OK, I admit it; I just watched some video of the Great Bobby Orr, to many, the greatest hockey player ever. It was a part of Jerry IV’s history lesson for the day.
In speaking of Boston Bruins hockey in New England, one man said that in New England homes, there were three pictures on the wall – Jesus, John Kennedy, and Bobby Orr. All legendary, all beloved, and all with careers cut short in heartbreaking fashion.
Bobby Orr could do it all, and we won’t talk about all that JFK did, but JFK was an American War Hero, a charismatic guy (obviously), and a man whose politics in retrospect places him closer to Rush Limbaugh than to today’s leading Democrats. But back to Bobby Orr. He was a skater who tore up the ice while appearing to be gliding over it, whose shot was hard, fast, and accurate, who could body check with the best of them, and who rewrote the record books while winning eight straight Norris trophies as the League’s best defenseman. In 1970 when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, Bobby became the only man in history to win the Grand Slam of NHL trophies, the Hart as league MVP, the Norris, the Ross as the League’s leading scorer, and the Conn Smythe as MVP in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Nobody had done that before, and nobody has done it since! And Bobby could “drop the gloves” (fight) and was at once the most humble player imaginable. Bobby Orr had it all! When knee injuries cut short the most wonderful career, like New England’s chosen son Kennedy, broken hearts were everywhere.
The Bible says of Jesus, in what could be considered the greatest Scriptural understatement ever, “He hath done all things well.” The people had just witnessed Jesus giving a deaf man his hearing, and at the same time healing the man’s speech impediment. It’s like Bobby Orr leading the rush up ice and then somehow being back on defense at the other end to break up the opposition’s scoring opportunity. But Bobby couldn’t do what Jesus could do, not on his very best day! Jesus could block the hardest slap shot that the Pharisees could muster, then could answer with a hat trick, handing them their head in their hands. Jesus was humble yet knew Who He was and what he could do for the world, if they would but accept him onto their roster. For those that did so, they were guaranteed the Ultimate Prize (even better than the Stanley Cup, and despite the “Lord Stanley” designation, there is only one LORD, & that’s Jesus!) And talk about “dropping the gloves”… have you read the Book of the Revelation? And I wonder if you can translate Psalm 78:66 (KJV) into the vernacular… “And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts:” When the LORD needs to, and His time is right, He can and will kick Satan’s tail! And even His heartbreaking death was assuaged three days later when he arose victorious, making our hearts whole again forever!
I love 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” There abides three New England icons, Jesus, Jack Kennedy, and Bobby Orr, but the greatest of these, absolutely without debate, and the Greatest of all possible, is the LORD Jesus Christ.
His greatest save? It’s you! Praise His Holy Name! (And please don’t call the Deacons over this somewhat unabashed sports illustration. You all know how much I hate sports illustrations!)
Praise Jesus & Love to all,
Pastor