A divine message encoded in television’s biggest night: The Super Bowl.
Divine messages through sports??
We spent a lot of time last summer looking at some prophetic revelation from the Rio Olympics. We highlighted defining moments that spoke to God’s redeeming plans for the U.S. and other nations. We did a similar thing with the unprecedented final game of the World Series’ Cubs victory.
For some people, finding divine messages in sporting events is laughable. This is understandable. Our culture has so divided the “sacred” from the “secular” that there is this dualism in our minds that fights off any connection between the two (as though God only enjoys stained glass and Hillsong concerts, but God forbid[himself] to enjoy beer, hotdogs, and first downs).
Well, here’s some New Bus news for you if you find yourself in this dualistic predicament: God invented the very nature of play. Sports are His idea. And He is intricately involved in our world, more than we realize. Besides enjoying the nature of play, He loves to speak to us through the things we enjoy. Like it or not, that includes sports. Now this doesn’t mean there’s a special message behind every blade of grass that athletes trample upon. But be assured: The grass and the rocks are crying out. Everyday objects and events are laced with the glory with God and they do speak to us . . . if we’ll just have the humility of a child to listen.
A song of unity
So what is the message behind the Super Bowl? There’s a BIG one.
The rocks and grass (and drones) reached a very high pitch in their spiritual proclamation this past Sunday. And a lot of it was wrapped up in Lady Gaga’s halftime performance.
These days there are a few things you’ll find both liberals and conservatives agreeing upon in the sea of noise that makes up social media. But this Sunday, there was tremendous agreement on both sides over how well Lady Gaga performed. What people found beautiful was the uniting spirit behind her words. CNN described it as “a message of inclusion.” And all of this began as she descended from the sky (in case you were wondering, that wasn’t supernatural–there were wires involved). The singer began with the words “God Bless America” and ended with the declaration that we are “one nation under God individisible with liberty and justice for ALL.” Her words sang of God’s grace over America and she later performed a song called “A Million Reasons” that carried a very personal message for Lady Gaga with spiritual undertones. It is song that is all about holding onto our faith, even when there’s a “million reasons” to turn away.
Whether people hear it or not, God our Father was speaking through His daughter Stefani with a word for the country. The word is that we ARE one nation, and there shall be liberty and justice for all . . . and that even when we have a “million reasons” to walk away from our hope in God, He is bringing the strength and encouragement we need to stand firm and be victorious.
The greatest Super Bowl comeback ever
And then this message played itself out like a live-action parable told by Jesus. Instead of farmers and seeds, you had Patriots and footballs (inflated this time…no offense New England). In this parable, the Patriots obviously represent the U.S. (the name and colors give that away) who came back to win after seemingly impossible odds. (Full disclosure before preceding: Some of the contributors of Elisha’s Riddle were personally rooting for the Falcons on this one. They hadn’t won a Super Bowl before and we were hoping for the win . . . so this isn’t about the literal teams and their individual merits. We’re looking at the game now through a different lens, like using night vision goggles to see more of what is happening in the night.)
The announcers of Sunday night’s game were in literal “disbelief” at what transpired before their eyes. That’s their own words. And the same type of shock hit everyone watching. After trailing 28 to 3 in the third quarter, the statisticians all said that the Falcons had a 99.5% chance of winning.
Did you catch that number? 99.5 percent. Those odds are ridiculous… And so most people had logically given up on any chance of a Patriots comeback.
But, as you’ve either seen or heard by now, they did come back. And it was spectacular. And it is a parable of America making an unbelievable comeback on the world scene, both spiritually and naturally. A comeback into fresh unity and positive influence.
The surprise of redeeming grace
The parable becomes more beautiful when you consider some other facts surrounding the game. Tom Brady, the Patriots’ quarterback, was incredibly disliked over the past season (“hated” might be a more appropriate term in some places). He was suspended after the embarrassing “DeflateGate” scandal and didn’t even play the first four games of the season. There wasn’t a lot of hope for the team from the very beginning. And there certainly wasn’t a lot of hope throughout the majority of the Big Game.
But then a picture of redeeming grace was painted in the fourth quarter (and then in the first overtime of Super Bowl history). To put on the goggles again and look at the “parable” – Brady and the Patriots can represent a nation that has made many mistakes and gone in very wrong directions. We’ve fumbled on the geopolitical scene in more ways than one. But even still, O America, God is shedding His grace on thee! Just as we pointed out in the Rio Olympics, there is a redeeming plan for the nation to rise up into more unity, prosperity, and light. And it will ultimately lead to this country to being a greater force of good throughout the entire world.
Note: This was also Brady’s fifth Super Bowl win. Five is the biblical number of grace, and the grace of God (heralded even in the halftime performance) is at the center of this NFL parable.
The beauty of “Patriotism”
Ok, so on that note, there’s one last thing to add.
There is a lot of high-sounding, super-spiritual talk out there that is against patriotism. There is this judgmental attack on some people who want America to be “great” or prosper, as though that is the spirit of the antichrist himself. The gist of this voice is that we need to stop being patriotic and realize we are part of a different Kingdom–not the Kingdom of America, but of God!
This sounds great and OBVIOUSLY, if you’re a believer in Christ, there is ample truth here. A lot of conservative Christians can use a spoon-full of Kingdom medicine in this regard.
But understand something: There is a fine line between nationalism and patriotism. Nationalism is a darker version of patriotism and it is very inward focused. Nationalism is not good… But patriotism is a different story.
Patriotism is actually very healthy. It’s like taking pride in your local community and wanting it to prosper and become more healthy. The same goes for the macrocosm of an entire nation. It’s similar to how we should rejoice in our individuality and seek to strengthen and nourish our own bodies. Some people can get so lost in “collectivism” and “globalism” that they lose the glory on individuality (and obviously you can go overboard and out of bounds on individuality as well–there are sidelines on both sides!)
As Jeremiah once exhorted us, we should seek after the welfare of our cities and nations. This isn’t anti-Gospel, it’s just part of how we’re designed as individuals, and even as individual nations. Some people are throwing out the red, white, and blue Baby with the bathwater of nationalism.
So here’s the deal: As America thrives, it will have an unbelievably positive impact on the world. History has shown this many times, although some people like to scour the history books and only point out the bad America has done. (Imagine if people only focused on our faults as individuals the same way some people focus on the faults of America while dismissing the undeniable good that has been accomplished through her?)
Much of the momentum behind the recent election was the tagline of making America “great.” It was a strong patriotic movement with an outcome that shocked people much in the same way the Patriots shocked people on Sunday night. Now, there were certainly many problems in this movement, and there still are! And these problems are far worse than deflated balls. There is nationalism and racism still at work in the country.
However.
There is redeeming grace. And there is a diamond in the rough of this call to American prosperity, and that diamond is 100% Gospel. God does want America to be greater than ever before, so that we may be an even greater blessing to the nations. And there was a definitive message about this on Sunday night during what some are calling the most spectacular game in Super Bowl history. But know this . . . this blessing will not come from one political party, but from thepeople, rising up and shining together in love.
For those with ears to hear (who can enjoy the simplicity of play and the glory of the divine laden within), we offer this “word” for you to ponder. Peace.