The title of my article is ‘Would Jesus go
to an Eskimos game?’ However, having just been to an Eskimos game last month I
think a more appropriate title would be ‘Can even Jesus get good parking near
Commonwealth? My suspicion is that he might if he had $15 in his pocket and was
still willing to walk several blocks.
Anyhow, as I picture myself sitting there
watching the game there are some reasons why I have trouble seeing the Saviour
sitting next to me. The first objection is the violence inherent in football.
If I look at sports in general I have an easier time imagining Jesus playing
badminton than football. One imagines that the more violent a sport the less
likely Christ is to approve of it.
However, is it possible to play a violent
sport and still not sin? I suppose the sin is the anger one feels at an
opponent and the intent to cause harm. Yet I do not have to get angry to be a
good player. In fact, some feel that losing your cool makes you less effective
on the field. Just look at that red-faced defensive end getting his second
roughing call of the night for an example. Also, tackling someone does mean
that I intend to hurt them. There are a few bad apples who want to injure their
opponents but it is unfair to say that everyone wants or needs to do so.
When I thought about this more a picture
came to me of Jesus as a player. Imagine for a moment that the disciples
organized an impromptu soccer game while everyone was cleaning up after Jesus
fed the 5000. I know that soccer as such
was not invented until much later, but bear with me. There they are running
around trying to move the ball forward and having a good time. Can I imagine
that Jesus would jump in there with them? If he did, would he stop the game the
moment someone bumped him to get a better position or would he just laugh and
bump them back? I’ll trust you to decide for yourself but I feel that he would
keep playing.
That sort of spirit kind of answers my
second objection. When I was a kid, they sold all sorts of snacks and drinks at
sports events but today all they seem to sell is beer. I know I can find soft
drinks and hamburgers down in the concessions but the people walking up the
aisles only sold beer. I didn’t have a breathalyser but it seemed to me that a
number of the spectators had more than their fair share of the devil’s brew. Would
a man completely free from sin feel OK about going to such an event?
Setting aside for a moment that Jesus
turned water into wine not non-alcoholic grape juice and so did not object to
alcohol, I would still say that he would go. You might remember that he was
accused of hanging out with ‘sinners’ and tax collectors. He went to where the
people who needed God hung out. There is no mention of him inviting them to a
nice clean church so it seems logical to assume that he went to their parties.
I never went to the party of an ancient tax collector, but I hear they were
pretty rowdy. If he was willing to do that to gain a fair hearing for the
gospel I think he would probably not freak out when he saw a man in green and
gold on his fourth overpriced Coors.
The final objection to Jesus attending a
football game is that the whole thing is sort of a waste of time and money.
Even though the Esks are winning this year, football does not make humanity any
better and the money given to pad the wallets of overpaid players is probably
needed for more worthy causes.
Well, I can’t think of any rebuttals to
those two points. But the title of the article isn’t, “If Jesus was in control
of everything, would He shut down football”, it’s about whether he would go to
a game that was already scheduled. I’m not sure he would spend the coin just
for the entertainment but he would probably go with a few friends in order to
build relationships. Sports have a way of making connections between people
even if they are from different countries, different economic levels, etc.
Watching Mike Reilly run through the Bomber
defence gives us something to talk about and that talking brings people
together. If the Lord knew nothing about that I think he would miss out on the
friendship that friendly banter brings. People don’t want to talk about deep
things until they have had a chance to talk about the weather and who won last
night’s game. If you get all weird when they bring up sports they will not feel
comfortable around you. So in a nutshell I think Jesus would go to an Esks
game, though I’m not sure He would paint a big “E” on his chest.
By Jason Gayoway
Published in The Daily Herald Tribune August 14, 2014
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