Huddle Up . . . Go Long - Maple Grove United Methodist Church

Luke 9:1-6, 10-17

“Huddle Up . . . Go Long”

September 2, 2012 Maple Grove UMC

When I was a boy we played football in my back yard.

Sometimes we played touch and sometimes we played tackle—

though honestly, there wasn’t much difference. Either way you pretty

much held the ball at your own risk! At the north end of our yard, the

end zone was an imaginary line between two trees. At that end, you

had to slow down fast because the sidewalk was about one step past

the trees and after that a sharp drop-off into the street. On the south,

the garden was the end zone, except when mom’s garden was in

season, in which case you’d better stop before you ruined her beans

or tomatoes. Otherwise the end zone was another imaginary line

between a metal clothesline pole and the wooden pole for the

basketball hoop. In those games, there were dangers great than

linebackers.

So we’d choose sides and at the start you’d huddle up and the

quarterback would give detailed instructions about the play he wanted

to run. You—block that guy. You—cover my back while I roll right.

You—go out five yards and cut hard right. And you, he’d say to the

fastest kid on the team—you go long. On two. Hut one, Hut two—

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the ball would be hiked, and despite the detailed instructions, we’d all

just do whatever we wanted. The ball would get thrown up for grabs,

someone would catch it—sometimes our side, sometimes theirs.

Then we’d huddle up again and draw up another play.

As the game wore on, though, we’d realize that our elaborate

blocking schemes and fancy pass routes didn’t really work in the back

yard and we’d opt for simplicity. We’d still have a huddle, of course—

if for no other reason, just to catch our breath. But toward the end of

the game, it would go like this: “All right. Everybody huddle up.

You—go long. You too. Oh heck, everybody just go long.”

In the end our back yard football games could be reduced to

those four words: Huddle up . . . go long. Which is one way of

looking at the Christian life, the way Jesus taught the disciples. In

Luke 9 the story begins by saying, “Then Jesus called the twelve

together . . .” In other words, Jesus is the quarterback and he’s

saying, “Come on, guys, huddle up.” But that is not the end of the

story. Huddling up is important, but not the main point. In the huddle

Jesus calls a play: All twelve of you, he says, go to all the villages--

heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God. In other words—go

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long. So they went, and lo and behold, the play worked—they did it.

Touchdown!

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When they got back, it says they told Jesus how it went, and

then in verse 10, “he took them with him and withdrew privately.” In

other words, they huddled up again. But this time there were 5000

hungry people in the stands. The disciples wanted to send them

away before the concession stand closed. But Jesus says, “You give

them something to eat.” Whoa—that’s going really long, feeding

5000 hungry people. But lo and behold, that play worked too! They

did it.

Huddle up . . . go long. It’s the pattern of the gospel, the rhythm

of the Christian life. Huddling up with Jesus and his people is not just

a good idea—it is absolutely necessary to the life of faith. From time

to time—I’d say at least once a week—everyone needs to step off the

playing field, get out of the fray, and have some Jesus time. Huddling

up with Jesus and his people is how we recharge our spiritual

batteries, how we gain strength for the next set of downs, how we are

fed and inspired by Jesus to do things we didn’t think we could do.

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It’s trendy nowadays to say, “I’m spiritual but not religious,”

which means, “I don’t go to church.” People say, “I believe in God, I

read the Bible and pray on my own.” Well, I’m certainly glad that

people believe and read and pray on their own. But I have racked my

brain, and I can’t think of even one place in the Bible that encourages

people to stay apart from the community of faith. In fact the book of

Hebrews says, “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in

the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (10:25).

of faith.

Huddling up with Jesus and his people is necessary to the life

However . . . as important as it was, huddling up was not the

most important thing in the gospel stories today. They huddled up to

get the courage and strength to go long—to feed the hungry, to heal

the sick, and tell the good news to others.

The same is true in football, right? I’ve never heard a coach

say, “Great huddle, guys!” No, it’s the play that matters. In fact, if I

recall correctly, starting with Sam Wyche and the Cincinnati Bengals

in the 80s, some teams learned to run their offense with no huddle at

all.

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It’s the play that matters and the play that Jesus calls is

‘everybody go long’—go feed the hungry, go visit the sick, go share

the good news. And we do that at Maple Grove, right?

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In May about fifteen of us traveled to Joplin, Missouri, where we

spent our nights sleeping on a church floor and our days

repairing and painting homes damaged by last year’s tornado.

That’s going long! Now it looks like we may have to go back to

New Orleans.

In July our youth went to Philadelphia, where they worked in

food pantries and night shelters, they visited handicapped

seniors and cared for children off the street. They took

sandwiches and talked with homeless folks downtown. That’s

going long!

But you don’t have to go out of town to ‘go long’—you don’t

even have to leave our neighborhood. Two months every year

Maple Grove volunteers serve breakfast for needy neighbors at

CRC. Once a month folks gather here in the basement and

make sandwiches to distribute to homeless neighbors. Right

here in the front pews today are boxes for donations for area

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food pantries—wouldn’t it be great to fill the whole pew with

food every month? That’s going long!

But it’s not only about food. We have Stephen Ministers who

offer the gift of listening and caring. Sunday school teachers

and youth group leaders help kids grow in faith. The New Life

team goes down to Fifth Avenue and sorts clothes to give

away. The Care and Visitation Team takes God’s love to

people in nursing homes. Maple Grove has over 80 ministry

teams huddling up and going long all year long.

So how about you? What play does Jesus have drawn up for

you? Who are you visiting? Who are you telling about Jesus?

Who are you feeding or taking to the doctor or tutoring or inviting

to church? How is Jesus calling you to ‘go long?’

All of this makes me wonder about how we ‘keep score’ in the

church. Traditionally we have counted how many people are in

Sunday school and worship. If those numbers go up, we’re winning;

if they go down, we’re losing. But that’s sort of like keeping score in a

football game by what happens in the huddle. A more faithful way to

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keep score would be to count the number of people who ‘go long,’

how many people are inspired by huddling up with Jesus to go and

feed the hungry, to visit the sick and share the good news of Jesus

Christ.

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It’s always great to huddle up with you here. It’s especially

good to gather around the table for Holy Communion, our spiritual

training table. But remember--the huddle is not the point of the game.

The point is the play, to ‘go long’ for Jesus—feed the hungry, care for

the sick, and tell someone how good it is to know Jesus Christ.

It’s the pattern of the gospel, the rhythm of the Christian life:

Huddle up . . . go long.