REFLECTIONS
August 21, 2011
 
 
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Matthew 28:19-20
 
 
The Locker Room
 
The year was 1928. The scene was the Notre Dame locker room. It was half-time and the Fighting Irish were losing the game. Coach Knute Rockne sat in his wheelchair trying to conceal his own dejection when he began to tell his players the story of George Gipp, a legendary player for Notre Dame in years gone by. It was a story of inspiration about a player that gave all he had for the team. Then Coach Rockne concluded his now famous locker room speech by recalling his final conversation with the school’s hero.
“’Rock,’ Gipp said, ‘sometime, when the team is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper…’” Then, as the story goes, Knute’s eyes became misty and his voice unsteady. As he finished a hushed stillness blanketed the room. Then in the midst of the silence, Coach Rockne quietly said to the men beside him, "Alright," and he slowly left the room.
That day an inspired Notre Dame team defeated Army, and many give credit to the impassioned speech of the legendary coach. But the coach’s speech didn’t win the game. The players did. Games are won on the playing field, not in the locker room.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is credited with likening Sundays with the locker room. Like Sundays, a locker room is a place to refresh, to learn, to heal, and to rest. It is a place for self preparation and renewal. But the game is not played in the locker room and Dr. King was quick to address that point. “Sundays are like the locker room,” he said. “But, Monday through Saturday—that’s where the game is played.”
It’s easy for us to fall into weekly routines and honor Sundays as a day of renewal only to forget to play the game on Monday. We play the game when we support our family and friends. We play the game when we treat our business associates with dignity and respect. We play the game when we comfort the hurting and encourage the challenged. We play the game with friendly smiles, and we play the game when we make the unloved feel wanted. We play the game when we love our neighbors as ourselves.
We play the game when we leave the locker room to go into the world and reflect the Savior.
 
You are the light of the world,
RichardÌ


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