“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jeremiah 8:20 Some Biblical scholars have suggested that the prophet Jeremiah prophesied about the coming of Christ.  Others believe Jeremiah’s prophesy is solely about the fall of Judea and the Babylonian Exile.  I believe as Old Testaments Scholar Walter Brueggemann has humorously quipped that in this verse Jeremiah has accurately prophesied thousands of years ahead the yearly mantra of the Cubs fan.  Let me repeat that for you.  “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”  I have to give fans of the Cubs a great deal of credit; they are models of persistent faithfulness, having suffered the longest period of time between championships in modern sports history.  This week marks the 100th anniversary.  On October 14, 1908, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series by defeating the Detroit Tigers. This was their second consecutive World Championship win and it was also their last.

For 100 years, Cubs fans have been hoping for, praying for another World Series win only to mutter each year the phrase they muttered the year before… maybe next year.  Well once again it has been determined that it isn’t going to be this year; so maybe next year. No one else in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League or the National Basketball Association comes close to going so long between championships. In fact, the other three major sports leagues were not even in existence when the Cubs last won the World Series. And yet, despite their long suffering, Chicago fans remain faithful. I know there are a few of you here today and I must say as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan it has been almost 3 years for us and before that it seemed like forever but my hat is off to you Cubs fans, your persistent hope and faithfulness is remarkable. 

I believe it is this same persistent faithfulness that Paul is calling the believers of Philippi, and those of the faith of every time and place to show when he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near”.  I think that last part must have sounded questionable to the believers in

Paul goes on to say, “Do not worry about anything”.  Surely there is good advice in there for Cub fans though it must be tough for them to not worry.  Paul has better advice yet; he says: “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.  I am not sure about the prayer life of the Cubs fan but we Christians are to make our requests known to God, and to realize that God will not always give us what we want. Instead God gives us what we need; God gives us what Paul calls “the peace of God,” a total sense of well-being that comes from the Lord and links our hearts and minds to Jesus.

That’s a great gift, whether you are waiting for a hundred-year curse of no championships to end or you are one in a line of those who have waited for thousands of years for Jesus to return. It’s a great gift when you are struggling in school, or feeling miserable at work, or failing at marriage, or dealing with deep anxiety and depression, or wondering which way to turn, or don’t know which way is up, or don’t know how you will make it through today let alone tomorrow. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Rachel Naomi Remen, tells the following story in  My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging  “Mae celebrated life. Her laugh was a pure joy. It made you remember how to laugh yourself. All these years later, just thinking of her makes me smile. As she became sicker, I began to call her every few days to check in on her. She would always answer the phone in the same way. I would say, “Mae, how ya doin’?” and she would chuckle and reply, “I’m blessed, Sister. I am blessed.” The night before she died, I called, and her family had brought the phone to her. “Mae,” I said. “It’s Rachel.” I could hear her coughing and clearing her throat, looking to find breath enough to speak in a lung filled with cancer, willing herself past a fog of morphine to connect my voice. Tears stung my eyes. “Mae,” I said. “It’s Rachel. How ya doin’?” There was a sound I could not identify, which slowly unwrapped itself into a deep chuckle. “I’m blessed, Rachel. I am blessed,” she told me. Mae was one of those people. And so, perhaps, are we all . . . .”

One way to look at what Paul is saying here is that blessing others and feeling blessed go hand in hand.  When we feel the blessing of belonging to Christ Jesus we are more able to pass that blessing along and share it with others.  Likewise when we bless others with what we have to give we more readily feel the blessing of Christ our Lord at work in our lives.  Over the past hundred years Cubs fans have become very good at supporting their team and celebrating them, but they have not found a way to fix their problem.  Maybe that is ok, maybe that is the way life is supposed to be, maybe that is what our faith teaches us, that life and faith are about learning how to celebrate rather than learning how to fix.  When we are able to practice this way of living others may look at us and shrug their shoulders wondering what is going on with us but that is because we are filled with a peace that passes understanding. 

Paul challenges us to place our focus on the peace of God, rather than on wins and losses. Too often we look at the church as though it were a baseball team and we spend time and energy trying to determine who’s going to win and who’s going to lose. We wonder who has the best growth strategy.  We wonder: Who’s in? Who’s out? Who’s on top? Who’s on bottom? It’s hard to resist this temptation.  It is hard at times to remain faithful as the first passage we read suggests.  Moses was gone a little while and the people come to Aaron, as a spiritual leader and say make gods for us.  Aaron caves in without a fight. He totally is a slave to the culture of which he is a member; a culture that is impatient and not very good at waiting.  In our waiting for Jesus it can be tempting to turn to other places looking for comfort and satisfaction, but we must do all we can to resist the temptation to which the Hebrews fell and remain focused on God and the good things God has done for us through Christ Jesus our Lord.  

Paul calls us to continue in the journey to which we have been called by continuing to do what we know we ought to be doing. Paul is not seeking a major “course correction” on behalf of the church in Philippi. Instead, he is pushing them further down the road, like a good teacher. He repeats that they should pursue what they have “learned and received and heard and seen in [him]”.  May we indeed continue on the journey and may we indeed continue to live as faithfully as possible and do the things we know we ought to be doing.  May we draw strength from the example of those faithful Cubs fans but may we not adopt their mantra of “Maybe next year.”  May we instead live today and every day rejoicing in the Lord and letting our gentleness be know to everyone. 

Rev. Martin E. Pike, Jr.  tells the following story in the February 14, 1996 devotion in The Upper Room. “Three minutes had elapsed since I had taken my seat at the counter. Waitresses passed me by; two cooks and a busboy took no notice of my presence. My ego was soothed only because the truck driver seated next to me was ignored as well. “Maybe this counter is off-limits,” I said to him. “Maybe they are short of help,” he responded. “Maybe they don’t want our business,” I said. “Maybe they are taking care of those at the tables,” was his reply. The hands on the clock continued to move. “Maybe they don’t like us,” I insisted. “The air conditioning feels so good I don’t mind waiting,” he said. At this point, a harried waitress stopped to tell us that the water had been cut off and the dishwasher was not functioning. My nameless compatriot smiled, thanked the waitress and left. I did not like him. Three times I had sought his support for my obnoxious attitude, but he had let me down. Only later did I realize that he had chosen to practice what I preach.”  Day after day may we as individuals and may we collectively as a congregation of those who wait for Christ’s return do so rejoicing and practicing what Christ preached, the good news.  May we share that same good news with others by what we say and what we do.  Amen.