Despite Disappointment, All Will Be Well

Living faithfully in the 21st century village can be especially challenging when our hopes our dashed, whether that disappointment comes from a person, a group, or an institution. As human beings, we place our trust and hope in others. When they don't live up to our expectations, it can put cracks in our faith.

I'm pondering this because of the quick and dramatic demise of the Chicago Cubs in the postseason. The team's failure probably should not be a surprise. After all, the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 and have not even been in the Series since 1945. However, this season the Cubs were 97-64, the best record in the National League. They won the Central Division for the second year in a row (the only time they've managed that), and they had strong pitching and some excellent hitters. Being 100 years since their last World Series win, this seemed like it could be a magical year.

Of course, it didn't happen. As I went to bed on Saturday night as the game started (10:00 Eastern time, too late for me when I need to get up early on Sunday), I heard my son's anguish in the first inning at the game started to fall apart. Although game 3 of the series against the Dodgers may have been the best game the Cubs played, the result was no different. They lost the game and the series. They are done.

As fans of the Red Sox will know from the years prior to 2004, this is heartbreaking. It isn't simply that the Cubs lost. It is the way they did it: errors, walks, and poor hitting. They played their worst games of the year in the games that counted the most.

So, those of us who are Cubs fans are facing another long winter of disappointment. "Wait 'til next year" is not comforting at times like this. Our faith and hope in the Cubs has been cracked and they will need to earn it all over again.

Having just written that, I can already feel myself pondering the hope that comes in February with the beginning of Spring Training. There will be a next year and whether the Cubs win it next year or not, ultimately fans need to believe that it is possible.

So, what does this have to do with living faithfully in the world? What it says to me is that earthly things will often disappoint us. Everything in this world is fallible. That is why we need something or someone in whom we can place our ultimate trust.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes about the difference between that which is perishable and that which is imperishable (see chapter 15). To put it another way, he is comparing the earthly with the heavenly. The earthly is perishable, it will fall away. The heavenly is imperishable, it will continue eternally.

As a Christian, I need to understand that when I place my trust in the Cubs or anything in this world, I am likely to be disappointed at some point. We are all human, after all. However, when I place my trust in Jesus, I am placing my trust in the One who is the bridge between the perishable and the imperishable. Jesus, human and divine, will not let me down (he may not do everything the way I want, but he won't disappoint me and he certainly won't "lose the series in dramatic fashion").

As Paul writes, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).

So, the Cubs blew it. I'm disappointed and it will be hard to trust them next year. But I'll regain my hope because life is more than the Cubs. That's why I need to be a Christian. So I can look at the world and trust, to use the words of Julian of Norwich, that someday "all will be well."