Thursday, October 13, 2016

Praying for the Chicago Cubs (Reflections on Pentecost 22, Year C)



“And will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay long in helping them?” (Luke 18:7)

How about those Cubs, eh..? Incredible as it may seem, it looks like the 2016 Chicago Cubs might just be poised to win the World Series. I know. Wild, isn’t it? I mean, Chicago hasn’t won a series since 1908! They haven’t even played in a series since 1945. In fact the last guy to play in a World Series in a Cubs uniform died last year.

And yet—year after painful year—Cubs fans have come out to Wrigley Field, praying to have a victorious team who will make the Windy City proud.

You have to admire their faith.

When you think about it, weirder things have happened. Did you ever think you’d see an African American president of the United States? Or a woman president? Did you ever imagine you’d see the day when same-gender marriage was legal in the land? Did you ever think you’d live to learn that a Roman Catholic pope planned to celebrate the Protestant Reformation with the Lutheran World Federation, or that there’d even be talk of full communion between Lutherans and Roman Catholics? Sometimes things take time, but—remember—God created time and he has time for all things

Our Gospel lesson this week in the Revised Common Lectionary (Luke 18:1-8) is a clever little parable in which Jesus reminds us to keep the faith. God’s time may not be our time, but that doesn’t mean we stop believing, stop working, or stop praying for the things which are righteous. If even the unrighteous can be worn down eventually through our persistence, surely God will be listening and choosing the moment to answer our righteous prayers. In the meantime, our persistent faith builds our character. The time of constant prayer is a time of learning. Remember—God is always righteous. Our prayers don’t change God. They change us.

Two Martin Luthers have wise words which I think apply to this Gospel passage. Martin Luther King is often quoted as saying that the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. I think that’s a pretty encouraging thought, don’t you? And, of course, the original Martin Luther reminds us in the Small Catechism that despair is a great and shameful sin.

I really dig the Hebrew Scripture pericope which the RCL pairs with this Gospel lesson (Genesis 32:22-31). It’s the story of Jacob at the ford of the Jabbok. He’s sent his whole family and a sizable bribe across the river to his brother Esau. When we last saw hairy old Esau, he was pretty p.o.’d with Jacob for stealing his birthright, and he was really looking forward to killing him for doing so. Now, years later, Jacob is preparing to meet the brother who hates his guts once again. He tries to make peace, but he’s not sure Esau is willing to kiss and make up. He spends a restless night alone before the encounter, during which he wrestles with a mysterious man. We don’t know if this is God or an angel or who, but Jacob won’t let this guy go until he receives a blessing from him. Even though the mysterious wrestler gives him a nasty kick in the groin and puts his hip socket out of joint, Jacob still holds on. Finally, the wrestler gives Jacob both a blessing and a new name. Henceforth he will be called Israel—which means “The One Who Strives with God.”

In a way, we’re all Israel. We all struggle and strive and hold on for dear life, praying for a righteous blessing. To lose our hope is to lose our purpose. To lose our purpose is a kind of suicide. So keep praying, my dears. Keep striving with God. Hang on until you are blessed.


And GO, CUBS!!!

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