Take the Shot

Romans 12:9-21New International Version (NIV)

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

A couple weeks ago, I was at a home wrestling duel and one of the matches was really close.  I don’t remember who the wrestler was from Pleasantville but he was losing the close match in the closing minute. He was doing all the right things, pulling the head, moving the hands, changing levels, pushing and pulling. The knee and ankle were so close and if he would just grab the leg it was his match to win. His opponent's feet were heavy and slow.  I kept saying to myself “the knee is there, grab it.”  Then I would say, “drop down for an ankle pick, it’s right there.”  I just kept saying to myself the things I thought this young man should be doing to win this match.  He wasn’t doing them.  He didn’t do anything the crowd, his coaches or his teammates encouraged him to do.  I felt bad for the young man as I know he tried hard but yet, victory was right there and he didn’t even reach for it.... Why?  He didn't even attempt to win, it seemed. How could he not even try to take his opponent down?  Then it dawned on me that pot was calling the kettle black.  I remember several, dozens, of conversations that I had with coaches and teammates when I wrestled about taking that shot to win the match.  As a heavy weight, I wrestled a lot of close matches so I had ample opportunities to take that shot.  To be honest with you, I don’t think I ever took a last second shot to win a match and there I was being silently critical of this young man.  It was definitely a slap in the face.  A wake up call if you will.  

There were several reasons I didn’t take that shot.  One of them was I didn’t want to be embarrassed.  I thought it was alright to lose a match by one point rather than getting pinned.  A one point loss is only worth three points in a duel and a pin is worth six.  I used this rationale to not take the shot as losing this way doesn’t negatively effect my team as badly.  What if my shot itself was an embarrassment?  For example, what if my coaches were embarrassed for me on the terrible shot attempt.  I didn’t want to bring my team and coaches down in the eyes of the opponent.  Basically, I came up with every reason possible to not take the shot instead of just attempting a move to win the match.  It was excuse after excuse and man, my coaches and teammates were so supportive and encouraging.  They would give me the advice to help make the shot the next time around and I just never took it.  I can see how frustrating that may have been for them.  

Our scripture for this evening, the evening we celebrate the coming birth of Christ, is about taking the shot.  The whole Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus narrative is about taking the shot.  Joseph took his fiancee on a trip, trusting God’s message of this miraculous child Mary was carrying.  Mary trusted God when the angels spoke to her about the son of man growing inside her.  Joseph took the shot.  Mary took the shot.  As we look again to Paul’s words he wrote in Romans there is such great advice: bless and do not curse, share with those in need, practice hospitality, do not repay evil with evil, hate what is evil, cling to what is good.  Perhaps the greatest lesson found in Paul’s words is that our love must be sincere.  That is the most difficult shot to take and yet throughout the entirety of the Bible, God is constantly taking that shot on our behalf.  We rarely take the shot based on love because what if we lose? What if we let others down? what if we let God down? What if we embarrass ourselves? Our family? Our church family? Our community?  We come up with every reason to stay in the friendly confines of what is comfortable.  It seems like it’s not worth the risk.  Plus, God will forgive us anyhow, right?  

The point of the words from Paul, the point of the nativity scene, the essence of God is based on giving love that shot, to let it have a fighting chance.  If we don’t extend, offer, show or live that kind of love then are we really following the will of God in it’s truest form?  Yes, God will forgive us for not taking that shot.  Yes, God will give us another chance.  And yes, God will be that patient coach that encourages and supports.  Had I gotten past those excuses in those close matches, was losing still a strong possibility?  Of course it was.  And that possibility was even greater based on my lack of skill.  But honestly, skill had nothing to do with it... How do I know, maybe I would have been more successful than not.  The sad thing is now I will never know.  And now I live with those missed opportunities. Not that losing wrestling matches in high school keeps me awake at night but the shots we refuse to take based on love may have lasting effects. There are so many cliches about missing all the shots you don’t take but there is more at stake than just a wrestling match, or a basketball game, or any other sport.  God has called you to something great.  Some of you may be walking down that path taking all the opportunities God has laid before you but some of you may not.  Those of us who hesitate to take that shot often wonder why others seem to have all the luck, all the success?  Some of us look at the most faithful people we know and do not know how they do it.  They are taking the shot.  They are choosing to err on the side of love instead of regret.

Every single day, God is taking a shot for you.  And not only that but He gladly does so. During the course of every day we are lucky enough to draw a breathe we get to see the birth of Christ, the love of Jesus, the grace of the cross and the power of the resurrection at work in our everyday lives.  But are we taking the shot to see all that being done by God right before our very eyes?  We know the story of the nativity scene well.  God took a shot on a carpenter and virgin.  He literally poured Himself into them and that same God has that exact same kind of passion and love for each one of you.  Every day you wake up, God is willing to take on this world alongside you.  He is willing to invest in you no matter how long the odds seem.  Will God forgive you for not taking the shot to love sincerely?  Of course He will but imagine his jubilation when it finally comes together for you.  Imagine how happy God is when you realize his love for you and how badly he wants to be a part of your life.  He is our biggest cheerleader, our best coach, our wisest advisor and he adores you for simply being you.  Let that be the message of this Christmas Eve.  Take the shot. Amen.