IT AIN'T OVER

    Don't tell me that you didn't watch the Super Bowl last week. The game between Seattle and New England was "...the most watched program in the history of American television." It was a good game (Super Bowls are not always good games) and fans of both teams had plenty to cheer about.

    Seattle got into the game by the skin of its teeth. Two weeks earlier the Seahawks had a dismal day, trailing Green Bay by twelve points with just four minutes left in their playoff game, but they scored fifteen points in that short span and won the game in overtime. I spoke with a friend at that four-minute mark and he assured me, "This game is over." As Green Bay fans can tell you, it wasn't over.

    But in the Super Bowl, the reverse was true. This time Seattle led New England by ten points going into the fourth quarter but the Patriots fought back and went ahead with just two minutes left. If you are a sports fan, you know the rest. The Seahawks threw an ill-advised pass at the New England goal line and in the final seconds, "snatched defeat from the jaws of victory" and the Patriots had won another Super Bowl.

    And supposedly New York Yankee great Yogi Berra uttered the famous phrase, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

    We probably need to hear "it ain't over" from time to time. In my office I have a print of a Frederick Remington painting ("The Fall of the Cowboy") that depicts two cowboys who had to find a new paradigm for their lives after horrible snowstorms and the advent of barbed wire changed their world forever. Undoubtedly some of their friends believed that their lives were over while others found a new path to wholeness.

    But it happens to us. We lose a job or our place. The vote goes against us or someone learns about our secret. Suddenly we are told that the marriage is over, that we did not make the team, or the company has declared bankruptcy. The report comes back from the doctor and it is not good. The amniocentesis results come with a warning. And in those dark moments we simply cannot see a future.

    But remember our faith and our story. Our God has reached into the grave and brought forth life and the same God can reach into your life and mine, your circumstances and mine, and bring about life and light and hope. Such is the promise of faith. Such is the promise of our church. Trust me on this. No matter where you are, it ain't over.

     And I'll see you this Sunday.