Interstitiality

Lavabo Bowl and Sermon

For the second straight year, the Nashotah House Black Monks defeated the Seabury Saints. This year's matchup was the closest game since I have been here. NH won 22-21. The game winning 2-pt conversion was disputed. The play happened right in front of me, and I thought the ball carrier was short (the ball carrier actually concurred--he was doubtful that he got in). Still, we had to give the Black Monks credit. They made big plays when they needed to, and we didn't.

It was a great game, but I don't want to overlook what I saw as a sign of the kingdom. The genuine and mutually life-affirming fellowship that happened after the game and before the game in the chapel was a powerful witness to God's presence among us as the church. In these times, following the discernments after the Windsor Report, such opportunities for fellowship are invaluable.

It was in a word, "perfect" (even if we lost).

Below is the sermon that I preached prior to the game. The title of the homily is, "Be Perfect."

This is a big day, and I feel honored to be able to bring the word of God to this most impressive assembly. In fact, because I knew I would be preaching, I invested an extra two hours of research into this sermon—two hours more than I usually put in. So what if I did my research on a Wednesday night... with some friends... at the Century 12 Cineplex... with a coke... and popcorn? Research is research.

For my “research” I saw the new Peter Berg film, “Friday Night Lights,” which is an adaptation of H.G. Bissinger’s exposé of High School football in the football-obsessed town of Odessa, Texas. In Odessa, the Permian Panthers High School football team was everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. On Friday evenings—the night of the games—every store, gas station, and diner was closed up with hand painted signs hanging in the windows, “Gone to the game.” Everyone went to sit under the Friday night lights, and everyone knew their team backward and forward. The coach and players were celebrities, receiving free food and services throughout the fall season... as long as they won. They received the praise of those on T.V. and radio... as long as they won. Folks in Odessa treated the team and the coach like gods... as long as they won. You see, beyond high school football, Odessa cared about only one other thing—winning. Coming in second was not good enough. The towns people would settle for nothing less than a season of perfection, which meant for them the State 5A High School Football championship.

Cut to the final scene in the championship game. The Panthers are getting whooped by a bigger, faster, and meaner team from Dallas. Obviously, the coach and players are stunned—shell-shocked from the events of the first half. They are intimidated and defeated. The odds are stacked against them. But their coach, Gary Gaines, has one last word for them—a quite unexpected word, “perfection.” He says to his deflated team, “Gentlemen, go out there and be perfect.” The already bewildered players look even more confused. The coach goes on to give a rousing speech in which he deconstructs and redefines perfection as they know it. Perfection, coach Gaines declares, is not about winning or losing. It’s not about the score of the game. For him, perfection means that they go out there and leave every ounce of their heart and soul on that field so that they can look their friends and families in the eye and say without a doubt, “I gave it my absolute best.” Perfection, he continues, is when you play with joy and love in your heart for those around you—your teammates, coaches, and family. And if they can accomplish this, if they can play the rest of the game with all of their heart, soul, and might, then, says coach Gaines, “regardless of the outcome, to me you will be perfect.”

Jesus offers the church and us similar words with a different understanding of perfection. He says, “You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Perfection for Jesus is not about who is right or wrong about this issue or that. It is not about mistake free holy living. It is not about which church you attend, what kind of liturgy you practice, or which interpretation of the bible you hold to. Perfection is all about loving, and loving the hard way. The kind of love that is shocking not only in its display, but even more so in its object. Love the one who hates you. Love your enemy. Love the one who spits in your face, the one who would have you exiled, the one who cares not for your well being or the welfare of your loved ones. The one who looks across the table, points a finger at you and says that what you stand for is unequivocally and intolerably wrong. Love that one, and you will be perfect. And friends, judging from the signs of the times, it would seem that there will be plenty of opportunity for the saints to be perfect.

If I had a prayer for the church today it would be this. Not that everyone would agree with one another, or that everyone would be orthodox, heterodox, liberal, or conservative. No, I would ask that the church would do as the great Shema commands us in Deuteronomy. That we would love the LORD God with all of our hearts, and all of our souls, and with all of our might, regardless of where that left us on “the issues.” Because it’s not about winning or losing, it’s not about being right or wrong, and today it’s not even about on which side of the ball you lineup. It’s about loving God and loving each other with everything that we have. THAT brothers and sisters IS PERFECTION. And thanks be to God that everything is not left up to us, but it is God who shows perfect love in Jesus Christ.

Posted by Frank Yamada at October 23, 2004 11:59 PM