Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life, end over end, neither left nor the right. Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights: Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life. Amen.
Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for Sunday, April 30, 2023. We’re continuing a series through Paul’s letter to the Romans. But I’ve also got football on my brain this weekend. I’ve been following the NFL draft with my son. We’ve been tracking who the Seahawks will pick to be the newest members of the team.
It turns out that the NFL draft might be a helpful analogy for understanding God’s word for us today. After all, we’re talking about how Jesus calls each of us by name. How sometimes we play offense, sometimes we’re on defense, and sometimes we play special teams. And we’re talking about putting on the jersey, showing up for practice, and representing the team.
So please open your Bible to the tenth chapter of the gospel of John, beginning with verse 1.
John 10:1-10
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Here ends the reading. Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Romans 13)
Introduction
Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life, end over end, neither left nor the right. Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights: Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life. Amen.
Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for Sunday, April 30, 2023. We’re continuing a series through Paul’s letter to the Romans. But I’ve also got football on my brain this weekend. I’ve been following the NFL draft with my son. We’ve been tracking who the Seahawks will pick to be the newest members of the team.
It turns out that the NFL draft might be a helpful analogy for understanding God’s word for us today. After all, we’re talking about how Jesus calls each of us by name. How sometimes we play offense, sometimes we’re on defense, and sometimes we play special teams. And we’re talking about putting on the jersey, showing up for practice, and representing the team.
So please open your Bible to the tenth chapter of the gospel of John, beginning with verse 1.
John 10:1-10
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Here ends the reading. Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
All God’s Critters
Jesus is like a shepherd. The sheep recognize and listen to his voice. When he calls their name, they follow, they come to him. You know, just like the NFL draft! Roger Goodell gets up on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of fans. He announces one by one the names of the college players who have been selected by an NFL team. With the 5th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, he says, the Seattle Seahawks select “Devon Witherspoon!” The player grins. High fives with family and friends. The crowd goes wild. His name has been called. The player walks up onto the stage and receives the jersey of his new team. Devon Witherspoon is a SEAHAWK now.
Today, I get to be the preacher. I’m Roger Goodell, calling your name on behalf of the Good Shepherd. Jesus calls you by name. You have been chosen, named, and called to be a part of the flock, to join the team. You belong because Jesus says so. God’s reasons for choosing you are God’s, not yours. Unlike the NFL, God isn’t looking for the biggest, fastest, strongest. God assembles the flock to learn and share the love of Jesus.
Years ago Brenda and I decided to visit a nearby African American Baptist church one Sunday morning. It was known for its gospel choir. Sure enough, the choir got up to do a rousing rendition of Amazing Grace. It’s time for the big solo, and the attention goes to the lone non-African American woman in the choir, who was also tone deaf. She did an awful job of it.
But we watched that choir surround her and encourage her and cheer her on and embrace her at the end of the song. Everyone in the choir that day was called by name. They were supposed to be there. Because the point of the choir ministry, we learned then and to this day, was not about simply singing the best. It’s about love, belonging, acceptance. That act of love taught us more about the character of that congregation than even the best solo could have done.
Three Phases, One Team
Not only do all God’s critters have a place in the choir; God’s choir, God’s team is bigger and more diverse than we usually imagine. Just like a football team has three phases: Offense, defense, and special teams, the Bible talks about three phases of human society in a similar way. The Church is one phase, or “ordinance.” The Family is another. And the State—civil authority—is the third. Listen to what it says in Romans 13 about this third “ordinance” of God’s team:
Romans 13:1-4
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.
The first thing to understand: we’re on the same team. The opponent is sin and the devil, not one another. The State is not the enemy of the Church, or visa versa. Human society needs some kind of governance, and government needs to be held accountable. Families need a healthy State AND a healthy Church. Churches serve families, and churches need families to thrive. Neither the church nor the State can raise your kids—that’s the job of the family.
We get in trouble when any one facet of life gets ignored, or tries to dominate the others, or withdraws from working with the rest of the team. We need all three—distinct, but interrelated. Each of us is called and equipped by the Spirit to do our part to help the team. Sometimes we play offense, sometimes defense, and sometimes special teams. Sometimes we do God’s work in city hall, sometimes in the sanctuary, sometimes in the back yard or kitchen. You are called by name. You have a purpose.
Put on Christ (Romans 13:8-14)
The rest of Romans 13 is about putting on the jersey, showing up for practice, and representing the team.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
When a player is drafted, it’s a great day, but it isn’t the end of the journey, but the beginning of a new challenge. The book of Romans insists that when Jesus calls you by name, it is the beginning, not the end. “Night is nearly over, the day is almost here,” Paul says. This is the beginning of the day, not the end. Time to put on the uniform—clothe yourself with Christ, put on the armor of light, and report to training camp!
Now that you are part of the team, you need to learn and abide by team rules. You are going to learn how to eat right, sleep right, stretch, train, recover. It is time to put behind you old, childish habits. You need to take care of yourself. You represent the team now. You need to start putting the team first. The team needs you to be in top shape, so those all night parties are a thing of the past.
Not only that, but people are watching you, too. “Behave decently, as in the daytime,” the Bible says, because you are under the spotlight, 24/7. Your words and actions are now a reflection of the team, the ownership, the coach, and the city. Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Takeaways
In conclusion… All of God’s Critters have a place in the choir. Each of us has different gifts. We are many members, but a single body. We are defense, offense, and special teams, but all the same team.
That’s my first takeaway for you: we’re on the same team. God intends for government, families, and churches to work together. That includes accountability! But I think there is an unhealthy tendency to pit one against another, or argue that one is more important than another. In fact, we need each other, and we are all better off when each part is healthy and supported by the other parts. Complimentary football is what they call it when what the offense, defense, and special teams are all doing their jobs.
The second takeaway is for you to envision Sunday mornings as a sort of weekly training camp. This is practice. We put on the jersey. We study the playbook. We do the drills that tone our bodies and equip us for our work the rest of the week—whether at city hall, the pool hall, or the swimming pool. We cheer each other on. We lift each other up. We rehab our sore muscles and broken hearts.
Third: God has called you by name. You are a sheep in God’s flock. A critter in God’s choir. A player drafted onto God’s team. God made you for this. God called you from before the beginning. God called you again when you were Baptized. God calls your name today in this message. Today, that’s MY place in the choir. I’m the preacher. I get to be the one at the podium, calling your name, telling you that you have been chosen. God has called you by name. You belong here.
And one day, God will call your name one more time. About a week ago I went to visit a dying member of this congregation. She’s been on the team for a long time! By the time I arrived in her room, she had just died. Her eyes still bright, but no more breath in her. I told the nurses that they probably needed to confirm her passing. Then I went back in the room and was her pastor one more time. I placed my hand on her forehead, and did my job one more time: Clarriene, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. You belong to Christ. You always have. And always will.
And I could imagine the scene, as this precious child of God hears her name called one last glorious time, and steps onto the stage, surrounded by the cheers and high fives of the heavenly host of the saints in light…
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Conclusion
Thanks for listening today. I hope this podcast series is helping you fall more deeply in love with the God who created you, who loves you, and has a purpose for your life. To learn more about Faith, go to our website, www.faithshelton.org. Please “like” us, subscribe, donate, or sign-up for our newsletter. You can subscribe to this podcast on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, and Google. Chas, thanks for your production work on this podcast every week. All glory…