Whom do you celebrate?

Like football itself, the Super Bowl halftime show has become an integral part of American culture. In some ways, the halftime show is even more widely anticipated and talked about. King Solomon once wrote in Ecclesiastes, “There is no new thing under the sun.” What is now, has been before.

As far as popularity goes, the Roman stadiums are a good example, complete with a halftime show. Yet this was very different than ours today, as were the “games” played before and after. As the bloodiness and the brutality of the so-called bread and circus continued to draw more crowds, they demanded yet more to be entertained. The rulers were more than happy to provide just that.

Perpetua and Polycarp are names most of us have probably never heard of, but they are just two names of many who were part of the halftime entertainment of “Damnatio ad Bestias, (Condemnation by Beasts), as they and their children were fed alive to starved dogs, leopards and lions to the roar of the crowds. Actually, the various methods of doing this are too gruesome to recount here.

But one thing that was eventually noticed was that out of all the condemned victims, it was the way that the Christians went to their deaths, even going so far as to sing hymns of praise and pray for their persecutors, that had a part in turning the single biggest persecutor of Christians, Rome, into the eventual center of Christianity.

Next week there will be a holiday, (in the truest sense of the word), that will be observed and, at least in part, involves death. Most would assume that the holiday referred to is Halloween. After all, you can hardly turn on your television, or go to the stores without seeing all of the attention paid to it, and it has arguably become one of the most popular holidays.

I am actually referring to All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, when we remember all those who gave their lives for their faith in Jesus Christ, who gave His life for ours. The differences between it and the original Celtic observation of Samhain could not be more diametrically opposed, yet families go at length to celebrate one while often not even being aware of the other.

We live in a time when we seek recognition, even fame, which is apparently easily attainable. Ten years ago, can you imagine being told that in 2018, there is a 26 year old Swedish man who makes videos of himself playing and commenting on videogames, and now has a personal net worth of $61 million for doing so?

People risk their lives for adrenaline rushes and hopes to become the next viral sensation. Many of the people that we hold up attain greatness for various reasons, but it almost always comes back to one thing: celebration of self.

Countless numbers of people quietly sacrifice their own wants and goals in Christ’s name to selflessly care for others as He taught, yet we rarely hear about them. Even as you read this, many others around the world, from Africa, the Middle East and Asia are killed simply for being Christian or possessing a Bible, in numbers greater than at any time in history, and yet...we hardly ever hear a word mentioned.

The time has come to ask ourselves: Whom do we celebrate?

 

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