July is here and in four days you know what happens all around the city as well as the United States. We celebrate our nation’s birthday with fireworks, barbeques, and parties. For those of us who live downtown it will just be a continuation of all the fan fare that has been happening all around this city. The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup and the celebration hasn’t stopped.
Really it’s true, everywhere I go in this city, even in recent days, I will run into a person with a Blues jersey on and if I happen to make eye contact to say hello, they just smile and yell “Go Blues!” People who never watched hockey before in their lives are now Blues fans. They even had a parade for the team downtown. Streets where blocked off, and the players and their families, both walking and riding in cars, moved down the parade route rejoicing for their success. Every once in a while one of the players would stop hold up the prize of the Stanley cup and kiss it, which would evoke yells of joy from the crowd. The trophy of the Stanley cup now belongs to St. Louis. All this celebration makes me think about the response of heaven when Jesus carried his “trophy”, the cross, down the parade route to Calvary. The crowds that day were also very loud but not with cheers of joy, but with insults of hate toward the Lamb of God who, as he bore the weight of the cross, would stumble and need help to carry it to its destination…..Calvary. Unlike the Blues parade that ended at the Arch with live music, food and more jubilation, Jesus’ route would end on a hill called Calvary. What was heaven thinking that day as they looked down from glory? Is this part of the plan? What is he doing? All along the angels were waiting for just one word from him and they would have come down from heaven to deliver him from such a painful death. However, no words came from his lips, except, “Father why have you forsaken me?” and “It is finished”. With those words he breathed his last breath and left this world as the Lamb which takes away all of our sins. Two crowds, two teams, two very different endings. St. Louis will have the cup for a year but will have to defend their title to maintain the cup very soon. Jesus never again has to die, but having died once for us at Calvary, he forever has given us the victory over sin and death! As the apostle Paul put it, “Oh death where is thy sting, oh grave where is thy victory?” Therefore, on that day heaven stood speechless not sure what was happening, but today we his church can shout with joy and sing the songs of Zion. Let the sound of praise be ever echoing in our hearts, our mouths, and let us reflect our Father’s love for all who we meet. The next time someone says to me, “Go Blues” I will respond amen and go Jesus! He is everything to me! Today take some time to praise Him, for He alone is worthy!
Taking my praise break,