What Spectacle Excites You?
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1).
“You’re Out and You’re Ugly Too” is the catchy title of Baseball Umpire Durwood Merrill’s tell all book as one of baseball’s best umpires. Early in the book Merrill writes of his rookie year umpiring in the MLB. In one of his first games he was behind the plate calling the game for future hall of fame fastball pitcher Nolan Ryan.
When a pitcher is nicknamed “The Ryan Express” you are not yawning as the pitch comes to the plate. On this day a fired up Ryan was pitching BB’s in warm ups to his catcher at an average speed of 101 mph. The second pitch of the game was so fast, Merrill admits he never saw it. As the ball snapped into the catcher’s mit he froze, unable to make the call. Finally, he yelled, “St-i-i-i-i-rike!” At which point the batter backed out of the box, smiled and said, “Ump, don’t feel bad. I didn’t see it either.”
Does anyone else feel that this is the speed at which the latest multimedia pitch comes zipping into our lives? You Tube videos, movie releases, video games, social media updates, fresh Instagram images, Pinterest posts, Netflix second seasons - you can hear them all pop in the catcher’s mit but sometimes one doesn’t even really see them. Then the next pitch comes even quicker, which of course we have to see!! This is life in what they are now calling the golden age of the image, in the age of the eye or as Brian Lowe refers to it, “The age of spectacles…”
It all presents a unique challenge to parents, teachers, leaders, and anyone who gives a rip at all about growing in their relationship with Jesus. All this eye attention competes with ear attention. It just does. Today’s USA Today headlines read: “Teens glued to screens need sleep, reality check.” The article laments the fact that the COVID 19 pandemic has caused devastating tech overuse in teens. What attracts the eyes detracts from the ears. And yet some of our best learning comes through hearing, after all: “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
And yes, I too am tremendously grateful for the unlimited new opportunities to hear the Word through social media in the age of spectacles. However, only a fool would not identify the challenges to our faith and seek to overcome them. Thanks to our media culture eye images more often get our full attention than ear hearing. So how does the child of God live out this wisdom from the writer of Hebrews, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1)?
ACTUALLY ASK, “What does this spectacle seek from me?” Author Tony Reinke defines a spectacle as “a moment of time, of varying length, in which a collective gaze is fixed on some specific image, or video, or event.” In a rights based rage society like ours, spectacles are often controversies in sports, entertainment, or politics - “Badminton champion puts the ‘bad’ in badminton with latest DWI.” “Packers’ Rodgers back with Munn in Iron Man 3 - Tells All.” “President Trump now says, “…”
Controversy captivates us - the more graphic the better. Our media is getting faster and faster - a new music video, a sexualized advertisement for beer, or a binge worthy season on Netflix, - yet they all want something from us. My wife and I burned through a season of Frontier on Netflix one Sunday afternoon starring Jason Momoa. We enjoyed it but I also asked myself, “What does this spectacle want from me?” Answers: A. To know that I am an inadequate male specimen compared to Jason Momoa (someone in our home is a fan!). B. To think mindless bloodshed with a life driven by frenzied revenge is heroism at its finest. Images want our approval, celebration, outrage, time, money, you name it but they do want something. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Teach yourself. Teach your teens. “What does this spectacle seek from me?
GET WITHIN EARSHOT OF THE GREATEST SPECTACLE EVERYDAY. Hebrews 1 is a spectacle of the supremacy and majesty of God’s Son our Savior. It rivals Colossians 1. Jesus Christ is redeemer, ruler, owner, and creator. Angels have to worship him. Earth and sky will wear out but not him. Yet this cosmic King - are ready for this? He died for our sins. He went through death’s dark tunnel and back again by his own might as true man and God. And now by the very faith Jesus gave you, you are his and will live with him forever. He’s in his honored place right alongside God now in heaven. Jesus is the spectacle of all Spectacles!!
So the writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1). No hint or suggestion but a demand. We must keep a firm grip on hearing about Christ. When our ears, our hearing attention, neglects Christ, we drift away. It’s the easiest thing to do as the most brilliant Spectacle of all actually becomes boring to us but complete trivia or idiocy in images fascinates us.
“What’s the highest number you’ve ever counted to Pastor Tim?” a public Salem Catechism class 8th grader asked me once, glued to his I-phone before class started. “I don’t know, a 100 I guess, why?” “Well, I counted to 1000 during your sermon this past Sunday and then I had to take out my I-phone for fear of dying of boredom!” Can I improve my preaching? Yes. But it became clear over time this young man had the ear attention of a fruit fly to the Word of God and the eye attention of an Amish librarian to any image. How about you?
Put on your mask and go to church. Hear the Word about Christ. Work at it. Listen intently as if you are in the presence of a Cosmic King - because you are. Listen. Listen. Listen. Then listen again as if your life depends on it - because it does. Be faithful to your favorite podcast about the Word of God. Time of Grace has so many amazing speakers clearly declaring Gods truth. You can rise every morning with Pastor Don Patterson on Facebook as he delivers a relevant meaty morning devotion. Spectacles want your attention and your affections. Christ wants your attention and your affections. So that just leaves this question, who will win in your life?