Oct. 22, 2014

I'm running out of plays that don't work – Jr. High Football Coach

My crew and I were driving home from a recent football game and we were doing what we always do after games:  talking about the game.  On a business level, what did we do right and was there anything we did that could be improved upon?  Did we make any mistakes?  Did we manage the game appropriately?

Once we get through that, we begin talking about funny stuff or weird stuff that happened.  Like . . . just before halftime, on their own 5-yard line and up by 26, I informed the quarterback that he didn't need to run a play because the clock would run out.  He ran a play, they fumbled, and the opposing team recovered and giving them a chance to score with 5 seconds in the half.  I talked to the coach about this after the game and teaching the kids to play smarter.

One of my side officials repeated a short conversation he had with the head coach.  His team was getting beat handily.  Things weren't going well, it was raining and frustrations were beginning to rise.  After one particularly bad play, the coach said (more to himself than anyone else), “I'm running out of plays that don't work.”

Last week at Morning Prayer, readings from Jonah were appointed for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

If you remember, Jonah tried to run from God, but found that even sailing away to a distant country didn't work.  He sacrificed himself for the sake of his shipmates, probably hoping that he might die and avoid going to Nineveh.  Swallowed by a fish and vomited back up on shore, Jonah reluctantly preached a message of repentance to people he despised; but not very loudly, and not to too many people.  And finally, he preferred watching the city annihilated rather than saved.

In the sense that his message was heard, he was successful.  But in all other things he failed.  He failed in his willingness to follow God.  He failed in his attempts to answer God's call.  He failed with his lackluster effort.  And he failed by holding a vengeful attitude.  In the end, in the midst of his frustration, while sitting on that hill waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh, I can imagine Jonah saying to himself, “I'm running out of plays that don't work.”

When do we get to the point when we recognize that we are running out of plays that don't work?  When do we move from being upset that people we don't like aren't annihilated, but instead forgiven and welcomed into God's family?  When do we make the switch from focusing on what we want to what God wants?  Or will we be happy just sitting on the hill, waiting and watching to see what God will do?

If we are running out of plays that don't work, maybe it's time for us, like it was for that coach and for Jonah, to invest in a new playbook.

Amen.