Yet
again, our nation caught "lotto fever" as the Power Ball jackpot
climbed to over 575 million dollars. At one point, tickets were selling at the
rate of 130,000 per minute. Amazing! (And if you're wondering...I did buy a
ticket. Well - truthfully, I bought three. I'm not sure why three, but I did.)
And like millions of others, my tickets did not hold the winning numbers and
have now been tossed into the trash.
Like
sheep in some sort of mindless trance, we buy tickets knowing full well that we
have no "real" chance of winning. But, we play the "let's
dream" fantasy game of all the things we would do, some noble and
charitable, other things silly and selfish. And if we do really win...then
what??
Despite
the odds, the Lottery continues to grow, and millions and millions keep
dreaming.
Here
are a few statistical fun facts:
Odds
of...
• winning the Lottery. (1
in 175 million)
• hitting a hole in one on
consecutive par-three golf holes. (1 in 156 million)
• getting attacked by a
shark. (1 in 11.5 million)
• being crushed by a
vending machine. (1 in 112 million)
• being killed by
radiation from a nearby nuclear meltdown. (1 in 10 million)
• becoming the president
of the United States. (1 in 10 million)
• giving birth to
identical quadruplets. (1 in 15 million)
• dying from using a
right-handed product incorrectly if you are left-handed. (1 in 4.4 million)
• being canonized. (1 in
20 million)
• being killed by falling
airplane parts. (1 in 10 million)
I
wonder how many of the people who played the lottery think that we're silly for
believing in the stories of the Bible, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the
basic tenets of our faith? How could we be so foolish as to put our hope in
such silliness, in something that is nothing more than a theological fairy
tale? What a waste!
Maybe
we are silly and foolish? Maybe it is a waste and we really would be better off
putting our hope in the lottery. The story is rather unbelievable. The chances
of it being true are pretty slim.
But,
Advent is upon us and we're going to tell the story all over again. We're going
to tell the story of shepherds and angels, of a power hungry king and wise men
on a journey, of an inn with no room and a nearby stable. It's the story of a
young virgin named Mary and her husband, Joseph, who find themselves in the
most unlikely position (I have no idea what the odds are on this one!) of being
God's chosen ones to be the holy family to welcome into our world the baby
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. And that's just part of the story, it gets even
more unbelievable from there.
"Lotto
fever" will soon strike again. I'm sure. Will I buy another ticket?
Most likely. Will I play the "what if" game? Probably so. But
at the end of the day, as crazy as it is, as unlikely and foolish as the story
may sound - I'm putting my "money" on Jesus and a virgin, on a cross
and an empty tomb. It may be a long shot, but I like our odds!
Peace,
Paul+
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