A Theological Dissection of a "Miraculous" Victory

Several thousand years ago, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were sitting around in a pre-creation planning meeting. They were going over God's calendar of events for the universe, when they came to February 7, 2010. Jesus saw "Saints win Superbowl," and, being a bit puzzled, pointed at the date. He then looked at God and asked, "Who Dat?"

Thus, the legend was born.

In all seriousness, here in New Orleans, things are crazy. A lot of claims are being made right now, the most popular being that this was destiny, or that God had planned this. As a Christian, a seminary student, and a (relatively new) Saints fan, I wanted to dissect that claim.

First of all, we know that it was God's will for the Saints to beat the Colts, otherwise, it wouldn't have happened. To get all Calvinist, God had this planned from before time began. None of this surprised God.

Now, so many people in the French Quarter last night were drinking their "spirits" and celebrating like hooligans, shouting into news cameras that this was God's plan, and that this was a team of destiny. There was even a guy dressed as "Breesus," mocking Jesus himself, spouting claims that were, in essence, that "God's team won."

While I agree that it was God's plan, and that this team is a team of destiny, I don't agree that this team is more special than any other. Don't get me wrong, I have totally immersed myself into the Saints, and I do love the team. But in actuality, every team is a team of destiny. The Detroit Lions last year were just as much a team of destiny as the Saints were this year. So were the Pittsburgh Steelers in Superbowl XLIII, the New York Giants in XLII, etc. God has it all mapped out.

Now, the other thing I hear is that God was showing New Orleans kindness for all they had to deal with, with Katrina and the issues there. And that may be true, but I just think that this victory is more of an object lesson for believers in this area. We just have to look for the lesson.

You see, I found myself wondering: Why would God give such joy to a populace who constantly reject and mock him?

See it yet?

Jesus suffered and died for a people that laughed at Him, spit on Him, ripped His beard from His face. They didn't deserve it. They deserved death and punishment. But they were given love, joy, peace. We are given love, joy, and peace. Except the peace, joy, and love of Jesus is worth more than a thousand Saints Superbowl victories.