It was the picture of 2023 seen around the world. Even non-sports fans were impacted as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest following a play on Monday Night. Medical teams rushed in. For 10 agonizing minutes CPR was administered. Finally, a faint heartbeat was detected. The remainder of the game – cancelled.
Players and staff from both teams took to their knees -a show of unity. Still others called it for it was – prayer. Live broadcasters were left stunned. But on the ESPN Sports Network, Dan Orlovsky, a former football player and devoted Christian prayed aloud these words.
“God, we come to you in these moments that we don’t understand, that are hard, because we believe that you’re God, and coming to you and praying to you has impact,” “We’re sad, we’re angry, and we want answers, but some things are unanswerable. We just want to pray, truly come to you and pray for strength for Damar, for healing for Damar, for comfort for Damar, to be with his family, to give them peace. If we didn’t believe that prayer didn’t work, we wouldn’t ask this of you, God. I believe in prayer, we believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin’s name in your name. Amen.”
The media didn’t know how to handle this. Some praised him for the prayer. Others were critical for his act of faith. Still other defenders said given the multiplicity of religions observed among NFL players, he did nothing wrong. After all they concluded - we all pray to the same God anyways.
Now that Damar is finally awake and speaking, I would like to circle on this statement that we all pray to the same God anyways. Or we ultimately all worship the same God anyways. Such thought is all too common. I’ve heard it the hospitals and the local schools with the crisis response team.
As well given our freedom of religion, we are much more likely these last decades to encounter people of other faiths. Sometimes clothing is a giveaway with a hijab head scarf or robe. Other times a greeting or farewell. Still other times something hanging nearby on the wall. Doctors, nurses, other medical staff, neighbors who come here for food, the person strolling in the park or even checking you out behind the counter.
A question from the 2022 State of Theology survey might aid us- 3020 self-identifying Christians answered this question. True or False? God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam?
In 2016: 40% thought that was true
In 2022, the number has jumped to 60% that God accepts the worship of all religions.
So in the context of football players taking a knee and praying. Does it matter? Was God accepting of all the prayers prayed on Monday night regardless of the faith foundation they came from? The answer is important when we consider the Great Commission given by Christ. If all religions worship the same God anyways, mission work should only focus on atheists who deny God exists or agnostics who know somewhat but at a distance. But then Jesus own words are called into question that there is no way to the Father except through him. Did he speak truth? Or was that just for Christians? Why if this statement is true would God take away Israel’s land through exile as punishment for their idol worship.
Our Catechism speaks to this – Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in his word. Anything other than the worship of the God of Scripture is named idolatry. Scripture – the special revelation of God – Old Testament and New is the source of truth. The problem is of course there are other holy books – Christians are frequently made sport of for having absolute beliefs and not leaving room for others. Yet the identity of our Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could not be revealed from anywhere else.
Besides the Bible offers dozens upon dozens of consistent texts to reveal there is only one God. The Faceoffs between God and idol substitutes were one option. Elijah on Mt Carmel or say a Moses moment with Israel and Aaron’s Golden Calf. And then there are the prophets – particularly before Israel’s exile. Today’s passage was from Jeremiah 17 – I presume it comes as no surprise to you that God does in fact demand the loyal worship of his people.
The violation of the 1st Commandment is Judah’s national and generational sin. Chapter 17:1 – engraved permanently on the altar (a public place) – and on the heart (a private place.) Having warned Israel several times going all the way back to Moses and Joshua, the consequences of forsaking God would be the loss of their land. The Exile is coming. Verse 3 – I will give way as plunder together with your high places because of sin throughout your country. Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you. What is that inheritance? Their land.
Verse 5 – Cursed is the one who trust in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. What is our takeaway from this? All paths whatever your personal religion do not lead to God. When Jesus faced the Tempter in the wilderness he too quoted Old Testament texts that affirmed loyalty to worshiping God alone.
That brings us back to Monday Night. Were all the prayers prayed – from Christians, from Muslims, from Bhudists and others accepted by God? Was God somehow more moved because all those players had taken a knee together? What we know is those who prayed to the one true God of Scripture would be heard and answered. The others were sadly like the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
Why does this matter? Why is the pastor provoking this issue on a Sunday morning? It’s because Scripture is crystal clear on the contrast between the two even if our eyes try to deceive us. It’s because Scripture is crystal clear even though the acceptance of other religions in our society today is commonplace. Verse 7 parallels the imagery of Psalm 1 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord… Verse 5 Cursed in the one whose heart turns away from the Lord. You couldn’t have a greater contrast than between curse and blessing. Question and Answer 94 speaks of this as a matter of salvation which Jesus Christ won for us.
But the counter claim against us goes something like this – well aren’t we Christian because we were raised Christian? Isn’t a Muslin Muslim because they were raised that way? The same could be said for any religion. Christianity would be acceptable in 2023 if we could just shed our exclusivist claims that there is only one way to God. Yet all religions do not ultimately worship the same God.
It’s not that we were somehow more fortunate for being born to our parents and others less so. Scripture also has an answer to this false claim that one’s heritage is solely responsible for their faith selection. Verses 9 and 10 – The responsibility falls on the human heart. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.
So what are we to do from here?
There was a children’s song growing up – Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Oh be careful little ears what you hear. These are the moments to be discerning for deceptions even during a football game. In Matthew 10 as Jesus sent out the twelve for the first time he taught them to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Ever discerning and listening for the message behind the message. Just as there is a strong contrast in the Bible between curse and blessing won for us by the grace of Jesus Christ – we need to be cautious about the message we receive and the truths we buy into
The second which we’ll talk more about next week is to take in Scripture all the more as the Spirit helps us discern fact from fiction and truth from lie. That we look where we ourselves are at when it comes to the first commandment for every area of our lives – sincerely acknowledging the only true God, trust him alone, look to him for every good thing, humbly and patiently love him, fear him and honor him with all my heart. We can always ask ourselves in light of the first commandment is any earthly thing or person is our lives is more important than God.
Finally, having a passion for the lost who have not yet accepted Christ as Savior – Rather than surrender to the status quo in verse 12 and 13 that they are rejecting the glorious throne of God – or the spring of living water Jesus Christ and saying oh well there is nothing we can do about this -- an event like this taking place on a national scale – the picture seen around the country and world – leaves room for conversation with others. Maybe it is someone Christ has placed on your heart and you didn’t know how to engage them so you haven’t? Maybe it is a grandchild or child who has left the faith altogether. Given that the NFL games will feature Davon’s number on their uniforms and on the fields the opportunity is not a lost one. That picture is going to be replayed again and again this week. – Did you see the game? What did you think of all those players and staff taking a knee? What did you think about Orlovsky’s prayer on ESPN? Make use of other opportunities that will come up this year where all attention is drawn to a single event. God blesses the one who trust faithfully in the Lord alone.
