Horseshoes and Faith

Rolling Hills United Methodist Church is located in horse country.  There are a number of farms with horses nearby, and some of our members are horse-owners.  So I thought it was only fitting that we play the game of Horseshoes together during our Youth Sunday school class last week:



A good time was had by all ... and there were plenty of ringers thrown (which makes me think there were some Ringers among us, if you know what I mean).

Of course, a horseshoe hung on the wall pointing upward is a traditional sign of good luck. 

That reminds me of this story that I read on Bible.org:

An American scientist once visited the offices of the great Nobel-prize-winning physicist, Niels Bohr, in Copenhagen. He was amazed to find that over Bohr’s desk was a horseshoe, securely mailed to the wall, with the open end up in the approved manner (so it would catch the good luck and not let it spill out).

The American said with a nervous laugh, “Surely you don’t believe the horseshoe will bring you good luck, do you, Professor Bohr? After all, as a scientist …”

Bohr chuckled, “I believe no such thing, my good friend. Not at all. I am scarcely likely to believe in such foolish nonsense. However, I am told that a horseshoe will bring you good luck whether you believe in it or not.”

Bits & Pieces, September 17, 1992, p. 6

Niels Bohr was smart enough to know that he didn't know everything.  Just because he believed something to be false didn't make it false.  Truth doesn't depend on our believing it to be true.  Truth is truth, whether we believe it or not.  God is God, whether we believe in God or not. 

Jesus told his disciples that he is "the way and the truth and the life[.]"  John 14:6 (TNIV).  What does Jesus mean when he calls himself the truth? 

The truth is: God loves you, and Jesus is God's love in the flesh! 

The truth is: God will not abandon you, and Jesus is called "Immanuel" (which means "God is with us").

So remember this Good News:  Jesus is the truth, whether you (or others around you) believe it or not!

A Bocce - Bible Connection?

On this 4th of July, as Americans gather for family picnics and backyard barbecues, fun and games abound!  Horseshoes, badminton, baseball (or, its scaled-down cousin -  wiffleball) ... It all makes me wonder: What games did Jesus play?

Last week, during the Sunday school hour, we pondered that question as the Rolling Hills Youth Sunday school class played a friendly game of bocce on the dirt of the softball field in front of our church building.  "What is bocce?" you may ask.

Wikipedia explains that bocce is a bowling game from Italy. Italian migrants have taken the game with them to other parts of Europe, North and South America, and even Australia.

Bocce has its origins in ball games played in the ancient Roman Empire.  The website for the United States Bocce Federation has this to say about the origins of the game:
The early Romans were among the first to play a game resembling what we know as Bocce today. In early times they used coconuts brought back from Africa and later used hard olive wood to carve out Bocce balls. Beginning with Emperor Augustus, Bocce became the sport of statesman and rulers.

Wait!  Emperor Augustus?  How do we Christians know that name? Ah, yes, we know it from the Christmas story as told in Luke 2:
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. -Luke 2:1-7 (TNIV).

Caesar Augustus ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BCE until his death in 14 CE, which means that Augustus governed the Roman Empire (of which Palestine was an involuntary outpost) from the time of Jesus' birth through his teen years.  We know that Roman soldiers were a common sight for the Jewish people of ancient Palestine in Jesus' day.  The gospels record Jesus interacting with Roman soldiers and authorities (see, for example, Matt. 8:5-13), and, of course, the Romans ultimately crucified him. 

So, I wonder ... WWJP? (What would Jesus play?)  Did Jesus grow up seeing Roman soldiers and officials playing bocce?  Did the game ever interest him and his friends?  Did he, perhaps, play the game of bocce?  Unless archaeologists uncover evidence of a Holy Land Bocce Federation, we may never know on this side of heaven whether Jesus was a champion bocce-baller. 

I've searched the internet for any proof that Jesus played bocce, and I just might have found some video evidence.  Check out this video by Croatia's Luky.  There's a bocce game at the end of the video ... and one of the players looks a little like Jesus to me.  What do you think?