When The Goalkeeper Scores A Goal !!!

WHEN THE GOALKEEPER SCORES A GOAL…

Action: Presentation of a video clip on a goalkeeper scoring a goal...

Needless to say, this kind of title is bound to raise many eye-brows & any media mogul with a nose for sensationalism is bound to capitalize on News as odd as the Goal keeper scoring a goal in this month, when the football fever globally has touched its peak what with the curtains going up on the Mega event in Brazil – Football World Cup 2014!!!

Keeping the core content of my message in suspense let me continue to dwell awhile on the media or to be more specific on the Indian electronic media. Those of us who grew up satisfying ourselves with the bland News coverage of DD were swept off the feet literally in late 1980s’ & mind you it was an enjoyable experience getting ‘swept off the feet’ when one suave bearded gent answering to the name Pranoy Roy appeared in the TV screen as an anchor for a programme which claimed to encapsulate all the World events of a week. News is News is News, so what was New about that News? Its slick presentation…Ladies and Gentlemen!!! Honestly it would not be an understatement if one were to affirm that the ‘The World this week’ with the creative flair of its producers oozing, revolutionized News presentation in the Indian Electronic media, like none before it. The News coverage would never be the same again in the History of Indian Electronic media. The icing on the cake as it were in this program was, it would invariably end with clippings of bizarre events…like for instance of a goalkeeper scoring a goal & what a goal it was! If I am not mistaken in late 80s’, there was that rare clipping of that maverick Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita (of the scorpion kick, flashy attire fame et al) in a local league encounter with his team staring right down the barrel-a goal down- in the dying minutes of the game setting out on an undulating run. Away went this freakish goalie dribbling and dodging his way past hostile, frustrated legs of the defenders and cutting into the box with a masterly gymnast-like-turn and slotting the ball in past the hapless goalkeeper. Now why did I introduce this interlude in my message? The reason is the stunning theme for our meditation GOD ‘PRAYING’ (permit me to unveil the theme) would sound just as bizarre to some of us with fixed mindsets.

Before, I go any further I would like to make it abundantly clear, the very purpose of me expounding this “rare” theme is to bring to the fore ‘the infinite love of God for his most cherished creation…Man’. Yes, I would like to herald that God condescends to this level only in order we -the faithful lot- ‘accept a rescued sinner’ and NOT FOR ANYTHING ELSE, lest a mistaken view emerge in our minds that the Creator has become weak.

While on the subject of ‘God in action’, some imaginary postures of God float in & out of our mind’s eye, most of which I ought to add here are those, which are ‘acceptable’ to the majority. No one would object to a poster depicting God in the posture of answering prayers to a man on his knees or for that matter to any poster which would portray Him as superior to man…which anyway is an undeniable truth, so how would we with refined spiritual sensitivities categorize a scene where God entreats puny, fallible, irreverent man. Even given His boundless love to man, would He ever lower Himself to such a level of pleading with flesh and blood man? Do we see such a scene in the Bible? If so, where?

Relate…

Welcome once again to the good ole’ Prodigal Son parable (Luke 15:11-32)! Welcome once again to this timeless, touching story which throws up new insights every single time we study it. Mind you since any complete Scripture exposition (thanks Inductive Bible Study) entails observation, interpretation and application of the same, first let’s get done with the observation part.

Some wise souls have creatively related this evergreen “Lost and Found” story thus:

The parable can be divided into 3*3 parts…firstly Madness, Sadness and Gladness. Now under the “Madness scene”, it can be said that the Prodigal Son… caviled (raised unnecessary objections), rebelled and travelled and under that of Sadness, it can be said our principal actor went with the dogs (his friends), lost his togs (property, mostly clothing) and ate with the hogs and finally under the climactic, culminating third scene-Gladness , it can be said of our hero that he “got back his seal (to transact business on his father’s behalf), danced the reel and ate the veal”. This witty and creative observation apart, is that all there is to this oh-so-insightful parable? NO, FAR FROM IT!!! Now let’s go to the interpretation and application parts which go hand in hand and may even appear inter-twined.