All is right with the world. Yes, this may seem a bit of extreme optimism or naivety. However, I have evidence of this as the World Series is underway. I may be the only person living in Indianapolis Metro who is both a Chicago Cubs fan and a Cleveland Indians fan. To be more accurate, I am a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan having grown up in Chicago watching WGN television. I am convinced that some of the most entertaining and talented players in the history of baseball played for the Cubs. Before the Cubs had one of the highest payrolls in baseball, they always had some of the most famous players. I am blessed to be old enough to have watched Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, and Ryne Sandburg. Who is around that has experienced losing teams with winning broadcast personalities like Jack Brickhouse and Harry Carey?

I’ve also lived in Cleveland for 20 years where the Cleveland Indians had to have one of the most loyal fanbases in all of baseball. Unlike Chicago, Cleveland was often the punchline in jokes about unpopular places to live. Long-suffering Cleveland fielded some of the best and most entertaining players to watch like Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar while losing the World Series twice in the 1990s. Most experts believe as I did that they had the best team in baseball in 1995. Cleveland, unlike Chicago, had competitive teams that never won championships until the Cleveland Cavaliers won a championship and ended one of the longest championship droughts in sports history.

Two great cities with all the problems of urban America face-off with the two teams in baseball that have represented the symbols of future hope and baseball as America's game.

If you are a Cubs fan like me, you are used to being teased and envied at the same time. If you ever lived in Cleveland when John Elway or Michael Jordan was breaking your heart and making you spill your beverage you will understand my point.

I do not believe God favors one team over another. I am not against players or coaches praying or fans cheering until they have an out-of-body experience. In fact, I believe the Chicago Cubs versus the Cleveland Indians could be a sign from God that we should relax and remember that the last will sometimes and someday become the first. Life is not rigged or fixed. It is simply a gift from God.

There is a presidential election in a few days.  Everybody is anxious; some are angry and too many are worried about the future, we have been bombarded by negative television ads and fear mongering politics that have robbed us of sufficient time for laughter, kindness, and hope.

As I settle into rooting for teams in Indianapolis and across the State of Indiana, I am enjoying the 2016 World Series with the assurance that the sun will rise when the series is over, and one city beginning with the letter C will be cheering, and the other city will say, “wait until next year.”

Be encouraged,

Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble