Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Every Mother's Son


The first presidential debate is going on as I type. Politics and sports and families sometimes have some interesting twists and turns as they play out. The following is about New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees and his mother, taken from October 31, 2006.

The elections are upon us! As usual, the television airwaves are inundated with campaign ads which alternately elevate a candidate to sainthood and designate the candidate's opponent as the second coming of Benedict Arnold. Charges and counter charges; everybody says they hate the process but it keeps fueling itself. Michael J. Fox became embroiled in a controversy this past week over his commercial advocating stem cell research. The actor is not alone in a brouhaha. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is seething at the use of his name and image in political advertisements promoting the candidacy of.......his mother. Mina Brees is running as a Democrat for a seat on the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals. The spots show Drew in the uniform of his former team, the San Diego Chargers. Brees said he got nowhere with initial attempts to have the photos removed and has now threatened legal action through his agent. His mother has complied but defends her football theme, emphasizing that her father was a high school football coach and the sport was influential in her rearing. Needless to say, mother and son are estranged and do not look to reconcile by the Thanksgiving Day gridiron contests. They could take lessons from another football family, Donovan McNabb and his mom, who seem to live in a universe of perfect harmony on the Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials.

My eighth graders have Bible Test #6 tomorrow. In covering Luke, chapter 4, this week, we noted that Jesus was casting out demons, who identified him as the Son of God in the process. Luke mentions that Jesus forbid the evil spirits to speak because they were aware that he was the Christ. I give my opinion on why I believe that was the case. I ask if it is good to have a famous person endorse a product or campaign and without thinking, they answer in the affirmative. Then, I ask if they would change their reply if the endorser was John Mark Karr who recently confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey, a claim later dismissed as a hoax. Instantly, the kids switch their position. Trying to make a logical connection, I inquire as to why would Jesus want demonic beings announcing his messiahship. They get the point although I make it abundantly clear that I could be wrong. Isn't it interesting, evil spirits knew the true identity of Jesus before his followers? Maybe the Lord didn't want the announcement coming from the spokesmen of the underworld. There was no chance of a compromise. I hope there is in the ongoing case of Brees versus Brees. You can have many women in your life but only one mother. At least Mrs. Brees is proud of her son. Perhaps one day, Drew will reciprocate.


Applicable quote of the day:
"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
Abraham Lincoln


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/

E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com

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