Last night's "Draft" for our first ever "LCM NFL Fantasy Football League" was something to behold. There were no less than eight "owners" spread around the LCM Lounge (many with their trusty assistants) picking players and constructing their "teams."
Does that guy still make it to NFL games who sits in the end zone and waves the sign which simply reads "John 3:16"? He was quite a fixture during my young adult years. Interviews with him suggested that he believed his witness to be his calling from God. I never doubt one's sense of calling, but I do wonder if this man was justifying spending his family's cash on plane and game tickets.
John 3:16 is today's appointed Gospel Lesson. It is a powerful, and moving passage of scripture. I am also extremely fond of verses 17-21. Here we are reminded that the love of God, which sent the Son in to the world, does not give up on us and continually reaches out to us. It is God's hope that we would all turn to the light and see our harmful and hurtful actions for what they are.
But something in us (to use John 3 language) prefers darkness to light. The writer suggests it is because our deeds are evil, so we remain in the dark so they won't be exposed.
The light provides the opportunity for us to realize the consequences (intended as well as unintended) of our behaviors and thoughts. The light exposes our short-sightedness, and our self-centered tendencies.
It is only in a fantasy world that everything we do is perfect. We will (sometimes knowingly but mostly unknowingly) act in ways which are not helpful to God's hope for the world. The light exposes these to us. With God's Light illuminating our world, we are able to see our actions for what they are and when necessary alter our behaviors, our comments, and even our thoughts.
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