Just a few hundred yards from our national office is the headquarters of the Denver Broncos. A multi-million dollar expansion and renovation has transformed this area into the envy of the NFL as far as training facilities. This past weekend the NFL began its preseason workouts, and this year, with the facility complete, the public was welcome to attend. Thousands and thousands of exuberant and expectant fans showed up. Hopes and dreams are high… but then, what NFL team doesn’t start the season with the Super Bowl in mind.
Another couple of hundred yards past the new thriving Broncos headquarters another hub of activity is present. Media trailers and satellite dishes litter the landscape… but this collection of activity has nothing to do with football. No, this is quite literally a matter of life and death. Within a few good NFL punts of the Broncos headquarters a jury is deciding the fate of Aurora Theater shooter James Holmes. Twelve people lost their lives watching the Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. Additionally, 70 others were injured when Holmes indiscriminately began unloading his weapon on the unsuspecting crowd in July, 2012.
Within a half-mile of my office, the odd juxtaposition of the events of life. Football and justice. Professional sports and the death sentence. Peyton Manning and James Holmes.
A collage across the canvas of life. Vast. Diverse. Exuberant and gut wrenching at the same time. Life.
Between the Garden and Glory… across the landscape of the wilderness; the masters of the gridiron test their trade next door to the bitter taste of evil. Sweat and tears run together down Potomac Street.
Tragedy in one venue is a dropped touchdown pass or a season ending injury. A few hundred feet down the road, a 27-year-old awaits the sentence from a jury that weighs the human tragedy inflicted on hundreds of lives.
Life. Real life. Our lives.
Co-mingled joy and agony. The superficial and the eternal.
We weep. We laugh. We sink our roots deeply into the love of Christ who helps us navigate this territory in our own lives and in the lives of young people who can’t comprehend the mix and the mess.
So close to home. Within a half-mile.
In virtually every life we touch… the Broncos and the chaos; right next door to each other.
Wisdom. Courage. Hope.
A God we can trust. A God who knows. This is our neighborhood. It is every neighborhood.
God help us. God have mercy.
Together in the neighborhood.
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