Youth Sunday
Cameron Visser
I love sports and after studying this Corinthians passage, that Adam just read, I could not help but remember a basketball game I saw on television. A few weeks ago, I watched a Cleveland Cavaliers game where the fans were wearing shirts that had been passed out to them. These shirts had one word on it, and that word was witness, just that one word: witness. The reason for the shirt was to pay homage to one of the best basketball players in the world - Lebron James, or “King James” as he is sometimes called.
After seeing all those shirts in the stands, I began to wonder, what exactly am I witnessing? And the answer was…(insert dramatic pause) a basketball game. I’m not witnessing the second coming of the Messiah, or something of great significance. I’m witnessing a basketball game. Honestly, it has only been a few weeks and I don’t even remember who won that game.
I wonder how many of us know more about this King James of the basketball court than we do about King James I of the English court? Since we don’t live in Cleveland, maybe this comparison would be better understood if it included our local hardwood star, Tyler Hansbrough. My guess is that most of us - and truly most people - are more familiar with one of these two athletes than they are with the King James of Biblical renown. I don’t know this for sure, but I will bet that on the street you will see more people wearing a jersey with the name “James” or “Hansbrough” on the back than you will see people wearing tunics with the name “Christ” on the back! This may be an extreme example, of course, but there is something that can be taken from it. Exactly what are we witnessing?
Maybe sports aren’t your thing, but perhaps everybody here can ask themselves, what do I put in front of my relationship with God? You wouldn’t be alone if you, like me, find that there are many things that rank higher on the to-do list than practicing spirituality.
We are not so different from the Corinthians to whom Paul’s letter is directed. It is just not enough to be baptized or take communion. That is not where our spiritual journey ends.
Today, as we take part in communion, we are going to partake of the same spiritual meal as those who came before us. In regularly observing the sacrament, we are continuing in the same, meaningful, tradition begun thousands of years ago. Each time we partake (?) in the elements, we are remembering the sacrifice of Christ. We, as Christians, do not need to wait till someone is destroyed by serpents to get a wake up call. We have read and heard these stories of what has taken place before us. It is our responsibility to learn from these examples, recognize what is really important, and live in true relationship to God and one another.
Paul tells us, in no uncertain terms, that we have many examples in scripture that tell us how to live in relationship with God. Over and over, God has provided people and stories that help us understand who God is and whose we are. The stories of the Bible, along with the stories of witness from our family and friends, helps us navigate the path of life with God, not apart from God. So exactly what are we witnessing? What will our story be to the next generations?
May we all stop idly witnessing the game and get off the bench, onto the court, and see how our own faith stories play out.
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