WINTER OLYMPICS

Have you been watching the Winter Olympics?  I have!

I have watched figure skating and still do not know the difference between a salchow, axel, and a lutz.  Did you know Zambonis use hot water to smooth the ice?  The costumes are beautiful, but you will not find feathers on them.  If a piece of a costume comes off and lands on the ice, there is a deduction from the skater’s score.  And, have you ever wondered why the men’s shirts never come untucked?  They wear special underwear attached to the shirt so it stays put.  Figure skating is fun to watch, but there is one sport I really, really like to watch ---

Curling!  Why?  I have no idea.  I do not know the rules.  I do not understand the scoring.  I just know it is amazing to watch.  Have you watched the face of the person pushing the stone?  Eyes focused.  Pure determination!  Then the excitement starts!  Sweep!  Sweep!  Sweep!  The stone barely misses the opposition’s guard stone, as it hooks and … and … keeps on going. 

Then the other team has a chance.  They sight in the exact spot they want the stone to land.  The stone is released.  It is going fast.  Sweep!  Sweep!  Sweep!  STOP SWEEPING!  The stone stops right in the center!  Success!

Until the other team releases their next stone and it softly taps that stone – the one perfectly placed in the middle – and sends it on its merry way into the no-score area.

Yup.  I love to watch curling.  When I ask people if they are watching the Olympics, the usual answer is, “I watch curling.”  I then ask, “Can you explain it to me?”  They answer, “No, but don’t ya love the focus when sending the stone down the ice?”

This got me to thinking about competition among the disciples.  What gold medals would they receive? 

FIRST TO BE CALLED:  Simon (aka Peter) and Andrew

LONGEST FRIENDSHIP:  Bartholomew and Phillip

OFFICIAL DOUBTER:  Thomas

SURPRISING CHOICE:  Matthew

SUPERIOR ATTITUDE:  James and John

MOST QUIET:  Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and James the Lessor (three way tie)

NEVER DID GET IT UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE:  Judas

Fishermen, friends, brothers, a doubter, a tax collector, outspoken, quiet, and a betrayer.  They were quite a combination of men.  They were not perfect.  And yet, Jesus picked these twelve – with all their flaws and all their good qualities – to be his disciples.