Wednesday, December 8

Psalm 126

“May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying
their sheaves.”

I like baseball and enjoyed the recent World Series won by the Atlanta Braves. At the all-star break of the regular season the Braves had only a 44-45 record, and like the people described in the second stanza of Psalm 126 had heavy hearts, as their best player had just had a season ending injury. No one thought they would even make the playoffs.

But their general manager made some deals, brought in new players, the team jelled and won their division with an 88-73 record— and although eleven other teams had better records, Atlanta moved through the playoffs, defeating the Brewers and Dodgers to get to the World Series. Then, in the opening game, their best pitcher suffered a series ending injury and they faced a team with the best lineup in baseball.

But as in Psalm 126— “the Lord has done great things for them”—  the Braves kept their composure and went on to defeat the Houston Astros, winning the deciding game six, 7-0. They went back to Atlanta “laughing, with armloads of blessing.”

Similarly in this Advent season as opposed to last year, we can look forward to with joy as we celebrate the birth of our Savior and the Christmas story.

-Ronald Griffi