The Football Giants are having a very rough season; I hate to say it, but they’re hard to watch. But there is one story that has caught my interest…..Tommy DeVito. Tommy is the undrafted quarterback who is now the starting quarterback and has engineered victories in the last two games. It’s not Tom DeVito , like Tom Brady; it’s Tommy DeVito. Tommy is from Jersey and still lives with his parents. He went to the same high school that my son-in-law attended. Are you with me? He’s practically family.
When family does well, the word spreads like wild fire. “Hey did you hear about Tommy? Did you hear that my grandson Jordie hit a homerun over the fence.. he’s in first grade…I’m telling you, he could be the next Mickey Mantle. Wow, it’s even better when the family guy is a big underdog.
America loves underdogs, comeback stories …. Rocky, Hoosiers, Joseph of the Old Testament. We love the guy or team that has no chance and then makes a comeback. Think of the theme songs from Rocky, and Rudy, from the Gladiator ….. you walk out of the movie theatre ready to take on the world. Maybe it’s because we’re all underdogs.
Today’s Mass reading from the book of Daniel is another great underdog story. The king of Babylon has conquered Israel and brought the young Daniel to be trained as his servant. He’s a nobody. He has no chance. Yet Daniel chooses to stand by the word of God. The comeback starts when “God gives Daniel the favor and sympathy of the chief chamberlain.” (Daniel,Ch. 1). He outshines everyone. Daniel becomes a giant of the Old Testament, used by God in magnificent ways. The circumstances of his early life spelled disaster; yet God had other plans for him.
The life of Jesus was a come from behind story. His death on the cross was a seemingly dismal failure …. Satan wins, death and sin prevail….. it’s over. Yet at this worst possible moment, there’s a rumbling in the distance; the stone is rolling away and the Lord rises victorious…. the ultimate comeback.
The only criteria for true success and victory is whether we are on the side of the Lord. God’s ways always prevail, in his perfect way and perfect time. The latest headlines of wars and disasters do not determine how things will end. In the final analysis, God’s will prevails. All the underdogs who place their faith and trust in the Lord will prevail. And that is very good news for you and me.
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