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One of my children took gentle exception to sharing last week’s Thanksgiving list (in last week’s Rambling) with Formula One driver, Max Verstappen. “I’m glad I rank up there with a race car driver you’ll never meet,” was the gist of the ribbing. So, for the record, my family is way out in front of everyone and everything else on last week’s list! I actually know that they know that, but I guess it helps to say it out loud here, too. Nonetheless, my appreciation for an exciting conclusion to a world championship is even greater with the penultimate race in the books, and the final race to come this weekend.
I won’t bore any of you who are not racing fans with a summary of the particulars, except to say that it’s rare that three different drivers could win the title based on the outcome of Sunday’s final race. That makes it exciting, no matter which of the three you cheer for. Typically, unpredictability is unpleasant. In some areas of life, we want things to be boring and are happy to forgo surprises. But in sports, a bit of chaos drives adrenaline and enjoyment.
That’s not only true of racing. This year’s college football season has been full of twists and turns, which seem to make things even more enjoyable for most fans, even when it is their team that lost in one of the contests that ended in an upset. Part of what makes the Final Four college basketball season so popular is how quickly a team can rise or fall on the path to a championship. Sure, it can be nice for our team or our driver to run away with a season and accept the garland of victory early. But those individual games, races, and seasons also tend to be somewhat dull. We might say real fans don’t get up before the final whistle or the flag waves, but whenever there is a blowout, people tend to move along to the next thing.
I suppose the big difference here is entertainment value. We want our entertainment to be, well, entertaining. Life should be enjoyable, but it need not be a drama or a cage match day in and day out. It’s nice to have a long run of victories. Most of us would be happy to live without defeats and the adrenaline-fueled fear of what happens next. And we’re so glad to see the same dynamics in the lives of those we love. We don’t want to see our friends, our children, or our family members struggling to succeed. We often wish for the best outcome as they go through life with us. It’s very different than a game or a sport. Real life is better when it’s full of winning.
I wonder if thinking of God as a spectator is a helpful image here. I guess God is like a spectator in some ways, watching the world and all God’s children at play within it and watching our successes and failures. Granted, there aren’t any runaway winners over the long term, historically speaking, or at least not in the ways we would traditionally measure such things. It’s worth noting, however, that God cheers on both the winners and the losers in this world. As we were reminded when we last heard the beatitudes, sometimes when God waves the pom poms for us, it’s the opposite of the way the world seems to be rooting for things to happen. It’s that “first shall be last” thing.
There’s also the reality that God’s not “just” spectating, but in the midst of all of it with us. When we’re joyful, God’s heart is full. When we’re sorrowful, God’s heart is heavy. And God is going through those ups and downs, twists and turns, with us. When we win, God wins. But because of God, when we lose, we still win. Come to think of it, if we believe what we proclaim, there isn’t much of a contest going on. In essence, God has already won. Love has already won. Maybe God’s cheering is that we would figure that out for ourselves. And then believe it. I know some faiths thrive on keeping us all in suspense as to whether we will “win” at the end of our days, and I give thanks that our tradition isn’t one of them.
We win because God has already won on our behalf. As we proclaim our Advent expectations for God in human form, Jesus the Christ, we can’t forget that such things were decided a long time ago. That’s the whole point. Some Christians find the unpredictability decidedly boring and uninspiring. If we’re not scared of God, where would we possibly find the motivation to live as God intends, as some would ask? The answer? Probably the same place that athletes and drivers find the inspiration to go faster, further, harder, and generally improve as they go. We might say, based on professional athletes, that it’s the paycheck, but there are far too many amateurs who do it for the love of the sport. