Oh to be at Butler now that Spring is here ...

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” Genesis 28:16

When we were little, we were told that the church was “God’s house,” and we believed it wholly and literally. We were quiet and respectful, as one should be in such an awesome place. When we grew up, we came to understand that God’s presence was not confined in space, that he was ultimately ubiquitous, and we believe that we experience his presence wherever we are.

That is rather encouraging to people who refuse to stay in any one place for too long a time.

But maybe we should rethink the subtleties of that notion.

Barry Collier first came to Butler University as basketball coach in 1989. Prior to his arrival, the Bulldogs had won 20 games only twice in 91 years of competition. His eleven year record there was 196-132, including a 90-39 record in his last four years , four straight post-season appearances, and seven first or second place conference finishes. He was named conference Coach of the Year four times.

In 2000, Collier answered the calling to coach at a major conference school and took over as Head Basketball Coach at the University of Nebraska. In six seasons, he amassed a 89-91 record, with two NIT tournaments bids and no post-season victories. While his tenure at Nebraska was marked by strong academic performance and Collier showed himself a man of significant integrity, it was a long way from his on-the-court performance at Butler.

In 2006, he went back.

In this, the fourth season since his return, Butler won 33 games, and went all the way to the Championship, losing only to perennial powerhouse Duke by a single basket at the end of the game.

Coincidence?

Yes, he is the Athletic Director now and not the coach, and sure, maybe Nebraska will never be the basketball haven that Butler University is. But maybe there is a deeper and more interesting question at play here, one that speaks directly to the spiritual issues that ought to guide us in choosing the path for our lives.

We are conditioned to believe that grass is always greener in somewhere else. Doubt and disbelief haunt us with the insinuation that paradise eludes us in some unseen and exotic locale just beyond our current reach. We are much too often stirred by an occasionally useful restlessness which distracts us from appreciating fully the setting where we are. Right now. Our eyes are cast toward some distant horizon and the possibilities that we certainly miss now, but maybe the good news is that THIS is the place where God is home for us, and we would do best to (as they say) bloom where we are planted.

In a world where too often we must “go off” to seek our fortune, perhaps Barry Collier could this morning teach us the joy of loving what we have and living well where we are.

Jacob named the place of his famous dream Beth-el, the place of God.

What do you call the place where you are?