Scott Bell posted on December 24, 2006 19:19
It was a quiet night. It might have been a Friday, or maybe a Wednesday, I don't really think the day of the week mattered much. What mattered was that roar I heard from the crowd assembled. That sometimes deafening loud noise heard in amazing situations when angels appear and shepherds quake.
This roar was heard here in this place, at Trinity - Freistadt, sometime around the third quarter, maybe even the fourth. It was a roar that was most likely heard many times before, here at this place, in the middle of this sporting thing. There were proud parents all around, proud parents are always around during those contests with boys and girls in shorts...dribbling, shooting, scoring. I just found such great joy in this moment, in this roar, that I have to tell you about it.
There are so many things happening at Christmas time. Jesus sometimes gets lost until you look a little harder, and sometimes harder is right under your nose. Between the practices for worship services and the shopping we struggle to find time for that baby in a manger, but when the roar happened it was right there!
The roar was a symbol of selflessness, teamwork, humility and pride. The roar was the result of the ball being shot, taking a long, balanced trip around the rim wanting to fall in, but looking like it was dropping out. It stayed there, perfectly balanced for just a minute (more like a millisecond) and then in the blink of an eye fell inward, touching the strings of the net from inside the hoop. Then the roar!!! The first points ever scored by the shooter! Teammates high five-ing each other and tousling hair on heads. It was amazing!
May your celebration of Jesus and his birth be just like that roar! A gift to be remembered for a lifetime, lived over and over again each day! And when you struggle to remember the joy found in a manger in Bethlehem...remember the roar!