Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. – Isaiah 12:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 11, 2020): Isaiah 12 & 13

It is called “The World Series.” The modern version of the game has been played in the fall of the year since 1903. The only exceptions were the 1904 boycott (the game would have been played between the New York Giants and the Boston Americans, but was boycotted because the Giant’s owner considered the American League to be inferior) and the 1994 World Series which was canceled because of a player’s strike. And yet many have questioned the name of the contest. “The World Series” is a North American baseball championship. For most of its history, it has been strictly a game of the United States. And only one team that exists outside of the States that competes for “The World Series” crown is the Toronto Blue Jays of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto has played in “The World Series” only twice, winning both times, taking the title north of the border to Canada. Admittedly, the best players in the world come to play in the United States and Toronto. But with the uptick in interest overseas, the idea that the winners of the North American Baseball Championships are World Champions is one that may be increasingly questioned. Hockey went through a similar phase and received a rude awakening in 1972 when Russia (then the Soviet Union) proved equally as capable of playing the game as the best of the Canadian Champions, who up until that point had considered themselves the best in the World. The winner of the North American Baseball Championship remains the Champions of the World only because they do not play anyone else in the world.

(I should note here that the title of the North American Baseball Championship, it has been argued, was actually named after the newspaper, “The New York World.” But that idea is hotly debated, and there is no proof that it is true. “The New York World” ceased publication on February 27, 1931.)

Judaism was always intended to be a World Religion. From the very beginning, God’s purpose was that his people would go out and bless the world. Israel was designed to be “God with skin on.” They were to be the hands and feet of God in the world. The problem was that this God of the world was often seen as a local deity to a small and insignificant nation. And saying that the local deity of this small nation had some kind of world intention was intensely questioned. Even the kings of Judah and Israel often seemed to lose faith in the God of their fathers in favor of the gods of other, more powerful nations. From the very beginning, Israel rejected the idea that they were different, a country God wanted to use to bless the world, and instead chased after the idea of being like the rest of the world.

As Christians, we often fall into a similar trap. We transform the Creator of the World into our provincial God of Christian, and maybe Jews. The World may ridicule us and say that our belief makes no sense, but that is okay. We are here to be a blessing even to those who would torment us and to love those who hate us. And the message that we send forth is a simple one. This is who God is: A God who wants the best for the world. And so we sing of this God and tell the world of the glorious things that he has done.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 14