The Super Bowl

The 50th Super Bowl was played Sunday, a long way from its humble beginnings in January 1967 when the first game didn't even sell out. Now, it's like an unofficial American holiday of sheer spectacle (and, yes, crass commercialization).

You always hear around this time, "Man, wouldn't it be great if an event glorifying God would attract that many people and viewers like the Super Bowl does?"

Yes, it would! And it made me think: Ever wonder how many people actually heard the Sermon on the Mount?

By varying estimates, the world at that time was inhabited by between 200 and 300 million people. Using the higher estimate, let's just assume that Jesus was able to preach to 3,000 - that would be 0.00001 percent of the people who lived in the world then.

Of course, there was no television. The Bible would end up serving as the major means of communication for the most famous sermon ever.

My point being, spreading of the Word over history has been a natural organic thing - first, passed down in spoken form, person to person, family to family. Then communicated more widely after the printing press was invented.

But then came radio and television. Yes, these were means used for further spreading of the Word. However, the audio and visual elements of this new media lent themselves to secular interests - soap operas and serial westerns on radio, followed by dramas, sitcoms and sports on TV, and so on.

I won't get started on the effects of mass media on spirituality and behavior; many books have already touched on those subjects. But I will say that, at least in my limited experience, the Word is spread more effectively these days in smaller settings. Sure, there's still a place for things like the old Billy Graham crusades, for praise-and-worship events in sports arenas, for contemporary Christian concerts, and yes, for mega churches.

There's something to be said, though, about the relationships and bonds that are formed among smaller circles of believers, and having that grow out naturally and organically - much like in the old days.

So let the Super Bowl have its ratings, its pomp, and its circumstance. We, as Christians, know there is something much greater than that.