OK, this won’t be the first time in my life I’ve been accused of being late to the party, so to speak. It’s been a few days since the Ravens triumphantly rolled into town earlier this week after a thrilling Super Bowl victory over the 49ers.
Meanwhile, my keyboard has been silent. Until now.
Although I have myriad responibilities as a father and deacon, I have no one to blame but myself for being slow on the uptake in putting a blog post together about the Ravens’ parade and ultimate coronation at M&T Bank Stadium, in front of 80,000-plus delirious fans. After all, I was one of those fans, sitting high in the upper deck, across the field from the stage where the players would ultimately come out of the tunnel.
I saw Ray do his last dance. The place went nuts. People who didn’t know each other from Adam hugged and high-fived. Helicopters flew overhead as people stood in the aisles because there were no more seats. The gates were eventually closed, but I was told people climbed the gates in an attempt to get to the second- or third-level ramps to get in. Not the smartest thing to do, but indicative of the hysteria that the Ravens’ Super Bowl win has created in the town of Baltimore and throughout Maryland.
So, as I reflected on my procrastination of posting to my blog, I thought about how the joy and celebration of the Ravens’ second Super Bowl win and how it set the table, so to speak, for the joy of another kind as the season of Lent approaches. Lent sometimes gets a bad rap for being gloomy and depressing, but it’s actually a joyous time of repentance and prayer as we look forward to the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter.
We definitely have a lot to be thankful for in Maryland – our Super Bowl champ Ravens and the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who won a different kind of victory for us, one that is much more sweet and eternal than that of the Ravens. For that, we should be thankful – and celebrate!
A blessing to you all for a peaceful and penitent Lent.