Rev. Will Rice
Grace United Methodist Church
Corpus Christi, TX
pastorwillrice@gmail.com
“Learning the Playbook”
We are in the second week of our sermon series “Friday Night Lights – Sunday Morning Insights.” Unlike Pastor John, I have never played football. Well that is not exactly true. In high school, I played flag football, which I finally figured out was just tackle football with no equipment and these little flags that you rip off when the guy with the ball is laying on the ground. But I have never played real football. However, I am a pretty smart guy. I have learned to do lots of things. I just taught myself to play guitar this year. So, I am thinking I am going to start playing football. I had a member of the church get me a football playbook. I haven’t really looked at it much. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, there are lots of circles and xs and lines, some of them straight, some of them squiggly. But I think I can do this. Since I have this book, I am wondering if some of you will follow me out on a football field. Don’t worry, we aren’t not going to take on the Dallas Cowboys but maybe a semi-pro team like the Miami Dolphins. Any takers? I do have the book and I will bring it with me.
Alright, I imagine that just having a playbook would not qualify me to play football. I do know, however, that without a playbook, a team wouldn’t be very successful. Imagine it’s the Super Bowl, the Cowboys are down by three, there are fourteen seconds on the clock, they are on the defender’s 45. No time outs. The crowd is deafening. They are at the line, the clock is ticking, Romo barks out, “Owens, you run into the end zone, but first do a squiggly thing, Barber, you run over there, you guys block and somebody else stand by me and pretend I just handed you the ball. Go!”
These guys have a playbook. But not with them. Imagine the same scenario. It’s the Super Bowl, the Cowboys are down by three, there are fourteen seconds on the clock, they are on the defender’s 45. Not time outs. The crowd is deafening. They are at the line, the clock is ticking, Romo barks out, “Everybody turn to page 15. Let’s do that one.” Now if the Buffalo Bills did this, we would understand, but we expect pro teams to know this stuff.
These teams know their plays. We would expect, with a team at the Super Bowl, they know the game so well, that with this time on the clock, this amount of yardage, this many points down, most of them could guess what they are about to do. But just to be clear, the quarterback says, “Pro 87 Fly.” And they all know what to do.
We, as Christians, have our own sort of playbook, don’t we? But do we know it? Do we know it like a pro football player knows his playbook?
The scripture we read today is from on the “pastoral letters” in the New Testament. We call them “pastoral letters” because they deal with caring for the young communities of faith or congregations that had been formed. They often deal with problems or issues of order in the life of these communities. 1st and 2nd Timothy get their name from the fact that they are to Timothy. Timothy joined Paul the apostle, who is credited with writing this letter is Lystra in SE in Asia Minor around 46 A.D. and joined him as a traveling missionary.
So, thematically, we have sort of a letter between mentor and student, from a pastor to one whom he called to serve. In what we read today, Timothy is reminded of all Paul, the apostle has done and has endured for the name of Christ.
10Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11my persecutions and suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured!
So Paul has been persecuted: flogged, beaten, imprisoned, etc. But don’t worry there is good news.
Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
And then not so good news.
12Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
There is whole sermon there, but you will have to come back for that one. I will be sure to advertise that one. “Come on Sunday and hear how you are to be persecuted.”
Let’s skip ahead a bit.
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Timothy, the guy who should have gotten this letter, grew up with a Jewish mother so would have likely been taught the scriptures of what we call the Old Testament. Those would be the sacred writing that the author is referring to here because there was, as of yet, no New Testament. And when I say, he had likely been taught, I don’t mean he knew some Bible stories. It is likely that he had some pretty significant portions memorized. The letter goes on.
16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
This is fairly significant phrase in the New Testament. It gets pulled out in lots of discussion about what scripture is, where it comes from and how we are supposed to understand it. When the author says, “All scripture is inspired by God,” the whole “inspired by God” is one word qeo,pneustoj. This is an odd word in that it is not used anywhere else in the Bible. However it is pretty clear in meaning. Theo means God. Pneu is the root of pneuma or spirit, so we get God, spirited, God in-spirited, God inspired. And that it is a lot different than God written.
Sometimes the conversation gets stuck on the first part of that sentence and misses the second. Scripture is God inspired AND “is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
Look at all those things scripture is useful for: teaching, reproof (expression of disapproval), correction (improvement) and for training (discipline, instruction) in righteousness (or right living with God). I read the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and I want to read this again as printed in there.
16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
I am pretty sure from my interaction with some other Christians that there must be a translation that reads:
16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching of others, for reproof of others, for correction of others, and for training others in righteousness,
I think that some translations that read that way because it explains why I often see Christians hurling the Bible, as if a weapon at others whose moral behavior does not live up to certain standards. But let’s move on. It says that scripture is useful for all these things,
17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Here’s the thing. I have a football playbook in my hand. It does not make me proficient at football. For it to make me proficient, I would have to read it. I would have to work on it with others on my team. I would need to practice. Having a Bible does not make you proficient nor obedient. Reading a Bible is what we are called to do. And reading a Bible, trying to understand what it is saying to you in the context of your team, practicing the life of a Christian, constantly returning to playbook, for instruction, correction, further training, that is how you become proficient, equipped for every good work.
