Jesus calls us . . .

Once when Jesus was in Miami, a friend gave him tickets to the Super Bowl. It wasn't a bad seat, but the crowd was pressing in on him, hoping to hear a prediction about the game. He saw some of his friends he had grown up with, who were players on one of the teams. They invited him down to the sidelines, and sitting on the bench, he began to talk to those around him. As the game began the last 30 seconds, with his friends' team losing by 4 points, he went up to Peter and said, 'Tell the coach to run Zebra Wide 44 Deep Cross." Peter looked at him and said, 'We've run that play a dozen times today, and it never has worked.  But if you say so, I'll tell him."

Peter talked to the coach, was sent in with the play, and just as time ran out, the quarterback hit Peter in the end zone with the game winning touchdown.

As the team swarmed onto the field, and the fans began to celebrate, Peter came up to Jesus, handed him the  game ball, knelt down and said, 'Go away, Lord, for I am only a third string wide receiver!'  For all the coachs, analysts, reporters, and teammates were amazed at the catch Peter made.

Jesus took the ball, flipped it to a little girl standing at the edge of the crowd, and said, 'Don't be scared, Pete. From now on you'll be catching people.'

When they left the locker room, Peter and his teammates left the trophy behind and followed.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman