The Comeback!

Last night I was watching the US Open Women’s semi-final match between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. At the beginning of the match, it seemed as if Williams had the match in the bag, winning the first set 6-1. Williams seemed strong and undefeatable; Azarenka was having trouble serving, was making a lot of unforced errors, and just seemed to be off of her game. I almost turned off the match thinking the ending was too predictable. I’m glad I didn’t. Azarenka, who had never beaten Williams in a major tournament, won the next two sets 6-3, 6-3! The player I had written off as the loser, became the winner! It was quite a comeback!

That match last night, reminds me a lot of what it felt like 19 years ago today when we saw the World Trade Towers crumble, heard of the planes that crashed into the Pentagon and into the field in PA. It felt as if our whole world had collapsed as we realized the staggering number of deaths and experienced the aftermath of such an attack. The enemy seemed strong and undefeatable; we were caught off guard; the pain was real. We were behind; we seemed to have lost. Yet, we would not stay in that position of defeat. Something welled up within us as a nation, as a city, as a people that caused us to rebuild our city and restore our lives. It was (and has been) quite a comeback!  

It was truly a sad and terrible day...we will never forget!

Well, here we are now in the midst of a pandemic that has as well seemed to have gotten the upper hand. We continue to battle against a virus that has taken lives, destroyed economies, divided people, closed churches, malls, gyms, restaurants, and put masks on our faces. We thought by now we’d be done with it, but six months later we are still trying to fight our way out. We wonder when our lives will go back to “normal.” We are in need of a comeback! 

And, such is life. It is not uncommon for us to find ourselves losing, at the bottom, facing a seemingly undefeatable foe. I think of those who are today battling the wildfires that are raging in the West. It’s not all that uncommon to find ourselves in need of a comeback—or at least in need of the hope of one. 

That’s why I’m thankful today for the greatest comeback story of them all: the resurrection of Jesus Christ! His comeback story is the story that gives us the hope we need when we find ourselves being defeated by the forces of this world. The resurrection of Jesus tells us that not even death itself is able to defeat us, for although right now it may seem like sin, evil, and death are winning, they have already been conquered. Thus, when we find ourselves at the bottom, seemingly defeated by the worst that life can throw our way, we can cry out with the Apostle Paul, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting”? and “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57 – NIV) 

Today as we pause to remember the terrible events of this day 19 years ago, and as we continue to battle the pandemic that is before us, may we not forget that sickness, evil, and death will not win the day. We have not yet reached the end of the game. Jesus’ resurrection has given us the hope of a comeback!

Have a great day! 

Pastor Tim Harris