Hey Glen Mar,

This past week, our family made our first trip to Fenway Park in Boston to watch the Orioles take on the Red Sox at America’s oldest MLB Ballpark. As a lifelong baseball fan, I have wanted to visit Fenway my whole life, so finally seeing the Pesky Pole and the Green Monster in person was a joy. Sure, I would have loved to see an Orioles win, but watching the Red Sox tie their franchise record with a 15-game win streak was also memorable. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Red Sox, having grown up cheering for both teams since no one told me that I wasn’t supposed to. Apparently, rooting for two teams in the same division isn’t something baseball fans are expected to do.

Why am I telling you this? What’s the point, you might ask?

After the Red Sox won the first game of their Wednesday doubleheader against the Orioles, I looked around the park at all the Boston fans celebrating their team’s record-tying win streak. Now, don’t get me wrong, the players on the field were excited, but the stands were filled with fans shouting, singing, and high-fiving as if they had won the game and achieved the accomplishment. They were celebrating as though the victory belonged to them. They were caught up in the joy of it all.

Now stay with me, O’s fans, because this ultimately isn’t about our AL East rivals. This is about the reality that in Jesus, we too can rejoice in his victory. We too are included in his victory over death, and we can rejoice as winners! Not because of what we did. No, much like a fan of a team who wears their favorite player’s jersey, we can identify ourselves with the One who won the victory…but we do not win anything. Only Jesus has done that. But because he has, we can rejoice and celebrate too.

We are included in his victory!

So, next time you go to a game, whether it’s the Orioles or the Red Sox, the Ravens or the Steelers, or your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews, and you find yourself celebrating with the team, remember the joy that victory brings. Remember that just as you celebrate that win, Christ has conquered sin and death, and his victory is for all people. Everyone is invited into the celebration, not because we earned it, but because of God’s grace. The biggest difference here is that in Christ, there are no opposing teams. There is no “us” and “them.” Everyone is invited into the celebration because of what Christ has done through the cross.

So celebrate. Jump up and down. Rejoice! Christ is king!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Chris

P.S.-The O’s did win the second game of the doubleheader, so no new winning streaks were created yesterday. Go O’s!