Liturgy of the Empire

I like sports.  I guess the more accurate statement would be that I love sports but love seems like such a strong word for such a silly thing.

Yet for most of my life this silly thing has tugged at my emotions, sent me over the edge, and caused jubilee that has had me hugging strangers.

In 1997 I remember watching the Bulls win their 5^th championship and standing out on Irving Park Road as cars honked at our celebration sign.

In 2001 I remember jumping on my couch as I watched Bears safety Mike Brown make 2 game winning overtime interceptions.  I also remember shedding a couple tears when the Bears lost to the Eagles in the playoffs.

In 2005 I remember running down the ramps of US Cellular Field to see Joe Crede hit a home run to beat the Indians to push the team into the playoffs.  I remember running block after block in downtown Chicago to meet my brother Ross and watch the last out to the White Sox winning the World Series.

In 2010 I remember opening my wedding presents in joy while at the same time angrily yelling at the TV that Lebron James was taking his “talents to South Beach” instead of Lake Michigan.

In 2011 I remember going to Indianapolis and loudly taunting Pacers fans but then quietly wandering the streets of Indy after the Bulls lost.

In 2012, 2013, and 2014 I remember sitting and sulking over Derrick Rose’s continuous flow of injuries.

I can remember years of my life based on things that have happened in sports. 

But something hit me last night while watching the Bulls play the Milwaukee Bucks.  During the game a Bucks player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, made a dirty play on Jimmy Butler.  I was furious and all of a sudden this feeling of hate sunk into my gut.  Not just a “I don’t like that guy” feeling but a “that man is a terrible human being” feeling. 

In reality I like Giannis (nicknamed the Greek Freak).  He is fun to watch, tries super hard, and is a good basketball player.  But I still had this feeling of hate for him.

As I was texting about this hatred to my “Bulls Fanatics” group text, my friend pointed out that this happens every playoffs.  We begin to hate the opposing players, we begin to hate the opposing team.  He was right!  During the NBA playoffs throughout my life I’ve hated the Pistons, Knicks, Lakers, Heat, Caviliers, Pacers, Wizards, and now the Bucks, to name a few.

This morning it hit me that sports brings out this “US VS. THEM” mentality.  This mentality that if they are not us then I hate them!  Because they are not us I hate them.  Because they are not US I will never accept THEM.  When I see a basketball player in a different colored jersey other than my team I begin to form this hatred for them because that’s who they are, a “them”. 

My embracing of the US causes the hatred of the Them.

A couple weeks ago I was at a conference and heard Old Testament expert Walter Brueggemann talk about Empire.  Through his time he was talking about how the Empire=Totalism.  To make a very short summary of a complicated topic, his point was that we live in a world of Empires.  Empires control everything, they have total control over our money, ideology, imagination, the way we operate our lives.

He explained that there has always been an Empire; Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Rome!  The Israelites constatly lived in this battle, the way of God or the way of the Empire.  Today there is still Empires and the one that is the most successful goes by the name of America!

Later in another one of his talks he brought up how sports are the liturgy of the Empire.  This knocked me over!  His point was that when we get enveloped by sports (cheering on our team, hating the other team) we are giving our minds, emotions, and hearts over to the Empire!  By living and dying by the score of a game we aren’t processing our lives through Christ but only through the way of the Empire.

This scared me.  Right as he said it I had this awakening, he’s right.  When I give my mind, emotions, and heart over to watching a sports game I’m putting my Christian mind, emotions, and heart on mute.  Most of the shirts I wear are advertisements or loyalities to my team.  Most of the things I talk about with my friends and brothers are about sports.  Most of what I watch and are entertained by are my teams.

In the Empire of Rome they had sports too.  There sport of choice was cheering on a Gladiator fight.  Instead of cheering when someone scored the winning shot, the Romans would cheer when someone made the death shot.  The Romans would cheer on their ‘us’ gladiator while cheering on with hate the ‘them’ gladiator, screaming for their death.  The Roman Empire would use these games to spread national alliance, to form a people who cheered on their Empire in pride.  Chanting “Long live Casear” while cheering on the death of another man.

At many of these events part of the game was the mass killing of Roman Christians.  Whether they were burned at the stake, hung on crosses, or thrown to the lions.  These men and women chose Christ instead of the Empire they confessed Jesus as King, not Caesar.  They lived for the Kingdom of God in the face of the Empire!

