Provocative thinking, maybe…

Epilogue! November 13, 2011

Since I was a kid, I’ve always liked watching those “Quinn Martin” productions. You know, those old cop/detective TV shows like The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Cannon, Barnaby Jones, and the like. And one of the coolest things about them, to me, was the “Epilogue.” The epilogue was the final scene, a conclusion which often included an off-screen narrator who offered us insight into what we had just seen. I like epilogues.

Perhaps the reason I like epilogues is because I need one every Sunday. Try as I might—and you know hard I try—I just can’t say everything I want to say to you on Sunday mornings. Either I run out of time, or I completely forget to say something I had intended to say, or I don’t think of that perfect illustration for my sermon until an hour after church is over. I need an epilogue.

So, I’ll start posting my epilogues here. Look for them on Sunday afternoons and/or evenings. And don’t forget to let me know what you think. This has been a CM production.

Epilogue—November 13, 2011

Today I preached on Romans 3 and our Christian responsibility to do more than the bare minimum, in light of the tragic situation at Penn State. We talked about Joe Paterno. Lots of people all around the nation are talking about him. And some are wondering why we are talking more about Paterno than Jerry Sandusky. After all, Sandusky is the real criminal here; he was the predator who abused these kids. Why all the focus on Joe?

Because he’s Joe. It doesn’t really shock us when evil people do evil things. As terrible as that is, it’s what we expect from them. We’re therefore neither surprised, nor are we particularly disappointed when bad people behave badly. But when good people make terribly tragic choices, it’s different. We expected more from them.

And that’s why we’re so shocked and surprised and disappointed with Joe. Because for half a century, Joe Paterno has epitomized character, ethics, and all that is good in college athletics. I can close my eyes and imagine Paterno giving a news conference in which he announces that the moment he learned of this heinous crime, he immediately called upon the highest levels of law enforcement and university administration to act and act decisively, so that no child might ever suffer such a fate at Penn State again. That’s what you expect a Joe Paterno to do.

But he didn’t.

Maybe he thought he had done enough. Maybe he didn’t understand. I’m not sure. But I am sure that most of us expected him to do more.

Most of us, but not all of us

Not everybody feels that way. In a recent interview, Hall of Fame running back and Penn State alum Franco Harris called the university’s decision to dismiss Paterno “disturbing.” I don’t know Franco Harris. He may be a thoughtful, intelligent man. But his public statement criticizing Penn State’s Board of Trustees for firing Joe Paterno borders on ludicrous. Here’s an excerpt from that interview:

“I feel that the board made a bad decision in letting Joe Paterno go,” Harris told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I’m very disappointed in their decision. I thought they showed no courage, not to back someone who really needed it at the time.”

Harris thought the trustees “showed no courage” in failing “to back someone who really needed it at the time.” Really? Wasn’t that the very reason they fired Paterno and University President Graham Spanier? And what about the 10 year old kid who was being brutally raped in the shower of the Penn State football locker room? Did he not need someone to back him? Did he not deserve someone to be courageous for him? Harris’ mindlessly ironic comments only serve to remind us of the greatest failing of the man he’s trying to defend: showing no courage, while failing to back someone who really needed it at the time.

Way to go, Franco. Immaculate reception, maybe. Idiotic perception, definitely.