ALLIGATOR ARMS

 

Over the past week I've been reflecting on an image from the world of American football: "alligator arms." When the ball is passed to a player he sometimes has to stretch himself out full length to reach it and make the catch. A catch like that is likely to make the "highlight reel" of great plays for that game or even for the season. But sometimes the man who is the intended target sees that an opponent is bearing down on him  just waiting for him to stretch out for the ball, leaving his body exposed to a punishing hit. 

So the fellow decides not to reach out too far for the ball, but plays it safe, keeping his elbows bent to protect himself. The commentators on the television will say "Smith had alligator arms on that play." Not exactly a compliment.

So, that's the picture I started reflecting on a week ago.  Last Sunday's gospel told the story of Jesus' healing a leper: stretching out his hand, Jesus touched the man. The Greek verb for "stretching out" is ekteinein, and is used for literally reaching out or stretching out one's hand, as we see here in the miracle story. When Jesus is praying in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, he "stretches himself out on the ground," praying to his Father. So intense is his prayer that in the next verse his sweat becomes like drops of blood. 

The word comes up in the 14th chapter of Acts, when Peter is in prison awaiting execution. Luke tells us that the Christian community came together to offer "earnest prayer" for Peter. But this is hardly a powerful enough translation. The writer uses the adverb ekteinos, based on our verb. They were literally stretching themselves out in prayer. No alligator arms here! I call this kind of prayer "stretching prayer," the kind that Jesus did in Gethsemane.  

Ask yourself how often do you pray with that kind of intensity? I can hear the Lord saying, "Albert had alligator arms during that prayer." Not exactly a compliment.

Stretching out in prayer is surely bound to catch God's attention, right? But there's another aspect to this kind of prayer. Like the football player who stretches himself out to catch the pass, when we stretch ourselves out in prayer, we're leaving ourselves exposed and vulnerable. God can answer our earnest prayer with a "No!", and we're disappointed in God and discouraged, because after all that intense effort, our prayer was not heard. If you pray with alligator arms, then you're not as open to being disappointed if the answer isn't what you had hoped.

Lent is a great time to draw closer to God, to develop a more intimate relationship. There's no place for alligator arms here, though, whether in our prayer, our works of charity, or our sacrifices, as we prepare for Christ to stretch out his arms on the cross and offer himself completely for you and me.