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Proyecto Visión 21

Where are the church and the MLS when you need them?

Francisco Miraval

Last week I received an email from a local church in Denver inviting me to participate in a prayer meeting. The invitation said something was happening and it will be a good idea to ask God to intervene. I receive many prayers request and all of them, with very few exceptions, are valid petitions. However, this petition was different.

I thought, before opening the email, that it was yet another petition to pray for a person already deported or about to be deported. O perhaps it was a petition in favor of a sick person, or the victim of an accident, or for any of the 900,000 people facing hunger in Colorado.

However, I was wrong. The petition was not to pray for social justice, for freedom, or for unity. It was petition to ask God to help Denver Broncos star QB Tim Tebow to win a game. (The Broncos played that night and won.)

I have nothing against Tebow, In fact, I like it when a young person to speak spontaneously about his faith (the same religious tradition I also follow.) I like it when a person refuses to separate his beliefs from his work.

I think it will be very good for all of us to see more young people and adults sharing their faith and ideas, whatever those beliefs and ideas may be, with freedom and without fear.

At the same time, I have to confess I do not like the idea of a church calling to a prayer meeting to pray for Tebow and for another victory for the Broncos. Have we solved all other religious and societal problems to the point the only issue we should pray for is the final score of a football game? Should we pray only for famous Christian athletes?

Such a trivialization of the religious experience seemed ridiculous and absurd. There are many unemployed people, and many of them face hunger. School dropouts, suicides, and chronic diseases keep growing among minorities. Many people are losing their faith. And we pray a football game?

Are we so sure we can “bother” God to ask Him to intervene so our favorite sport team wins? Whatever happened with praying for true miracles? Whatever happened to the true faith? And how close are we to the a dangerous Greco-Roman form of idolatry?

To distance myself from those uncomfortable questions, and to take a break from thinking, I decided to watch a Major League Soccer game. But before the game began it was announced that the MLS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have signed an agreement
“to ensure the safety and security of the employees, players and fans.”

The agreement marked the launching of the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign, asking soccer fans to report potential acts of terrorism, crimes, or other threats.

If the church is praying for the NFL and the MLS is now cooperating with the DHS, are church and soccer still what they used to be?

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