Living as a Christian in Western Pennsylvania means you
can't go a few months without hearing the ubiquitous Steelers Excitement Christian Guilt Trip. Each pastor has her or
his own spin and verbiage, but the argument goes something like this: in
church, we are quiet/proper/boring/lethargic, but at football games, we are
loud/rowdy/easily excitable. The resulting lesson is simple: we clearly love
our Steelers more than we love God, because if we really loved God we would be
jumping up and down, waving "Trinity Towels" and screaming "Here
we go, Jesus, Here we go!"
To some extent, the Steelers
Excitement Christian Guilt Trip, or SECGT,
has a point. We do get excited about things we love, and if we can't get
excited about our faith in God, then perhaps we have some spiritual growing up
to do. But there are certainly times when the life of Christian discipleship
requires a response entirely different than what is found at a sporting event.
Today marks the beginning of Lent, a season filled with
meditation, repentance, and most of all, silence. It's a solemn season, not
depressive but reverent. Lent is when we "bury the Alleluias" and
leave services in darkness and silence. Lent is not the time to be measuring
our depth of faith with the yardstick of football enthusiasm.
Furthermore, when we compare worship to a football game, as
the SECGT does, what are we saying
about God? After all, football is little more than frivolous entertainment. I
sure hope God is more than one of many weekend entertainment options from which
we may choose.
But I'm not completely a spoil-sport. I do think there are
days to jump and shout and sing in celebration and praise of the almighty God.
Easter is one such season, standing in stark emotional contrast to its
predecessor, Lent. Pentecost is another, as the disciples got so rowdy with
worshiping God that others accused them of hitting the football tailgates a
little too hard.
Lent serves as an annual reminder that God is worthy of
praise with all our emotions and temperaments. Excitable worship will return in
a few weeks, but there is tremendous value in quiet, reflective worship -
especially in a culture in which these things are lacking. So, let's embrace
the season of quiet, because we desperately need it right now.
