Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Lessons from the Cross and the Course

How can I relate lessons of Easter with the Master's Golf Tournament? Guess you could say that watching the Master's Final Round on Sunday afternoon following a wonderful Easter week and a Resurrection Day spent with family, I got to thinking.

Jesus must have felt so rejected. Here he comes in triumphant on Palm Sunday with huge crowds, cheering, and waving Palm Branches at his feet with shouts of Hosanna and by Thursday it's down to 12 quietly hidden away in an upper room. Not only that, but one of those people is going to betray him, one is going to deny him, and the rest still seem confused about his mission on earth and His true Kingdom.

It's like the final round of the Masters. For the days leading up to Sunday, the crowds are evenly dispersed. They are following all the golfers, cheering for all of them, and watching in anticipation of who will pull ahead.

On Sunday the two big guns in golf, Tiger and Phil, are grouped together. Great Golfers, but not Great Friends. The crowds following them are huge. The crowds are having a great round. Phil is dropping putts and Tiger is hitting trees and making the green all at the same time. The excitement is obvious. Cameras follow their every move.

Meanwhile, 5 holes back the leader of the day and the next few in contention are having slim crowds. The stands at Amen Corner are nearly empty when they come through. An announcer says in order to win these guys will have to overcome the quiet and lack of enthusiasm.

Phil and Tiger make a play for the lead, but each falls short. Once they are done, it's like the crowd realized the leaders are still on the course and maybe they should watch. They fall back and watch .....and ..... as they trudge forward to sudden death and extra holes.

I heard an ESPN announcer say that he turned off the set when the big guns were done. What!! This is when the golf got exciting. The 18th hole, the 10th hole. In the end, the guy I was cheering for came in second. He got just missed a final putt. Inches short. No give.

It reminded me a lot of Easter. All the hype for the Big Guy (Easter Bunny) who in the end doesn't deliver anything lasting while the real star of the show, (Jesus) is trudging on towards the cross and final victory. When all his friends desert him, when they can't stay tuned in for a just a little while why he prays, he goes on and stays the course.

It's Sudden Death on the Cross and Jesus made the the ultimate move in dying for our sins and finishing strong with an amazing resurrection from the dead.

That beats any Master's Final Round Victory.

1 comment:

jodi said...

That stinks!! Although, YES, there are much worse *things*...it is sad to loose the photos, contacts and documents on the computer!