jews for Jesus leaders had gathered from around the globe. 

Actually,
I had left over 30 hours before. The double flights (one to California and the other to London) take about 24 hours in the air alone. 30 hours includes counting travel to and from the airport and layover time. Imagine the normal jet lag which hits most folks who fly 16,000 km. I’m a normal guy, so a bit of jet lag makes sense. 

My usual style of beating that jet lag includes a lot of walking or even exercise during the daytime on arrival. This allows the sun’s rays to shine on my arms’ skin, and the resultant natural melatonin released causes an adjustment in my body clock.  

But this is England in November, and the amount of sunshine was a bit limited. Combine that with the delight I had in seeing so many of my colleagues with whom I had not spent time in months caused its own energy to be released. No real sunshine. No real melatonin. No conquest of jet lag. 

The Chiefs’ game was to air at London time 1:15 AM on Tuesday the 5^th, and any person who wanted to be alert and participate in the conference which was scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM on the 5^th would hope for some good sleep. But I couldn’t wait for the results in the morning. After all, I’m a fan, and a fan must wear the team’s colours and cheer the team to victory in the moment, live. 

Tuesday the 5^th of November saw a substantial election take place in the US. As an American citizen who had voted by mail weeks before and who cared much about the campaign and its results, I wanted to know who won in local and national contests. The conference was terrific, and the time with colleagues was rich, but at 9:00 PM I had to go to bed. Tiredness won. I would have to see the results on waking that Wednesday morning. Perhaps it was the jet lag or maybe the energy of wanting to know the winners, but about 2 AM I awoke and thought I should check my computer for any updates. Needless to say, that was a mistake. The news was full of some states’ results. That caused me to sit up and watch for more. I couldn’t wait. The results were coming in; I wanted the play-by-play. And about 5 AM I lay back down. 

Not wanting to miss out. 

Sense and sensibility didn’t win on either overnight. Sleep is a natural and normal part of an animal’s day, and I finally caught up on my normal sleep the night of the 6^th. 

Oh, the Chiefs won their football match in overtime, no doubt caused in part by my horizontal cheering.

But now you might be wondering why I’m sharing these two episodes of not wanting to miss out with you.

Let me take you back further than last Monday. To a Friday about 2,000 years ago. It was in Jerusalem. A group of Jewish men and women were almost in shock. Their candidate for rank had lost. He was their hero, their leader, their teacher. Many fancied him to be the messiah, and messiah meant something different then. The shock that  hit these close followers of his took place just after a final meal together the night before. It was an annual feast, the feast of Passover. The whole Jewish world made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this event, some stayed on for 7 full weeks for the next holiday. The city was abuzz with multilayers of activity. Lambs bought and sold, slaughtered and eaten. 

The folks who had that meal with their guy were surprised in just a short time. They left the upper room where they had celebrated Passover, and went to a nearby garden. It was there their guy (his name was Yeshua) was arrested. What? What did he do wrong? 

They were disoriented and surprised and angry. One of the followers (later they call them disciples or even apostles) named Peter took a sword and whacked the ear of the servant of the high priest. Yeshua, even during his troubles, reached out and put the ear back on Malchus’ head, healing him at once. Who does that?

The disciples were in shock; their guy was taken into custody. What did they do? They hid and stayed in hiding for days. Yeshua was given a death sentence. Wait a minute! Messiahs don’t lose; they don’t die, at least not before taking out Rome or whoever is ruining our Jewish lives.

 The trial took place after the arrest. They declared him worthy of death and the sentence was issued. A man named Simon carried the execution wood for Yeshua. The Romans put nails in Yeshua’s wrists to secure him to the pole, between two other criminals. He died. They all three died. And were buried.

That must be the end of the story. Who would wait for any further results then? That’s the end. No more hope. No more wishing. It’s over. 

The executioners put a big stone in front of the cave in which Yeshua was buried. They sealed it with a caulk agent and set two Roman military guards to ensure no one disturbed the burial site. 

The results were in. Hopelessness. Failure. Dejection. Again our religion failed us. 

Then Saturday and then Sunday and some women went back to the tomb hoping to freshen up the area with spices. They ran back to the gathering of the followers and told what they had seen. Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it just as the women had reported, but they didn’t find Yeshua. More disorientation, and now what?

Just hours later Yeshua himself appeared with the followers back in the upper room where they had hidden themselves. He presented himself alive; he ate with them; he showed them his hands and feet; they knew it was he! Alive!

Now, new results were in. The play-by-play was being rewritten right before their eyes. Now a brand new overtime began! 

A New Episode. A New Life. If you receive it. 

 

After the election...and a football game

Donald Trump will be the president of the US beginning on 20 January next year. Full disclosure: I was not a Trump fan ever, whether as a politician or even as a person. Still, he will be my president come 20 January. These are realities. I will not speak against him as our president. I will continue to pray for him as the Apostle Paul taught in his letter to young Timothy. "Pray for all in authority," was the instruction and I will comply.

