Sunday, May 10, 2020

"It Ain't Over Till It's Over"


“It Ain’t Over Till it’s Over”
Acts 2:22-24
            Many of us know where this saying comes from—or rather who it comes from.  Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankees catcher (later  amanager) was famous for mangling the English language.  Reporters loved him because his interviews produced so much quotable material.  Some of his quotes have become famous.
            “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
            “It’s like deja` vu all over again.”
            “You can observe a lot just by watching.”
            “No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.”
How can you not love a guy who talks like that?
            His most famous quote is the title of this column: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”  At first glance, it doesn’t seem to make sense, and yet it does.  It makes perfect sense, especially for an athlete.  I’ve seen many athletic contests in which a touchdown, or field goal, or goal, or basket, or home run occurs in the last seconds of a game to change the outcome. 
            I was having dinner in a restaurant in Syracuse, NY many years ago.  The Syracuse University basketball team was playing at home that night.  The star of the team was a guy by the name of Pearl Washington.  The restaurant was playing the radio broadcast of the game.  The other team was in the lead (barely), and it looked as if they would win with time running out.  Time had almost expired when Washington got the ball and dribbled to the center circle.  He didn’t have time to get closer to the basket, so he heaved up a desperation shot—and it went in, winning the game for Syracuse.
            The restaurant erupted.  The radio continued to broadcast the reaction in the Carrier Dome.  The fans didn’t leave—didn’t want the celebration to end.
            If it’s not over till it’s over, and that’s exciting, how much more exciting if it’s not over when it’s over?
            I used to use that line at the end of a school year, when I met with my chorus for the last time.  I’d say, “You all know the saying ‘It ain’t over till it’s over.’  Well the great thing about this experience is it’s not over when it’s over, because you’ll carry these memories with you forever.”
            In a sense, this is what Peter was saying to the crowd that gathered on that first Pentecost.  Yes, Jesus had died, he said; but that wasn’t the end, because God raised him from the dead.  Peter had seen him.  Other disciples had seen him.  There could be no doubt that Jesus was alive, and this made all the difference. 
            Like others who had claimed to be the messiah, attracted a following, and run afoul of both the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman government, Jesus had suffered the death penalty.  The difference was that for the others, their career, their place in the sun was over.  They remained dead.  Jesus rose again, and, we believe, lives so that we may live—not just in some faraway, future paradise, but that we may live this life to the fullest.
            To those first disciples, it seemed to be over; but just when they had given up hope, Jesus returned to them.  What wonderful news!
            We are called to live into God’s future now, not to wait for the total fulfillment of the kingdom of God, but to realize that we live in the kingdom today—and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.  Because it ain’t over.  It’s only just begun.

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