Out of Aces

Learning how to play poker with Jesus

12/16/2024

Mt 21:23-27 When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”  Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

After Mass a couple of weeks ago someone casually asked me if I played poker. I answered “No, but I do like to watch ‘The World Series of Poker’ on television.” Have you ever watched that show? It features the world’s greatest poker players like Phil Helmuth, Doyle Brunson (with his signature cowboy hat), Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey, and Daniel Negreanu.

What I like about the show is that the viewer (you and me) gets to see everyone’s hand – what cards they are holding – and what the person about to bet has to contend with. You can almost guess what they are thinking as they toy with their chips between their fingers and the timer ticks down.

That show always reminds me of Kenny Rogers famous song, “The Gambler.” The well-known refrain goes like this: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em / Know when to fold ‘em / Know when to walk away / And know when to run. / You never count your money / When you’re sittin’ at the table / There’ll be time enough for countin’ / When the dealin’s done.” I love the depth psychology at work watching the faces of players trying to decide “when to hold ‘em” and “when to fold ‘em.”

In the gospel today we see a sort of poker game between Jesus and the chief priests and elders. The Jewish leaders ask Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” We might say they are asking Jesus to show them the hand he is holding. That is, do you have a pair of Aces or are you just bluffing and you have no authority, you are just a man.

In response, Jesus raises the stakes and increases the bet by putting John the Baptist into the pot. He answers, “Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly origin or of human origin?” And then like on the show The World Series of Poker, the chief priests and elders hesitate and think while toying with their poker chips.

And finally they decide to fold their hand, and Jesus takes the pot and does not reveal his cards or his authority either. Even Kenny Rogers knows it’s never a smart move to play poker with Jesus. He already knows the hand you are holding, like we can see the players’ hands on television.

Even though I do not play poker with a group of guys, there is a sense in which we all play poker with God. How so? Well, we all get a hand that is dealt to us at birth, and it appears quite random as the cards are distributed. Some of us hold the aces of beauty, intelligence, self-confidence, being born in an affluent country, loving parents, etc.

Others are dealt a dud hand of birth defects, poverty, low IQ, being born in a developing nation, abusive parents, etc. have you ever wondered why you are so lucky to have the opportunities you enjoy while others struggle to survive? To a large extent, that is the hand you were dealt in life. And just like poker, everyone has to play the hand they get.

Another way life is like poker is we often try to out-smart or bluff with God. To bluff in poker is to make the other player think you have a bigger hand than you really have and to make him fold his hand. We do this in the million-and-one ways we try to out-maneuver God. We ignore him and stop going to church or Mass.

We debate him in our mind and feel his answers are not satisfactory, like modern atheism and agnosticism. And sometimes we even think God is trying to bluff with us because he seems to be saying he’s holding a better hand with promises of heavenly glory, while we foolishly think our poor hand of an 8-high of earthly goods will beat him.

Now, here is the real problem with playing poker with God. Like in the television show, The World Series of Poker, the viewer can see what cards everyone at the table is holding, God sees all our cards. Jesus knew in the gospel what the chief priests and elders were holding as well as what they were thinking.

Like Kenny Rogers sang about the gambler so too with Jesus: “He said, ‘Son, I’ve made a life / Out of readin’ people’s faces / Knowin’ what the cards were / By the way they held their eyes / So if you don’t mind my sayin’ / I can see you’re out of aces.” And that is the real predicament of playing poker with Jesus. We are always out of aces.

Jesus, on the other hand, is holding that supremely rare hand called a royal flush, an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten (all of hearts), which in spiritual terms are God the Father, God the Son, the Blessed Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit, the perfect 10. And maybe that is the real reason that when someone asks me, “Do you like to play poker?” I always answer, “No thanks.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!