Quick Summary:

Not a few of us have the SUPERBOWL on our minds this morning. And how could we not? The 12th man is alive and well in Seattle, and for the last two weeks it’s been nonstop SEAHAWK fever wherever you go in this city. The thought of a first-in-the-history-of-the-franchise Seattle Superbowl victory is so tantalizing we can taste it. And the set up of these two opposing teams feels like destiny: The #1 offense of Peyton Manning and the Broncos versus the #1 defense in all of football: the Legion of Boom.

Will Manning and company find a way to victory, returning the Broncos to their glory days under legend John Elway and securing Manning’s stature as one of the great quarterbacks of all time? Or will Pete Carroll’s upstart Seahawks, led by a sophomore quarterback and a cadre of late round draft picks who dared believe in themselves when others didn’t, seize the day and claim the Lombardi Trophy? Only time will tell. And that time, thank goodness, will finally arrive at 3:30 this afternoon!

By now you’re wondering, I’m sure, what the connection is between the Superbowl and our scripture readings this morning. Well the answer is NOTHING... Or at least mostly nothing; for there is—however fine and thin it may be—one thread of connection. And that thread has to do with destiny.

In addition to being Superbowl Sunday, today is also The Presentation of our Lord, a day on which the church recalls Jesus’ first visit to the Temple, 40 days after his birth.