Victory [Proper 17A - Matthew 16:21-28]
The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 16:21-28 Victory And finally, since we are on a roll with these, my last announcement is this: the 2023 NFL season begins on Thursday. And that means, once again, I will root for the Cleveland Browns to appear in their first ever Super Bowl. Once again I will tell myself, as I have so many times before: this could be the year. I have cheered on the Browns for as long as I can remember; the Browns are like a family inheritance: you don’t choose them as much as you get them. And, over the years, that has, admittedly, left some scars. As a little boy, I cried because of “The Drive.” And then the next year, when I was seven, I cried because of “The Fumble.” And at a young age, I developed a hatred for John Elway that required of me many prayers of repentance. As painful as those experiences were, being a Browns fan only grew more difficult as I aged. ...