Greatness was on display at last Sunday’s Super Bowl.
The greatest number of viewers ever to watch a TV show on a single network tuned in hoping to see great football, great commercials, and a great halftime show.
The Super Bowl, which is fixated like no other cultural event on the perception of greatness, delivered a great victory for the Philadelphia Eagles (powered by their great defense) to over 120 million viewers, a number of whom no doubt contributed to the $1.39 billion total that was legally wagered on the game, the greatest sum ever.
As usual, it was a great big, over-the-top, self-congratulatory mash-up of money, fame, spectacle, and corporate branding. No wonder it’s called Super.
Then, right in the middle of the first half, every TV screen went black. A question appeared: What is Greatness?
What followed was a 60-second montage of still photos. People comforting other people. Courageous first responders bringing help. Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians, rich and poor sharing embraces and simple acts of kindness. People rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. Through it all, Johnny Cash croons Depeche Mode’s hit, “Personal Jesus.”
The screen once again turned black, then offered up these words: “Jesus shows us what greatness really is. Jesus Gets Us. All of Us.”
In case you missed it, here’s the ad: What is Greatness?
Sunday marked the third consecutive year that the “He Gets Us” campaign purchased prime advertising real estate during the world’s most-watched TV program. It wasn’t cheap. The privilege of airing that 60-second ad reportedly cost around $15 million.
So, who are the people behind these ads?
The creative team operates under the umbrella of a non-profit organization called Come Near. According to its website, the “He Gets Us” campaign is non-denominational – that is, not affiliated with any particular church or creed. “Our point is that the story of Jesus doesn’t belong to anyone,” the site declares.
So, who writes the checks?
David Green, the founder of the retail giant Hobby Lobby, has identified himself as one of the original investors. He acknowledges his eagerness to help reshape public perception of Jesus and his followers.
“What we’re known as, as Christians, we’re known as haters,” he said in an interview last year. “We’re beginning to be known as haters — we hate this group, we hate that group. But we’re not. We are people that have the very, very best love story ever written, and we need to tell that love story. So, our idea is, let’s tell the story. As a Christian, you should love everybody. Jesus loved everybody.”
Green is not wrong to suggest that Christians are currently associated, in the minds of a number of observers, more with what they oppose than what they support.
Church attenders are widely excoriated as anti-gay. And anti-science. And anti-reason. And anti-joy. And anti-non-Christians. And anti-freedom to think and feel and decide whatever people might choose to think and feel and decide is the meaning of life.
“He Gets Us” is an effort to confront those perceptions. Over the past two years, the ads have generated nearly 11 billion video views and drawn 49 million visitors to its website – numbers that the Draw Near team believes have been well worth the annual Super Bowl investment.
In the end, however, the ads have primarily attempted to do just one thing – to direct viewers’ attention away from the all-too-real foolishness and faithlessness of Jesus’ followers to Jesus himself.
Which brings us back to the question that was posed last Sunday: What is greatness?
Jesus’ answer is transparently clear. It’s servanthood. He says concerning himself, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Leonard Bernstein, famed conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, was once asked what he thought was the most difficult instrument to play. He replied without hesitation, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm – that's a problem."
Bernstein added, "And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony."
Our culture exalts the spotlight. Greatness comes down to great performance, great press clippings, great reputation. But a great deal of what is accomplished in boardrooms and family rooms happens only because of those who are willing to humbly serve in the shadows.
What is the pathway to true greatness?
Be kind. Choose to be gracious to everyone who crosses your path. Do the jobs that no one else wants to do, without complaining or hey-look-at-me.
Make the needs of others a lifelong priority – for the simple reason that that’s what Jesus did.
Can such a thing ever happen?
It can if we are willing to abandon ourselves to the Servant-Savior who is One of Us and truly Gets Us.
All of Us.
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