Rah! Rah! Sis Boom Bah!
Stories
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (v. 7)
Well, it may be the season of Advent, and more important, counting the days until the season of giving, receiving, and Christmas, but for those who follow college and professional football it’s a season where family gatherings for the holidays turn into mini-stadiums so friends and relatives can cheer, holler, beg, and — hopefully not too often — curse the players on their TV screens! Heaven only knows how many holiday dinners were ruined because relatives root for different teams.
Which begs the question — which team did God support? That may seem ridiculous, but a recent survey of 1,012 Americans taken by the Public Religion Research Institute suggests that one in four Americans believe, quote, “God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event.”
Now I’m pretty sure God doesn’t care as much about the outcome of the big game as how that outcome affects our Christian walk, but it’s worth noting that during the era of the earliest Christians there were those who paid for curses to be cast on opposing athletes in big competitions.
In those days people bought what were known as “amulets,” strips of papyrus with blessings, prayers, and curses on them, to be worn around the neck or wrist. Despite the disapproval of Christian authorities, Christians bought these too. Christians often chose a verse from the Lord’s Prayer, or a favorite psalm, or from a healing story in the gospels, as part of their prayer for healing. But they evidently also cheered or cursed athletes like everyone else.
There is one curse from the fourth century AD, by which time Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire, which was directed against three specific runners in an important race. “Remain like stones, unmoving, un-running…” the curse read. Anyone who ran the hundred-meter dash in high school knows exactly what it’s like to feel when your feet feel like they are made of stone.
Shakes of Ben Hur! One especially interesting curse was found in the trash heaps of Egypt, where the climate is so dry the papyrus can last thousands of years. This particular curse is directed against the Blue Chariot Team. There are five names associated with the Blues, Sarakenos, Belechmu, Parthaon, Didyme, and Nymphike, possible the four horses and the charioteer, though it’s not clear who is who and which was which.
Now this curse was written in the fourth or fifth Century, which, as I said before, means that Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire when this curse was purchased. And the person who paid for this curse calls on the Egyptian god Horus, as well as the Hebrew angels “Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Bouel” to go to the Hippodrome (the name for the stadium where chariot races were held) that they may “cast down, cause to fall, and bind the” horses of the blue team. Later in the curse the terms “drag” and “smite” are thrown in as well.
And just to make sure, the one uttering this curse called on “the God of the Gods,” who might well be the God of the Old Testament, as well as the Egyptian gods Ousiparis, Ousor Mnevis, and others to take a hand as well in the blue team’s downfall. Whether this person is Christian or pagan, it’s clear this person believes he can call on the Christian God, Hebrew angels, and Egyptian deities and get them to do what he wants. And evidently there’s a lot at stake and no doubt a very large wager on the other side.
Which brings us back to the original question — does God really care about the big game, whether it’s a chariot race fifteen hundred years or this week’s match on Monday night football? More important, since God probably doesn’t care about the big game, what does God care about? In today’s gospel passage from Matthew, we do run into curses, but they’re not directed at runners, horses, or charioteers. John the Baptist has some very strong words for the Pharisees and Sadducees. Let’s look a little more closely at targets of John’s words of warning and think how about they apply to us.
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 4, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Well, it may be the season of Advent, and more important, counting the days until the season of giving, receiving, and Christmas, but for those who follow college and professional football it’s a season where family gatherings for the holidays turn into mini-stadiums so friends and relatives can cheer, holler, beg, and — hopefully not too often — curse the players on their TV screens! Heaven only knows how many holiday dinners were ruined because relatives root for different teams.
Which begs the question — which team did God support? That may seem ridiculous, but a recent survey of 1,012 Americans taken by the Public Religion Research Institute suggests that one in four Americans believe, quote, “God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event.”
Now I’m pretty sure God doesn’t care as much about the outcome of the big game as how that outcome affects our Christian walk, but it’s worth noting that during the era of the earliest Christians there were those who paid for curses to be cast on opposing athletes in big competitions.
In those days people bought what were known as “amulets,” strips of papyrus with blessings, prayers, and curses on them, to be worn around the neck or wrist. Despite the disapproval of Christian authorities, Christians bought these too. Christians often chose a verse from the Lord’s Prayer, or a favorite psalm, or from a healing story in the gospels, as part of their prayer for healing. But they evidently also cheered or cursed athletes like everyone else.
There is one curse from the fourth century AD, by which time Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire, which was directed against three specific runners in an important race. “Remain like stones, unmoving, un-running…” the curse read. Anyone who ran the hundred-meter dash in high school knows exactly what it’s like to feel when your feet feel like they are made of stone.
Shakes of Ben Hur! One especially interesting curse was found in the trash heaps of Egypt, where the climate is so dry the papyrus can last thousands of years. This particular curse is directed against the Blue Chariot Team. There are five names associated with the Blues, Sarakenos, Belechmu, Parthaon, Didyme, and Nymphike, possible the four horses and the charioteer, though it’s not clear who is who and which was which.
Now this curse was written in the fourth or fifth Century, which, as I said before, means that Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire when this curse was purchased. And the person who paid for this curse calls on the Egyptian god Horus, as well as the Hebrew angels “Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Bouel” to go to the Hippodrome (the name for the stadium where chariot races were held) that they may “cast down, cause to fall, and bind the” horses of the blue team. Later in the curse the terms “drag” and “smite” are thrown in as well.
And just to make sure, the one uttering this curse called on “the God of the Gods,” who might well be the God of the Old Testament, as well as the Egyptian gods Ousiparis, Ousor Mnevis, and others to take a hand as well in the blue team’s downfall. Whether this person is Christian or pagan, it’s clear this person believes he can call on the Christian God, Hebrew angels, and Egyptian deities and get them to do what he wants. And evidently there’s a lot at stake and no doubt a very large wager on the other side.
Which brings us back to the original question — does God really care about the big game, whether it’s a chariot race fifteen hundred years or this week’s match on Monday night football? More important, since God probably doesn’t care about the big game, what does God care about? In today’s gospel passage from Matthew, we do run into curses, but they’re not directed at runners, horses, or charioteers. John the Baptist has some very strong words for the Pharisees and Sadducees. Let’s look a little more closely at targets of John’s words of warning and think how about they apply to us.
*****************************************
StoryShare, December 4, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