As Christians, we just don’t spend as much time reading scripture as we should and we miss the opportunity to be in conversation with God through God’s Holy Word. According to a poll conducted by Gallup in 2000, 65% of Americans agreed that the Bible, “answers all or most of the most basic questions of life.” Interestingly less than half of those 65% actually read the Bible at least weekly. More interesting is the fact that 28% of those people who agreed that the Bible “answers all or most of the most basic questions of life” rarely or never read the Bible.
Believing the Bible is our playbook and not reading it puts us in a very dangerous place. When we don’t read scripture, we don’t know what is in there are we can be misled. 75% of Americans believe that the Bible teaches, “God helps those who help themselves.” Actually it was Ben Franklin who taught that. Many of us are inundated by forwarded “Christian” emails that give us non-scriptural teaching and then tell us God will bless us if we forward them. If God blesses people in exchange for forwarding emails, I give up. And many of us don’t know that what is contained in some of these messages is not scriptural because we haven’t read the playbook. There are people out there who quote scripture to defend their hatred and bigotry and because we don’t know the playbook, we don’t know they are wrong.
If it weren’t so heretical, I would give into the temptation to put a piece of scripture up on the screen that I made up and see if anyone would notice. I would get in trouble because there are a couple of you who would catch me and perhaps call the Bishop.
Here is another problem.
16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Often, when we are confronted with issues in our life, we turn to scripture. That is a good thing. But, when we turn to scripture in times of trouble and have not spent any time previously, weird things can happen. Alisha and I have a two year old at home who is in the midst of determining who exactly is in charge and where the boundaries are. The other morning, on not wanting me to put his shoes on, he hauled off and smacked me. Not to overreact, I told him to hold on while I went to the Bible. Deuteronomy 21 is very clear:
18If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, 19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. 20They shall say to the elders of his town, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us…” 21Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid.
Perhaps, if I read a little more scripture Psalm 103 could have been more helpful:
8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
I know how to discipline, what I needed was grace.
We have to be careful. We have to be informed. We have to read.
I believe there are two issues at the root of why we don’t read. Time and skills.
Time is my biggest excuse. I work a lot of hours. I have a two year old. How can I possibly commit to reading scripture every day? There is a giant hole in my excuse. Is there nothing that I do that is less important than being familiar with the playbook the defines my identity as a child of God? I read Time Magazine every week. I read The New York Times every morning. When the fall season starts, I will watch House every week.
The other issue can be skills. Many people say, “I try, but I have trouble. There is a lot I don’t understand.” I will give you this one and I, as a representative of the church take some of the blame. We don’t spend enough time teaching Christians how to read the Bible. I am working on the big picture, but let me offer you some help in the mean time. First of all, you may need a new Bible. If you are reading the King James Bible, I know that it may bring you comfort and there may be passages that you still want to read from it, but you are going to have trouble understanding. You are going to need a new Bible. I recommend the New Revised Standard Version, that is the one we read from or the New International Version.
Next, you will need a place to start. If you flip it open and start reading Obadiah, you are going to be confused. Start with a Gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Just read a little every day. Want some more guidance? We have these little books in the glass way, called the Upper Room Devotional. Every day there is a reading from scripture and a little message that goes with it. Here is another tip. Bring your Bible with you to church. We read from the Bible every week and sometimes reading along in your own will help you to become more familiar.
Here is your homework. This is the easiest and most rewarding homework I will ever give. Read the Bible every day this week. I have already put some new links on my weblog to help you. There are link on my weblog, at willatgrace.blogspot.com that can help you. I have found the cheapest NRSV Bible in print. For ten dollars including shipping you can have a Bible you can read. That will take a few days to arrive. In the mean time, you can read the text online for free at the oremus Bible browser. The Upper Room Devotional I mentioned earlier will email you the daily devotion every day for free with a link to the scripture.
Alright there is extra credit. Say you already read scripture every day. You thought you were off the hook. Nope. Help someone else. Here are some ways you can do it: Chances are if you read the Bible every day you have an extra. Give it to somebody. Chance are if you read the Bible every day you know some other Christians. I bet some of them don’t read every day. I bet of you said, “Why don’t we both read Mark’s Gospel and get together and talk about it,” they might say, “O.K.”
I told you I have never played football. But I do know this. If you are on a football team, high school, college pro and you don’t learn the playbook, you get kicked off the team. I am not going to every try to kick you off the team because I believe that God loves us and tries to grow us even when we don’t try. But I urge you, read the book. Amen.
