Friday, February 3, 2012

The Super Bowl and Isaiah and God

This Sunday, tens of millions of people will watch the New England Patriots and the New York Giants face off in the Super Bowl. And as it happens, the Scripture reading appointed for worship is Isaiah 40:21-31, which ends with these words:
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31 NRSV)

Does God really Care  about who wins a football game? I doubt it. Does God care about the people playing the football game and those watching them? Yes, most certainly. The biblical witness tells us that God cares particularly about the poor and the vulnerable, those without hope. So while God may very well be with The New York Giantsout on the football field, God is most certainly with those sick and injured kids in the stands watching him.

May the best team win and may the Patriots lose BIG