From the Pastor’s Study (1/8/23)
When I was a seminary student, each Monday I would visit a friend’s house when I got off work to watch Monday Night Football. Following the game, I stayed up very late to study, and then got up with too-little sleep to go to class the next day. Tuesday mornings I always regretted watching Monday Night Football. But the following week I would do the same thing. Ah, youth.
In the decades since, I probably have not watched Monday Night Football more than a couple dozen times. However, this past week, I happened to tune in to watch the Bills battle the Bengals for post-season positioning. Along with millions of other viewers, I was shocked and saddened to watch live on television as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle.
Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. Medical personnel performed CPR on him as he lay on the playing field. The network cut back and forth between the events at the stadium, commercials, and announcers in a studio who were awkwardly struggling to find something meaningful to say. But something meaningful was said. The announcers commented that this tragedy put matters in perspective – a young man’s life is so much more important than a football game. And then the announcers urged people to pray for Damar Hamlin. When the broadcast returned to the field, viewers saw that an ambulance had arrived to transport the stricken athlete to the hospital. They also saw dozens of players and coaches clustered together, kneeling in prayer.
Recent reports say that Damar Hamlin survived this cardiac event and is improving in the hospital. Perhaps God heard and answered the prayers that were offered on this young man’s behalf on Monday night.
What happened on Monday night was not just a medical emergency and an emotionally traumatic event for witnesses. It was also a testimony to the truth of Scripture. Romans chapter one makes plain that every man has an intuitive knowledge of God. It is not detailed, and it is certainly not enough to save a man. Salvation only comes by hearing and heeding the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, Monday night demonstrated that we do not live – as we have been incessantly told in recent years – in a secular society. There is no such thing. Although human beings are sinners, they remain spiritual beings made in the image of God. The events of Monday night showed people – many of whom it can be reasonably assumed do not attend church or even profess to be Christian – reflexively calling out to their Maker to help in time of need. They know there is a God, that He is over everything, and they will call out to Him in crisis.
Tuesday morning ESPN sports analyst and former Detroit Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky appeared on NFL Live to discuss Damar Hamlin and the events of the night before. He said, “Maybe this is not the right thing to do but it’s just on my heart that I wanna pray for Damar Hamlin right now. I’m gonna do it out loud. I’m gonna close my eyes. I’m gonna bow my head, and I’m gonna pray for him.” And that is what he did. He concluded his live, on-camera prayer saying, “If we didn’t believe that prayer worked, we wouldn’t ask this of you God. I believe in prayer. We believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin’s name in your name. Amen.” When he concluded, there were no objections, complaints, or bizarre appeals to “separation of church and state” from others on the set. The other reporters simply joined in saying, “Amen.”
Calling on the Lord is indeed the right thing to do – and not just for help in times of medical emergencies. Every sinner needs to turn to Him in faith for forgiveness. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” There is a promise that God will always answer that prayer. Amen.