And the Winner is…

Sermon November 13 2022

Psalm 98

98:1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. 98:2 The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. 98:3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. 98:4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. 98:5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. 98:6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. 98:7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. 98:8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy 98:9 at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

And the Winner is…

Every day there are contests. Every day, there are winners and there are losers. There cannot be a winner without a loser. Today we concentrate on the winners.

Last weekend I was at an international championship, for thoroughbred horseracing. You might think that horseracing might be an unlikely beginning of a sermon, but the story I have to tell is a story where Love is victorious.

The story began 4 years ago when the Lexington Kentucky racetrack in Keeneland, had their Make A Wish Day, when terminally ill children were invited to visit racehorses. At one point, a 6 month old colt was brought out, because he was gentle. He went over to a 12 year old boy named Cody who lay in his wheelchair. The colt pulled his handler over to Cody, and put his head in his lap, making Cody very happy.

The next couple of years were very challenging to Cody, who had problems from the day he was born, living with a condition that his doctors predicted would take him within the first two years of his life. But Cody is a fighter, a determined young man, who is now 16. To help him through the dark time, his parents requested that he see the colt, who at this time was 2. When they saw each other, Cody, who is nonverbal, let out a belly laugh, one of only 5 in his life. The colt came over and once again put his head in Cody’s lap. Soon after, the young thoroughbred was named Cody’s Wish.

Cody’s wish had a lackluster start to his career. He finished 3rd three times. Cody, communicating through a computer, said that Cody’s Wish needed him to be there. So, the family got him to the track, and yes, he won! The next 7 races, Cody’s Wish won 6 times. The one time he didn’t, he came in 2nd, and even Cody predicted that, saying he wasn’t ready. There was a special bond between them.

This past August, Cody’s Wish ran in Saratoga in a stakes race called the Forego. Since Cody couldn’t be there, he and his assistant made a poster to cheer him on, and the trainer, Bill Mott, put it up in his saddling stall. This win made it possible for him to be entered in the Breeder’s Cup for the 1 mile race. Cody was there with his family.

The thing to remember about the Breeder’s Cup is that every one of these horses is already a winner. These are the best of the best horses in the world, ridden by the best, trained by the best. To be there that day is absolutely amazing.

Cody’s Wish was favored to win. That still does not mean everything, since earlier in the day a longshot won. So the odds of winning do not always determine the outcome.

Although Cody’s Wish was second to last behind 7 other horses for mosh of the mile, he took the long way around on the last corner, moving up on the outside of the field, and came up closer and closer to the front as they approached the finish line. It was down to 3 horses across as they got to the end, and the winner is…

Well, of course it was Cody’s Wish! Let it be no surprise if you are feeling tingles right now; I feel them every time I tell the story. Because this story is not about the fastest horse in a race. The story is not about those who tried and lost. The story is not about competing at all. It is a story about cooperating. A story about love. A story that united all people that day, because even if someone did not bet on Cody’s Wish, everyone was rooting for Cody and his namesake. Everyone was united in Love. There wasn’t a dry eye among the tens of thousands who attended, I’m sure.

Psalm 98 says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.” Can you imagine how the crowd reacted? If you want to hear joyous song, go to YouTube and type in Cody’s Wish and Breeder’s Cup, and watch and listen.

So, it’s all well and good when we win. In this case, the horse won, the boy won, the owner, trainer and jockey won. And the crowd won.

But what if the scenario is the opposite? What if we lose? Does the Lord still become victorious?

We have a great teacher of winning versus losing in sports. The same day that Cody’s Wish won, there was a race later called the Classic. It is the best of the best horses, and the winner is usually later awarded Horse of the Year. The favorite by a lot was Flightline. I was told by one of the photographers that I probably would be able to take pictures of one of the other trainers, of a competitor, back behind the track during the race to get his reaction. So, while the world had its attention on the horses on the track, I had mine on this trainer. His horse was not one of the top 3 favored. Yet after the race, he was all smiles and laughs. Not because his horse lost, but because we had witnessed an amazing feat of athleticism from Flightline, as he breezed for an easy win over the competition. This trainer showed good sportsmanship.

We can learn about losing with grace from sports. We see it all the time. We also can think about times in our lives when we have lost, or at least not gained, from experiences like: not getting the job we thought we were best qualified for, not getting the house we loved, backing a candidate in the election who lost, and many others. Yet these are great learning experiences that we could not learn otherwise.

My husband and I lost a bid on some land when we were in our 20’s, that would have kept us in Connecticut rather than moving up to the Capital Region. Had that happened, I for sure would not be here this morning. I could not imagine what life would be like. I learned to let go of what could be, if only… I learned to accept what is and look for the opportunity in what did happen, rather than what did not. Can you think of a time when you lost, and it eventually changed your life for the better? Looking back, you can now sing praises of the victory.

The Tao Te Ching was written about 400 BC by Lao Tzu in China. One of the premises of the wisdom could be translated as “It is what it is.” No regret over the past, no worrying over the future. Peace can be found in the here and now. In Matthew 5:45 it is written: “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

In these writings, I understand that God’s Wisdom is so vast that I as a mere mortal cannot understand the deeper meaning. I cannot possibly know enough to be able to judge what is good or bad.

Years ago, my choice for president lost. I was devastated, thinking that the new president would ruin our country. I thought I knew best. But being who I am, I went to God, to ask for insight and wisdom. How could this be God’s Will?

In the first few weeks of his presidency, he signed an executive order requiring every federal agency to set up a task force to eliminate regulations. Many people saw this as his way to allow businesses to stop working to protect our environment. This particular instance riled up those who saw climate change as one of the most important issues of our time. They rose up and spoke up and protested like never before. Because of the selfish short-term actions of one, the many were spurred to action. The pendulum swung.

My question is, would we as a nation, have acted so swiftly and emotionally on this issue as well as so many others, if he had not been elected? Would we have just continued in complacency?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that the arc of the Moral Universe is long, but it bends toward justice. We may not see the justice we are hoping for in our lifetimes. God’s view is overreaching, beyond anything we can see. At the same time, each of our individual contributions are part of that long arc. The actions we do today contribute to the whole. Whether we vote a certain way, decide to never buy a plastic water bottle again, send a loving compassionate letter to a lonely friend, or congratulate someone who beat us, each of our actions that send love into the world contributes to that arc toward justice.

In the Psalm reading for today, it says the LORD “is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity”. We should not judge what is good or bad, because we cannot know all of the information from all the events past, present and future. So, we can be winners. By just being, and letting God alone judge.

So, let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy! Because the winner is… God and all God’s creation, of course.