A week ago the Seattle Seahawks played a grueling anyone-can-win football match against the Buffalo Bills. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, a lot of sledging (Yanks, that is Aussie-speak for trash talk), and much involvement by the 12th man, the Seattle fans in the stadium. The announcers on the television took issue with a defenseman, the cornerback Richard Sherman, and the Bills' coach Rex Ryan even called the decision by the referees 'ridiculous' when Sherman ran into the kicker for the Bills near the end of the first half.

After the game ended, the ESPN sportscaster, Lisa Salters, interviewed Richard both about 'that play' and about the demeanor of both teams after the game ended. The brutal manner on the field ended, and the opponents generally were high-fiving and embracing each other. He basically answered her that football is a leave it all out on the field activity, and then people matter more. NY Upstate reported here , "At the end of the interview, Salters asked Sherman how the two teams could get together after such a hard fought game. Sherman cited that during the game it's a dog fight, but at the end the teams should get together. The cornerback made a point to mention a few Bills players did not stick around postgame.

"Some of their players went in the locker room. They were talking a lot of mess, but they didn't want to see it at the end. Those are the opposite of competitors. Competitors come out and they shake it up after a game like that."

Consider this quote from Hillary Clinton's concession speech after the US elections last week. "Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.
But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together, this vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life."

Was this the man about whom she said so many dastardly things?

What about Donald's remarks about Hillary after she rang him to congratulate him on his electoral college victory. "I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she — she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country."

What? Is that the same person who fought so hard to dominate whom he called her 'crooked' and a 'liar' and dozens of other epithets?

Maybe this commentary about both football and elections says the same thing. Sherman says "Competitors come out and they shake it up after a game like that." And that's certainly the spirit the US needs in these days after the election. We need one another. We need to stop name-calling, stop the bullying, stop the hostility-- let's work together to make the world a better place. A dream? Nope-- the way forward is filled with hope and opportunities, and dangers. May we be gracious to each other, now and in 3 and a half years.

Sneaky, deception and magicians...is there hope?

Sleight of hand is a remarkable visual and sometimes audial trickery that most of us admire. We watch David Copperfield and generations ago watched Harry Houdini, and we are amazed and scratch our heads. “How did he do that?” when he saws a lady in half or makes an elephant disappear. Even those magician shows we watch, when they slow down the trick… most of the time I don’t see how they do it.

I watch the football here in Australia and am constantly amazed when I see what they call a ‘dummy’ play. This is where one player pretends to offload the ball one way or another and ends up with almost-Copperfield-like sleight of hand and moves the ball forward with rapid-fire trickery. We applaud that play and wonder why the defense doesn’t know what he will do. Of course, no one knows what he will do, and perhaps even the offensive player doesn't know what he will do, until he sees the defense react one way or the other.

This is true in many sports and many situations of life, but it doesn’t work when we are trying to work our way religiously in a real way toward the Living God.

God demonstrates no sleight of hand and practices no dummies. He is ever real and honest and forthright. And he calls us to real and honest and forthright living as well. I’m not sure that I’ve ever read the word sneaky as one of those adjectives that applies to the Living God. In fact, I’m sure it doesn’t.

So why is it that we pretend and sneak and live double lives in these days? What is it about the possibility of privacy that is so commendable and allowing in the 21st century? What lessons can we learn that prevent our going there?

The honesty and forthrightness demonstrated in the Scriptures is not only a high mark to admire, but one to which we should aspire. When the prophet Nathan caught King David with his pants down, David didn’t say one thing and practice another. He agreed with Nathan’s assessment and called himself a sinner in need of forgiveness (2 Samuel 12.13, Psalm 51) and let the chips fall where they may. He didn’t lie anymore but clearly said he was guilty and had sinned against the Lord. He had after all committed adultery and murder, and as a Jewish man those are two of the Big Ten that you shouldn’t be anywhere close to committing.

Others saw themselves as wrong, like Isaiah the prophet who when confronted by the holiness of the Lord, said “Woe is me, for I am ruined.” (Chapter 6) King Solomon said “There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7.20) And Solomon should know, as he lived wildly and spent his money anywhere and everywhere he wanted, to no satisfactory conclusion.

When we sin, if God is a good God, He will send guilt our way to correct us and challenge us and amend our ways.

Guilt is a lousy master but a wonderful teacher to get us on the right path.

The constant refrain from the Scriptures is that people who are sinners, whose hands are dirty, should cleanse their hands and purify their hearts. (James 4.8, Job 17.9, Psalm 24.4)

What does God promise to those who do this cleansing, detox program? “The righteous will hold to his way” (Job 17.9), and “He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Psalm 24.5) and James summarizes it best with, “He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (4.6-10)