Tema, Dec. 1, MNN – Whistles, whims, and whines. The fever soars in pitch and pain. Millions of people indulge remotely via the media, and tens of thousands defy the sweltering heat and sweat and troop into stadia for a few hours of merriment or moaning. From far and near, people traveled. Destination, Qatar.
For the hundreds who are paid millions of precious pieces of paper to kick a round leather ball for an hour and a half, the stakes are high for fame and fortune. From the patchy training grounds of Africa to the lush arenas of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Down Under, national teams have arrived seeking success in prayer to God.
The God of the FIFA World Cup?
The players of the Black Stars, the national team of Ghana, West Africa invoke him through song and dance after training sessions and before every match. A portable Ghanaian calabash drum provides the tympanic cadence for corporate cheer.
Up steps a player, a zealous self-appointed conductor of the orchestra and the pseudo-gospel choir. Spontaneity colors the atmosphere. Another athletic warrior, armed with a pair of ododompo, (a Ghanaian instrument comprised of a metal ring on his thumb and a hollow pie-shaped metal piece on his middle finger), offers complementary rhythm.
With every member of the team involved, clapping in pulse and the vibrant body movements make intercessory statements. And then at the defining moment just before the turf war, all players huddle together for prayer to God, the God of the FIFA World Cup!
The thirty-one million humans who claim Ghana as their home heave with hope for one result, the taste of victory. At least they stood together “in spirit” with the team a month earlier, they would say, before the 2022 competition in Qatar when national prayers echoed in mosques and churches across Ghana for the success of the Black Stars.
The God of the FIFA World Cup must be on friendly terms with the Ghanaian!
To the Ghanaian or stranger, God seems the silent recipient and receptacle of prayers from players and fans, irrespective of nationality. Humans dump their cares on him passionately.
During a difficult match, most Africans easily yield to prayer to God for the success of their teams. The South Americans act equally desirous of currying his favor. Catch the television scenes of the spectators in nervy moments, and the fervid flow of emotion churns palpable.
A few Europeans and North Americans make the sign of the cross on the field of play. If only God heeds the cries of these people who beckon him, as he sits behind his large video screen in his control room fitted with millions of video cameras linked to every stadium in Qatar, there will be an avalanche of grace to please each suppliant.
The scenes of goal scorers pointing to the sky with fixated gaze abound. That gesture, if interpreted as giving praise or thanks to God flashes across the media in a whisker, and the rest erupts into a jamboree.
Significant among them comes the celebrated Lionel Messi, Captain of the Argentine team. The Moslem players, on the other hand, exhibit exuberance by rushing to a corner of the field and bowing with their foreheads to the ground.
Others like Christiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese soccer icon, ignore this prayer-targeted God after a goal and would deign to rejoice with a jump, a chest pound or a kneeling slide on the grass field. In victory, the songs beam self-centered and secular, hailing team or country.
However, not all moments usher a party to the soccer fraternity. In times of loss, the blame descends on the coaches, referees, or players. In this era of social media, teams and players share updates of their hope for a better outing in the next opportunity. Graciously, God receives no condemnation for a team’s defeat.
This God of the FIFA World Cup has extra cell sites available for call transmission in Qatar, and everywhere. He hears the cry of all who call, and in his wisdom decides when, how, and what to answer. Sometimes, when humans call, there appears no answer at the other end, not because he is busy and cannot take a call.
His line never lacks coverage to risk missing anyone’s entreaty. He reigns over matters larger than a commercialized sporting event. He self-exists to give an ever-living hope to humanity and lives a God to the individual for all time. After the closing ceremony of the Qatar fiesta, this God will still live on, not bound by time, space and event.
He serves as the God of all seasons to all peoples. At the next gathering of nations, whether in fun or fury, may our minds focus on his unchanging nature in greatness and goodness. “For I the Lord do not change…”, says God through the prophet (Malachi 3:6).
God also makes calls to individuals.
He needs no directory to call anyone’s number and name. His cry rings evident in the natural surroundings that point to him. He has his word, the Bible, which teaches all humanity his heartbeat.
His purpose manifests in his faithful followers, in spite of personal and social limitations.
He bellows all the time for every boy and girl, man and woman, and others to come to him in an endless relationship that begins with trust in him.
He desires friendship with all persons, rich or poor, young or old. He stands as God forever, not just at the FIFA World Cup!
