Then I ran upon the games on TV. Turns out the two hours between us and Vancouver made great live television for my usual TV time which is after 10:00 p.m. The precision. The grace. The music. The drama of scoring and background stories.

Other cable channels carried delayed broadcasts. Where did curling get the legs to be on every night? As the NBC announcer suggested, who would have ever thought that we’d stay home on a Friday night on the edge of our seats to watch curling?

Meanwhile, young men and women performed ridiculous feats on skis, snowboards, sleds, and skates. Ski jumping? I’ve been on airplane flights that weren’t in the air as long as some of those nuts.

Speed skating on blades that are basically long knives. Skiing 50 kilometers in a grueling test of endurance. Drawing to a triple take-out with the hammer to end the 10^th end and win the bonspiel.

And then there was hockey. Although I still feel cheated that the games were not played on a true Olympic size rink, there is no doubting the buildup grabbed everyone’s attention throughout the weeks. Ultimately, it lived up to the hype as things seldom do.

When the flame flickered out on Sunday night along with the month of February, I already felt the twinge of withdrawal that comes from an addiction. Now, a week later, it’s only barely subsiding. NCAA March Madness may help fill the void. Still, there is nothing quite like the Winter Olympics.

Pastor B

P.S. Was it me or did I just miss it? The Vancouver Olympics seemed wonderfully free of scoring fiascos and drug problems.

Last words carry a unique kind of weight. We Lutherans like to recount Martin Luther’s last words, written not spoken: "We are beggars, this is true." Throughout history recording final words has become important because there’s a sense that one’s last proclamation is not tainted by ego or personal agenda.

I don’t believe Jesus’ final words are more true than his other teachings, yet I think we see something special in the final words.

Here’s what we find in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the earth."

Let me make a note about Matthew. This gospel more than any other speaks to the Body of Christ, the community of faith. Only in Matthew of all the gospels, can we find the word "church", a word that the Lord uses that foretells a new community that will form and grow in his name.

With that said, I think Jesus’ final words are directed to the church first as an overall goal and then the steps to meet the goal. The goal being in this case "to make disciples." The steps are baptizing and teaching.

I have a hunch that we often focus on Baptism to the neglect of teaching. In the water and promise of Baptism, God adopts humans through his Son. The gifts of Baptism are forgiveness, deliverance from death and eternal life. This rebirth in the Spirit makes us part of the family of God.

Baptism does not automatically make us disciples, however. There’s a second step if I read Jesus’ final Matthean words correctly. The second step involves learning. Therefore, the Church must teach.

I want to be clear. Our inheritance of God’s Kingdom is not tied to a certain level of learning. God accomplishes all we need by Baptism alone.

Discipleship is much harder. To learn from Jesus, to think theologically are some of the teaching elements of discipleship. They require time and effort. They require a re-prioritizing of what’s truly important. The teaching and learning never ends.

So, we make disciples by Baptism and teaching.

I’ll use this space to talk about the other gospels in weeks to come.

Pastor B.

P.S. – Other last words:

•  
  • Groucho Marx - "Die, my dear? Why that's the last thing I'll do! "
  • Edgar Allan Poe - "Lord help my poor soul"
  • Grover Cleveland - "I have tried so hard to do right."
  • Thomas Edison - "It's very beautiful over there."
  • Winston Churchill - "I'm bored with it all."
  • Frank Sinatra - "I'm losing. "

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.