Work Out, Work In

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

February 2, 2014

Work Out, Work In

Selected Texts

This is it, the big day, the Super Bowl.

The two best teams in the NFL will face off this evening.

They’ll meet in a stadium just outside of New York City

to determine which team will be known as the best,

the Super Bowl champions.

As we watch, we’ll see a game of running,

of blocking, of tackling,

of grace and speed.

For all its athleticism, though,

football has its dark side, too:

it can be violent,

and chronic pain, drug abuse and brain injuries

are more common than we care to admit.

Famed quarterback Joe Namath said just today,

“None of the body was designed to play football.

…we're just not designed for it.”

I’m not a huge fan of the game,

but I’ve watched football since I was a boy,

my friends and I rooting for the newly formed Buffalo Bills

who played in those early years in a stadium

that was called affectionately, “The Rockpile”.

I am always in awe of the man

to whom the quarterback gives the ball

who then puts his head down, gathers speed,

and tries to run through the line,

power and perseverance in every step,

as he runs into a wall of men,

more than a thousand pounds of muscle and bulk

all trying to bring him down hard on the ground.

Against all odds, he gains 3 yards, 5 yards,

perhaps even 10.

And then there is the speed and sheer elegance

of the man who runs downfield,

reaching out to catch the ball

thrown by the quarterback thirty yards back,

the ball arcing, spiraling down

landing on the tips of his fingers,

a defender in close pursuit,

trying to push the receiver out of bounds,

the receiver managing to keep both feet

just inside the line

even as his body comes crashing down

out of bounds.

The plays we see,

whether they work or not,

don’t just happen.

They are well-planned, thought out,

blocked out with a stage director’s precision.

They are practiced over and over and over again.

“Do it again!” barks the coach,

“Again!

One more time!

Learn it! master it!”

These are elite athletes,

yet even they know they must practice.

Even the most gifted know the importance

of work, discipline,

determination.

Why should we think that we can take

any different approach as disciples of Christ?

Would a football player think it is enough to show up

just on Sunday for the game?

Why would we think it is enough

to show up just for worship on Sunday?

If we hope to grow in Christ,

hope to grow in discipleship,

hope to grow in knowledge of the Lord,

we’ve got to work at it,

make an effort.

The point is to not be a champion,

but simply to grow each day,

grow more Christ-like.

As athletes work out to develop their bodies,

we need to work in:

work in the Word of God,

into our hearts, our minds,

our spirits, our souls,

work in the Word deep, deeper.

We have the foundation:

our faith, built on Jesus Christ.

But having a foundation assumes we will build on top,

build something on the foundation.

What is it that we are called to build?

Godly lives; Christ-like lives.

Lives of integrity, goodness,

compassion, faithfulness,

wisdom, mercy,

grace, love.

To work in the Word of God

we start by working with the Word of God,

reading, listening, absorbing.

Read the word by yourself,

but even better, read with someone else,

or as part of a group,

where you can hear the words,

hear someone else’s voice,

hear emphasis, inflection,

interpretation.

Let the words sink in,

 work their way in,

into your mind, your spirit, your heart:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

(Psalm 18:2)

Listen again:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

…I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.’^*

…I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;

You show me the path of life.

In your presence there is fullness of joy;…

(Psalm 16)

Say the words of that psalm again and again,

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.’

…You show me the path of life.

You show me the path of life.

I have no good apart from you.

Listen to the Words,

let them work in,

work in to transform you –

that’s how you will grow.

Listen to different words,

different kinds of words.

It is a joy to listen to words of praise like those

we heard from the psalmist,

and it is comforting to hear familiar words

from stories we know well.

But listen to the tough words, too,

the words that can be hard to hear,

words of reproach,

admonishment from the prophets,

words that God speaks to you and me here and now

as surely as God spoke them to his children

thousands of years before.                

Thus says the Lord God:

Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!

Should not shepherds feed the sheep?

You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool,

…but you do not feed the sheep.

you have not strengthened the weak,

you have not healed the sick,

you have not bound up the injured,

you have not brought back the strayed,

you have not sought the lost,”

(Ezekiel 34)

Let the words work in:

“you have not strengthened the weak,

you have not healed the sick,

you have not bound up the injured,

you have not brought back the strayed,

you have not sought the lost,”

Football is hardly the perfect metaphor for faith,

but still, there are lessons we can learn from it,

just as there are lessons we can learn

from all parts of life.

Practice,

discipline,

hard work,

perseverance:

these qualities lead to success on the football field,

and these same qualities can help us grow

as disciples of Christ.

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”,

will enter the kingdom of heaven,

Words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ.

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”,

will enter the kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of

my Father in heaven.”…

Everyone then who hears these words of mine

and acts on them

will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.’

(Matthew 7:21, 24)

‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

(Mark 4:9)

Listen – to the Word of the Lord.

AMEN