Week 22

The 2014 Soccer World Cup will be in Brazil!
Unlike baseball or football, soccer moves nations. It’s an international sport. Among the many cities where teams will play, Recife was selected. São Lourenço (Saint Lawrence) is part of the metropolitan area of Recife and it’s where we serve the Lord’s Kingdom. But guess what? São Lourenço (SL) will host some of the games. The city will even build its own stadium and a village to accommodate the players. It’s great for the city and I pray will be great for the growth of the Church. Nevertheless, the irony of all this is that SL has some of the most undeveloped places in the metropolitan area. The city’s hospital is less than a clinic. The schools are in bad shape and students miss classes because there are no teachers. Many are the roads unpaved and areas of danger during the raining season. Yet, we will host world soccer games! Politicians want sudden development. Last Sunday there was a huge party to announce the news—“Bread and Circuses” (panem et circenses).
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”