I love to read sports writers. The good ones can turn a phrase; use a metaphor that brings you right to the heart of issue. This past week one of the best sports writers I know came out of retirement to write an article about our local ball club that finally won the big one and put us into an exciting month of playoff games in October. He used an expression to describe what the impact of that division winning game had upon our community. He wrote: Sport is the great common denominator. It is the umbilical that ties us to one another. It cuts across all the mean and petty lines, transcends the unspoken boundaries, and has no regard for gender, race or age. That phrase…the umbilical that ties us to one another…concisely expresses the euphoria (no matter how long it lasted) that has embraced our region. It’s great to see a city and its suburbs united in a common expression of glee and pleasant excitement. It beats the drudgery of the homicide race our metropolis is currently in pursuit of with other cities. It hides ever so briefly the pain of the report of lost lives of our heroes in an ongoing war. It gives us a chance to breathe exciting and somewhat fresh air. In a somewhat similar vein, I read a bumper sticker this past week that tried to portray a message of theological unanimity. God is too big for any one religion, it read. I am not into bumper sticker theology. And this one particularly grinds at my doctrinal roots. For one thing, it ignores the exclusivity of John 14:6. Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life. There are no exceptions. If you desire eternal life; if you want to have a personal relationship with God the Father; the only way it’s possible is through Jesus Christ. Being united because of a sports team is one thing. Thinking that God is on call for anyone of any theological persuasion is another. Know this; Jesus alone is the Savior of the world. He alone is our Redeemer. If this doctrine sounds exclusive, tough! There are no apologies for preaching Christ and him alone as our gospel, our Good News. Any other theology bearers of another message are, as Paul would call it, Anathema!

Pastor Megilligan