I told this one Sunday morning:
There once was a Canadian man. We’ll call him John, for that is his name. John had three sons, Jonathan, Andrew, and Matthew. John wanted to do right by his sons, so he taught them important things. He taught them how to ride a bike. He taught them how to catch a ball. He taught them how to skate and play hockey and keep their sticks on the ice. And most importantly, he taught them to cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As the years went by, one of John’s sons decided that the Maple Leafs were not his team. Matthew decided to cheer for the dastardly Vancouver Canucks. Hockey conversations became difficult. Matthew made fun of the Leafs. His family disdained the Canucks. They would watch the same games, but cheer for different things.
But…
But… Every four years, something more fundamental comes into play. Every four years, they have the chance to cheer for the same things. To be excited about the same plays.
Every four years, team Canada plays at the Winter Olympics. For those hockey games, the Mackay family is united. We cheer together. Where there was strife, there is instead unity.
1 Cor 10:16-17:
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
What we have in common is more important than any differences we may have.