2 Samuel 23 records the words of David, Israel's singer of songs, as his life drew near to its end:

¹ These are the last words of David:
       "The oracle of David son of Jesse,
       the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High,
       the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
       Israel's singer of songs:

    ² "The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me;
       his word was on my tongue.

    ³ The God of Israel spoke,
       the Rock of Israel said to me:
       'When one rules over men in righteousness,
       when he rules in the fear of God,

    ⁴ he is like the light of morning at sunrise
       on a cloudless morning,
       like the brightness after rain
       that brings the grass from the earth.'"

As we prepare for beginning of our new president's term of office, some of us within Christ's Body may be greatly encouraged by the hope President-elect Obama promises to bring while others are disheartened by the prospect of policies and practices that cause deep concern. Whatever our hopes, whatever our concerns; whatever our partisan loyalties and principled convictions:

• Let's keep perspective.  The world is not much different today than it was yesterday – it will take a lot to change it for better or for worse.  Let's be sure we're on the side of better.  An anonymous Second Century saint once wrote of the Christians, "Every foreign country is their homeland, and every homeland is a foreign country." Our ultimate loyalties are not political.
• Let's keep talking.  They may not be ultimate, but political discussion belongs in the family of faith, for politics, too, are the domain of our sovereign God – "if Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all."
• Let's keep praying. Let's pray that Barack Obama will be one who humbly seeks to rule in righteousness and in the fear of God. It is not too much to expect that God still desires that, while we await the coming of his Kingdom, we work for times of cloudless mornings and a brightness like after the rain.  

There are a hundred good reasons to sense pride and privilege in being an American this morning.  The reasons to rejoice that Jesus is Lord are infinitely more.

Grace and the Last Pitch
 
On the last Friday of March I was thinking about the beginning of the baseball season and some ways that the Christian life is like baseball.  I called the piece Grace and the First Pitch. 
 
Now it's the last Friday in October and the season has come to a wonderful and somewhat surprising end, especially for Phillies fans. And, yes, there was a certain grace in the last pitch.  As Brad Lidge fell to his knees, we knew that it was more than the thrill of victory as he would explain in a postgame interview.  There is always something becoming about giving thanks to God. 
 
Now it's the fans' turn. The newspapers tell us that there will be a million people at today's victory parade.  Continue reading →

Forget the cup of cool water…make it a cup of hot coffee
 
Matthew 25 records Jesus’ Holy Week words about our care for the least of those who are his brothers and sisters.  In offering care and concern for others, Jesus tells us that it is as if we offered care and concern to him.  It’s a powerful statement.
 
A cup of cool water offered to the stranger is a token of love that extends across cultural and religious lines.  Christians have no corner on the hospitality market, but kindness done quietly and consistently in Jesus’ name may be one of our most significant ministries in a world that is increasingly fragmented and among people who are increasingly isolated. Continue reading →

1. Why the Phillies Matter to God
2. Why God Loves Ninth Graders

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1. Why the Phillies Matter to God

God and sports is one of the great debates in what is left of America’s civil religion.  In post-game interviews, touchdown receptions and homeruns are not infrequently attributed to the providence of God.  Diehard fans publicly acknowledge their team to be “America’s team,” but secretly know that it is, in fact, God’s team.  We once lived an hour north of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and I know about these things.
 
I’m an agnostic, at best, when it comes to God’s biases in regards to sports franchises, but our Reformed tradition tells me that sports, like all things, are under God’s dominion.  The Dutch theologian and statesman, Abraham Kuyper, is famously quoted as saying, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!' " Continue reading →

Sacrifice: A Sense of Joy About It
 
During this past week’s presidential debate, Tom Brokaw read a question that he had received from an online audience member.  Fiorra from Chicago asked, “What sacrifices will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream and to get out of the economic morass that we're now in?" John McCain said we’d have to cut some pork barrel spending and Barak Obama talked about programs to help us winterizing our homes to make them more fuel efficient and a plan to double the size of the Peace Corps.  It was clear that neither candidate wanted to talk much about sacrifice and each retreated to the safety of stump speech lines as soon as he could. Continue reading →