Written for the Devotional page of the Knoxville Journal Express
Holy cow! The Chicago Cubs are playing in the
2016 World Series! As someone who grew up in Illinois, less than three hours
from Chicago, I have many family and friends that are die-hard Chicago Cubs
fans. They have been waiting years to cheer on their team in the big granddaddy
of them all. I am excited for them and plan to cheer for the Cubs right along
with them. Many fans took to Facebook and Twitter to express their joy and
overwhelming flood of emotion at finally seeing their team win the National
league pennant, a drought that lasted 71 years. Now the question is, can they
break the 108-year World Series Champion drought?
I saw on Facebook that some of my
seminary friends are in congregations that began their Sunday’s service with
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and/or “Go Cubs Go.” Who says that Christians
don’t know how to have fun? I joked with my congregation that it was time to
prepare for Christ’s return. I thought about using the analogy of the Cubs
fans’ drought to the Israelites wilderness wandering but realized it only took
40 years for God to deliver the Israelites to the Promised Land. J
I think many people, including
myself, are looking forward to the World Series as not only the grand finale of
the baseball season but also as a distraction to the upcoming Presidential
Election. It’s a lot easier and definitely more pleasurable to talk about the
Chicago Cubs than the two primary candidates on the ballot for the next
President of the United States of America. I hear comments like, “I’m moving to
Canada if _________ (fill in the blank with the opponent) wins.” Or others will
say, “I cannot stand ________ (again, fill in the blank.) I keep wondering how
a country filled with such talented and gifted people could end up with two
candidates that many state as “less than desirable.”
Many have observed that our current
state of politics is more about tearing down the opponent than it is about
showing forth your own skills. And just like having our favorite baseball team,
some feel an alliance to a political party with a “take out the other team at
all costs” mentality. Although I have not witnessed it in person, I have
observed some very nasty behavior on social media regarding political thought
and support for specific candidates. As a result of the unrest and anxiety
around the upcoming election, our congregation has decided to hold an Election
Prayer Service on Monday, November 7th at 7:00pm.
Although we hear comments like “I’ve
never seen an election like this in my life,” when we read the Bible we get a
sense that our current state is not anything new. It appears we have always had
divisiveness and differing thought. The Election Prayer Service will be a
traditional evening prayer service reminding us that Jesus Christ is the light
of the world. The scripture that we hear will be based on God’s sovereignty and
on the hope that we have through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It will be a reminder that no matter who is elected as the 45th
President of the United States, God will still be making all things new as it
states in 2 Corinthians 15:17.
I would also like to say the people
I interact with on a daily basis are not like the ugliness I read on Facebook.
And so my prayer for you is Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians 1:15-18 “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to
give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation as you come to know him, so that with the eyes of your heart
enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.”
Peace,
Pastor
Kristine Dohrmann
Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church
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