I have yelled at players, I have cheered on their failures, I have chanted “Detroit Sucks!”  Am I being overtaken by my love for sports?  I had to ask the question, am I living a life for the Empire instead of a life for the Kingdom of God?

The struggle to live counter-cultural to the Empire by living for the Kingdom of God is a constant battle.

Similar to the Israelites I struggle to fight off the Empire, but the truth is that I am a part of the Empire.  I am a modern day Roman, I’m an American.  I’m a member of the Empire who is striving to be a worker for the Kingdom of God.

I’m not saying that sports are evil.  I’m not trying to super spiritualize a game played on hardwood.  All I’m saying is as you paint your face black and red, as you buy $60 tickets to a game, as you wear that team apparel, ask yourself the question, “What’s in my heart?”

Can you watch silly games while living for the Kingdom of God?  Yes!  But if I’m going to err on one side it’ll be leaving the liturgy of the Empire for the liturgy of Jesus Christ; “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be down, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Yesterday as I watched the riots in Baltimore break out I was reminded of the riots that occurred in the 90’s after the Bulls won.  Neither riot is good but one is a way of crying out for injustice and pent up rage over issues that haven’t been dealt with, the other is because a sports team won a silly game.

I want to live for the Kingdom of God.  That means I need to start watching “the game” though a new lense.  As Brian Zahnd puts it, “There is no THEM; there is only US.”

Better Call Paul

Last night I was watching one of my new favorite TV shows, “Better Call Saul.”  This show is a prequel to the critical acclaimed “Breaking Bad” and is about a lawyer named Saul Goodman.  The first season is about to end and what you see throughout the season is that Saul (known as Jimmy McGill in season 1 of “Better Call Saul”) has a notorious past as a conman.  He would swindle people out of money by tricking them, he was known as “Slippin’ Jimmy.”

On last night’s episode there was a key scene where someone very close to Saul looks him in the face and tells him he’ll never trust him because of his past.  In this pivotal scene the character tells Saul, “I know you; people don’t change.”

Have you ever been known for something?  Known for being good at something?  Known for doing something?  Known for something notorious in your past?

In high school one thing I was known for was mispronouncing words and names.  I would pronounce Jude Law as Judd Law.  I would emphasize the wrong letter in a word when trying to say it.  My mind and mouth would become disconnected.

It became a running joke with my friends so much so that a myth was formed that I referred to Tom Hanks as Tim Hank…an obvious exaggeration for my ill communication.

I grew up and grew out of this for the most part. But it was hard.  I was self-conscience about stammering and mispronouncing.  I would purposely ask, “What’s that guys name?” prior to saying it so I wouldn’t pronounce it wrong.  I carried around a pocket dictionary for a while to try and learn more words!

When I’m with my long time friends we can joke about this but I can joke because I worked past it.  I changed.

Some people are known for something much worse.  Some are known as criminals because they made a mistake in their past.  Some are known as liars because they lived off of lying for a time in their life.  Some are known as adulterers, rapists, molesters, drug dealers, gang-bangers, failures, and losers.   Some people are held captive for whom they used to be because the motto of man is, “I know you; people don’t change.”

This is the motto of man but the motto of Jesus is so far away from this.  Jesus again and again in the gospels calls people to himself and they leave changed.  The blind leave seeing.  The sick leave healed.  The ‘suck your money dry’ tax collector leaves generously giving away his money to all.  The condemned leave forgiven.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17 says it the best, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When you come to Jesus you leave changed.  You come broken and leave fixed.  You come sick and leave healed.  You come feeling weighed down, trapped, and condemned and leave feeling unburdened, free, and forgiven.  You are new!

I believe that anyone can change.  Why do I believe this? Because this is what Jesus communicated!  There is an amazing story in Luke 7 where a notorious sinful woman entered a house where Jesus was eating.  She walks in and begins to anoint Jesus feet with perfume and wash his feet with her tears and hair.  The crowd at this party, just stare at her thinking, “I know her, people don’t change.”  Jesus looks at this woman and says, “Your sins are forgiven.  Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The crowd thought this was impossible but Jesus knew the truth that she left changed, she left in peace.

I can’t wait to see friends I haven’t seen in years, people I’ve met over my life who have now found Jesus and say, “I know you; you’ve changed!”