Last weekend was unusual for me. After getting home on Saturday from unloading pumpkins, Scott Huie called me and said he had an extra ticket to the Georgia - Alabama football game, and did I want to go. I said "Sure" -- so off I went to rendezvous with Scott somewhere between our houses and Athens. I haven't been to a game in Athens in a very long time. While it was a pretty miserable day if you were a Georgia fan or didn't like lots of rain, I was fascinated by how loud it was - at least until the game got out of hand. Georgia fans are intense! At one point the giant video screen showed some UGA fans dressed in red and black war paint, wearing what looked like a cross between Viking clothes and costumes from the movie Mad Max.
The next day I came home from church and got a text from a former youth pastor who worked with me at another church. He said he was driving down to Atlanta from Charlotte and he had an extra ticket to the Foo Fighters concert at 7:00 p.m. So I jumped on MARTA and joined 20,000 other rain-soaked folks for the concert. (It was a very wet weekend!) Again, I was amazed at the enthusiasm of the crowd as fans went crazy when the band launched into some of its hits. But, after standing for two hours, I decided to call it quits and head home.
Earlier, I had been watching a TV special about E.O. Wilson who teaches at Harvard. His theories on sociobiology suggest that humans sometimes act like nests of ants - as more of a large, single organism than as individuals. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama, so they showed one of their football games as an example of this group behavior. Wilson says we are hardwired to do some things in groups -- maybe like tribes.
This past Sunday, it was great to be part of another bigger group -- not only as we worshipped with the New Vision Presbyterian Church, but also as we joined with Christians around the globe, celebrating World Communion Sunday. You can't get a crowd much bigger than that! Sometimes it is good to be part of a big crowd.
Prayer for Today
Gracious God, we are reminded in scripture you "so loved this world", that you sent your only son, Jesus -- not to condemn the world - but to save it. (John 3:16-17) Thank you for caring about this big world! Amen.
