LENT IV
March 27, 2022
“Winners and Losers”
It’s March — that’s not exactly a news flash, is it, as less than a week remains of the month with which we have a love/hate relationship. March is a month that just about gives us “weather whiplash,” as one day we’re soaking up the sunshine, and the next we wake up to steady rain and winds out of the north. But those spring-like days hold such promise, that we can’t quite write March off as just a month to endure.
For a lot of people, the upside of March includes the madness that is the national college basketball tournament. It’s about the only time of the year when terms like “brackets”, “seedings,” “matchups,” and “strength of schedule” are part of everyday conversations. Whether fans of one team or those who just love basketball, a great deal of time and attention is given to broadcasts of tournament games. All the elements of winning and losing are there — highly ranked teams fall to small-school “nobodies,” who then become favorites because of their lack of status in the world of college basketball.
Biblically, winning and losing carried more serious consequences than the games we enjoy, as more often than not, war and hostility were involved. The many small kingdoms were vulnerable to attack, and extended periods of peace were considered proof that the winners enjoyed God’s favor. Psalms of thanks and praise followed victories, and psalms of remorse and repentance followed losses. If your army fell in defeat, God was sending a message that he was displeased with you, so did not provide his protection.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus takes the traditional concepts of winning and losing and turns them completely upside down. Jesus taught his followers to pray for their enemies, to care for any and all who were in need, and to bring the Good News of God’s everlasting love and forgiveness to all people.
Jesus’ own life, death and resurrection are a perfect illustration of the reversal of winning and losing. By the world’s standards, Jesus was a loser, as he did not resist arrest, endured a bogus trial, and accepted the sentence of the torture and excruciating pain of death on a cross. His disciples were lost and bereft, not knowing where to go or what to do. Quietly placing his body in a donated tomb, they wondered what the future held. Within a few short days, the answer came — the power of God is greater than any human event, including death. Jesus returned to life, what appeared to be defeat became victory, and the world has never been the same.
Throughout these days of Lent, we might take some time to ponder our own values, whether we classify people as winners or losers, and how we look at victories and defeats. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews provides some additional insight:
“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1b, 2)
Hoping to stay in the game,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers