Have you been watching the Winter Olympics? I’ve tuned into a few things. As usual, I am always amazed that people can be gracefully controlled on ice and snow. I’m jealous.

Hockey is a favorite, or course. It’s one of the few events in Vancouver that’s played as teams against teams as opposed to teams against the clock or judges. Over the years I’ve enjoyed watching Olympic hockey because it’s played on a large sheet of ice. At 210’ x 95’, Olympic size hockey rinks reward those who can skate with finesse, speed, agility, and keep a puck on the end of a stick at the same time. Passing, teamwork, and tremendous endurance are rewarded by the big sheet.

Alas, Canada has caved in to the slugs. This year’s Olympics is using a National Hockey League standard – 200’ x 83’. Cynic that I am, I believe that since Canada’s hockey team is comprised by lots of NHL players (as is the USA’s), a smaller rink will favor the play style of the NHL.

The difference in size is over 3300 square feet. The NHL rink rewards bulk, holding, slowness, scraping the puck along the boards, quick line charges when players are out of breath, and generally uglier play.

Am I complaining? Yes! I can watch the NHL slog through one game after another during the eternally long season. Once every four years I get to watch hockey of a different kind. Now, I have to wait another four years.

Canada, I love you as my neighbor to the north. But you blew this one.

Pastor B

(Side note: Wow! The coverage or curling over the cable channels has boosted the popularity of that game about a thousand percent. The coverage has been meaningful and insightful. And we get to hear all those people talking in different languages. Very cool!)

Luther began a reformation movement that continues even today. Luther helped us to realize a living, active God who blesses us with reason and experience as well as the scriptures to help us make decisions. His wisdom set us upon a movement that continues to this day which finds its wholeness not in answers but in the constant struggle to meet the culture of the day with the gospel of eternity.

When the great reformer died, a piece of scrap paper was removed from the pocket of his robe. He had written something on that paper earlier in the evening. It may have been a sermon idea. Or maybe an argument to be fleshed out in a debate. Or maybe he knew that his life was about to end. We’ll never know his intention, but we do know the paper said, "We are beggars, it is true."

I think that when we come to life as humble beggars we can see the truth a whole lot better. When we meet the day with humility we can see a lively, active, sustaining God who pushes us into the new whether we like it or not.

February 18: The commemoration day of Martin Luther.

Pastor B

One of the more interesting items reported that researchers asked some people to think about God as savior and moral guide while they were having a brain scan. The result, matched by other studies I’ve read about, measured an increase in brain activity in the anterior prefrontal cortex. This is a relatively new part of the brain. It gives humans the capacity to explore mysteries.

Yes, researchers have found the "believing" part of the brain. As we’re coming up to Lent pretty soon, now is a good time to start using your brain.

Last week I was on the road to Cottage Grove when I got behind a de-icing truck. I couldn’t help but recall an incident driving through Grant County.

When we lived in Platteville, Hwy 151 still meant two lanes of driving until Dodgeville. So, we often went north on Hwy 80. The rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin undulate in a rhythmic beauty to the eye. Driving those hills brings less beauty, however. It all kind of depends on the traffic in front, for the roads hold a woeful shortage of passing opportunities.

The worst case scenario is driving three or four miles behind a tractor. In the fall and during haying seasons, the chances for this scene increased. Or, the worst of the worst, getting stuck behind a manure spreader. I can tell you right now that the load never totally stays on the spreader.

My experiences were many, but the one I thought of last week was a drive behind a beer truck. The truck advertised Stroh’s beer (they do still make that?), and its speed topped out at 40 mph at best. It was a long drive to Montfort. Yet, as I stared at the back of the truck a revelation came upon me like a voice from heaven. "Stroh’s" when spelled backwards comes out "shorts."

Now you know.

Pastor B.