LENT IV

March 10, 2024

“Victories and Defeats”      

It’s that “March Madness” time of year, and the basketball fans among us are wrapped up in all the ins and outs of this year’s college tournaments.  For many, it’s entertaining to watch high caliber athletes who are so excellent at playing a sport they love.  For others, their focus is on one team, and they’re hoping with all their hearts for a string of wins.  For whatever reason, we seem to enjoy subjecting ourselves to an activity that’s a  combination of stressful and enjoyable.     

Of course, I wondered how I could use this interest of so many people in a devotional article, and the results of my search was both enlightening and horizon-broadening.     

Throughout the Old Testament, we read of wars between kingdoms, and that the consequences of these battles were considered to prove that God was on the side of the winners.  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, and so did not provide his protection.    

However, as we read the teachings of Christ and additional understandings in the books of the New Testament, winning and losing are redefined.  The victories and defeats of armies and the rise and fall of kingdoms are shown to be hollow and meaningless.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his listeners that the blessed are people who are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, meek, and who mourn. Later in his ministry, Jesus taught that those who fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, cared for the sick, and visited the prisoners were caring for Christ himself by ministering to them.       

Jesus’ own life, death and resurrection are a perfect illustration of the reversal of winning and losing.  The world would consider Jesus a loser who made no resistance to those in power, who quietly endured a bogus trial, and who accepted a sentence of humiliation, torture and excruciating pain before death finally came.  His body was placed in a donated tomb, the powers of evil and death had triumphed, and it felt as though the messages of love and hope had died as well.  But we know this is not the end of the story, for within a few short days, our Lord rose from the dead, not defeated, but victorious through the creative power of God.     

As we continue our journey through Lent, we have the opportunity to learn about those who came before us, how they persevered and found strength in the knowledge of the resurrection, and how they came to understand the promise of life eternal in Christ.  The writer of the book of Hebrews speaks to this promise:  “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) 

Walking along the Lenten road,

Your friend in Christ,  

Mary Rogers