Tomorrow is perhaps the biggest day of the year. Yes, it is a special Sunday for sure. One we have been waiting for in extreme anticipation since this time last year. Of course the occasion of which I speak is none other than…the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. What, were you expecting some other special occasion? OK OK. It is Super Bowl Sunday. Perhaps the biggest sports day…maybe the biggest day of any kind…of the year. Even those who do not follow sports will sit down with friends and family to take in the spectacle and, of course, the commercials. Football, perhaps more so than any other sport in America has become, dare I say, a religion for many people. The league has expanded since its inception in 1920, boasting 14 teams, to today’s total of 32 teams spread across the land. Fans will commonly make a pilgrimage journey across the miles to worship their favorite team. Or will adhere closely to a TV set on game day. When the league began games were played exclusively on Sunday afternoons. Then in 1952 they began playing games on Saturday. In 1970 we saw the onset of Monday Night Football then in 2006 we began seeing Thursday night games. Games begin at 10:30 AM on Thanksgiving and continue throughout the day.
The league has gradually infringed on the traditional day of worship and family gatherings. Now, to be fair, other sports leagues have had a similar influence but none to the same degree as the NFL. It has truly become a religion in the United States. Shifting allegiances away from God and squarely on gridiron. The strategic placement of NFL franchises across the country, and the ubiquitous nature of games being played throughout the week, has some similarity to King Jeroboam of Israel and his plan to wrestle power away from Jerusalem. First a bit of history.
In today’s first reading from 1st Kings, we see the aftermath of the sin of Solomon and then, through his son, Rehoboam. Solomon’s son inherits the throne of the unified kingdom of Israel from his Father. Solomon, over the course of his reign, gradually drifts away from following the precepts of the Lord to the worship of the foreign gods of his many wives. He has inflicted forced labor upon some of his subjects in order to maintain the wealth and power he has amassed. These over-burdened citizens primarily resided in the northern parts of Israel while the southern cities enjoyed the fruits of this labor.
Upon the death of Solomon, and the beginning of the reign of Rehoboam, the new king is approached by leaders of the north who pleaded with the new king to reduce the burdens inflicted by his Father. Upon receiving counsel from his peers, Rehoboam doubles down on the strife placed on his subjects to the north. As a consequence they elect a new leader, Jeroboam, to separate themselves from the southern kingdom of Judah. Forever dividing Israel into competing camps. Jeroboam constructs golden calves and places them in temples across the northern kingdom and appoints priests to govern. He creates a feast day to compete with the Feast of the Tabernacles (now known as Sukkot, the celebration of the harvest). In this way, he discourages his subjects from traveling south to Jerusalem, Judah’s capital. Pulling them away from worship of the true God.
Jeroboam thought to himself:
“The kingdom will return to David’s house.
If now this people go up to offer sacrifices
in the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem,
the hearts of this people will return to their master,
Rehoboam, king of Judah,
and they will kill me.”
After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold
and said to the people:
“You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough.
Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan.
This led to sin, because the people frequented those calves
in Bethel and in Dan.
The division of Israel through the worship of false gods encouraged by Jeroboam will prove to be their downfall. The northern kingdom will be captured by Assyria and, later, the eventual subjugation of Judah by Babylon. Thus the comparison between Jeroboam’s actions of creating false worship centers in Israel to the growth of NFL franchises competing with worshipping God for the attention of the masses.
Now I am in no way trying to contend that sports are evil and that we should not be watching the Super Bowl tomorrow. I, for one, will be glued to a TV set (do we still call them TV SETS, BTW?) hoping for a competitive game. But it all must be kept in perspective. After all, it’s just a game. The city of Passaic, New Jersey has an annual Super Bowl party for the homeless in the city. A homeless shelter in Passaic opens it doors and provides meals, a shower and a warm, safe place to rest and to watch the big game. David Hung, owner of Dynasty Barbers in Passaic, has been providing free haircuts to homeless persons on a monthly basis for a few years. This includes on Super Bowl Sunday.
In 1990 the first “Souper Bowl of Caring event took place at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. The Souper Bowl of Caring takes place every year on the day of the Super Bowl—Feb. 7 this year. The idea is simple: Led by youth, a congregation or community collects money and/or canned goods before or on Super Bowl Sunday. Since the event began, over $193 MILLION in dollars and food has been generated while benefiting thousands of soup kitchens, food banks, meal programs and other hunger-relief charities in local communities.
Jeroboam divided Israel by creating false gods and places of worship to draw the people away from the One, True God. We can likewise allow false gods (sports, hobbies, addictions) to pull us away from a relationship with our Father and our Creator. Deacon Arthur Miller of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut has a little prayer he says at the beginning of each day that I think will help keep our lives in balance and focused each day. He says at the start of each day:
“Lord, what are we going to do today?”
