Other than illegal hits to the head and questionable calls by referees, the most controversial part of the NFL season is a phenomenon called “Tebowing”. Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow openly proclaims his faith in interviews, post game press conferences, in coffee shops or wherever he is. After touchdowns and during particularly tense moments of games he drops to one knee, putting his fist to his forehead in what looks like a power prayer stance that people have given the nick name – “Tebowing”. The reaction to “Tebowing” has been polarizing with some people applauding him and some people openly tweeting and publicly ridiculing Tim Tebow for being so open with his faith. Here is link to a new website of people who are imitating Tim Tebow in his power prayer stance. http://tebowing.com/
The question I ask is – Are you Tebowing? You see if we are serious about our faith and are not afraid to live it outwardly, we should not be surprised that in some settings we are openly mocked or criticized. It’s one thing to only hang with the people who we think “get it”, and an entirely different thing to openly live our faith in all settings and yes, even encountering resistance for our expressions of faith.
One great thing about our Catholic faith is that there are some built in “Tebowing” poses we can make that show our faith openly. Here is a short list:
- Saying Grace before all meals we eat in a public place, no matter who is there or how awkward we feel about doing it.
- Carrying a Rosary with us all day long.
- Wearing a Crucifix around our neck.
- Making a sign of the cross whenever we pass a Catholic Church acknowledging the real presence in the tabernacle inside.
- Carrying Holy Water with us for blessing things that we feel called to bless. Like hotel rooms, ill children, a car we are making a trip in and lots of other places we feel like need the blessing.
- Wearing a smile and a Catholic T-shirt out publicly on everyday errands.
- Praying a Rosary for life outside an abortion clinic.
What are the ways that you openly let others know of your faith?
Fantastic blog! I think the teens would love this as well, can it be published on the LifeTeen site as well?
Thanks Randy!
My Dad has had lots of mini-conversions because of Tebow’s openness with living His faith. This article has inspired me to be more aware of how I live out my faith in public like making the sign of the cross when pass a Catholic Church and carrying Holy Water with me and actually using it! Thanks Randy.
One such witness we saw was an elderly man, in the middle of the busiest time of the Munich Christmas Markets, in Marienplatz, in front of the glockenspiel (for those of you who know it). He looked poor; shuffled calmly through the crowds, stopped, put down his scruffy canvas bag, opened it up, took out a candle. Carefully lit it, put it on a small wall, then took out a Rosary, and began to pray. You couldn’t hear the words as the square was filled with bustle and noise from the shoppers and stall holders selling the bright, glistening Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, the smell of roasted chestnuts, candy and mulled wine filling the air. People began to make a small detour to get past him, then each one in turn would look at him, at the wall and the candle. Slowly some began to stop. They too, reached into pockets and bags, got out Rosaries and joined in prayer. Within 5 minutes the area of the square was hushed as they prayed and others stopped and watched. After the last decade, he blew out the candle, put it back in his bag, Rosary tucked into his pocket and calmly walked away. People slowly drifted back to the hustle and the bustle. We looked at the spot he had been praying and the wall where the candle had stood, and there was a small statue of Our Lady. Powerful!
LOVIN IT
One of our local high schools just got national attention for this! They were Tebowing in School. – Mike
- Crossing myself when an ambulance or fire engine passes by with flashing lights.
- When engaging in casual conversation about plans for the day or what I have going on, not being shy about mentioning daily Mass or the weekly meeting of the Young Adult Ministry at my church.
- Marking solemnities and major feast days with relevant status updates or captioned artwork on Facebook and Twitter.
I did not that you are supposed to make a sign of the cross when passing a Catholic Church. I will try to do remember to do this. Thanks!
Our Life Teen Core Group is actually working to create a Life Night on Tebow and his openness of his faith, and how that relates to our own Christian Identity…….any suggestions will be greatly appreciated if anyone has ideas for Gather, Break, Proclaim, and Send.