Word for Word 4/1/26

Blessings to you all from Pastor James “Buck” Buckhahn, Lansing United Methodist Church. We are in the midst of two March Madness events; one being the NCAA Basketball March Madness and the other being Lent and Holy Week.

One has a bouncing ball and two hoops, while the other has a cross and a lost world.  One has five players against five players with a bench full of replacements… played on an orderly court, with lines and circles and timers, and referees that keep order. The other is played with two people, Satan and Jesus. One being the creator of the world and the other playing the role. Satan actually doesn’t play directly, he has lost battles with Jesus already. So, he plays more of a bait and switch game.

Now there is no bench of replacements for Jesus. He plays directly. Yes, He does have assistants, trainers, coaches, medical personnel… His disciples. Again, no one to actually replace Him. There is no orderly court which the contest is played on and no referees to keep the order. Jesus also has His head coach, God the Father and Holy Spirit. You could say the world has Satan, though Satan teaches every person is for themselves.

Both March Madness events have spectators; far more spectators than players. Some are there only because it is the “in” thing to do. Others come as long as the team is winning. Others live and breathe for “their” team. They talk about their team in first-person language. Of course, the latter pertains to the basketball version.

I have yet to see a Christian come to church painted in God’s colors having a tailgater in the church parking lot hours before the worship service starts. As I look at Holy Week… I see the big crowd gather on opening day (Palm Sunday) with cheers and great enthusiasm as Jesus enters the stadium (Jerusalem). But by the end of the week the crowd has turned against Jesus, leaving only a handful of supporters, but even they are silent. And do not get me started about how much money is spent on this thing called March Madness versus what is given to Christ’s team.

Now let’s get down to the hard-core stuff. Both events have winners and losers. One is only a momentary setback, because there is always next season where the winners could become losers and the losers become the winners.

But for Jesus, it is truly winner take all, Losers do not get a second chance… there is no next season.

During each game there are consequences. One gives you five fouls before you are out of the game. The other forgives and keeps you in the game. Now the one does have the Technical Foul, which can get you kicked out of the game immediately... even for a coach. And yes there is a Technical Foul in Jesus’ game as well. It is called damnation.

Finally, let’s look at the win… In basketball you can get that win with a last-second “Hail Mary”, half-court lob, no matter how you played the rest of the game. But the game of salvation versus damnation is played out every second of your life, especially when you say you have joined Christ’s team.

For me… salvation, eternal life, a place in Heaven with God, or however you want to state it cannot knowingly be left for a last-second “Hail Mary” shot. Every day needs to be played for Christ… 100%.

Enjoy the thrill of March Madness, but remember, there is only victory in Jesus. And all God’s People said… Amen.

Pastor James “Buck” Buckham
Lansing United Methodist Church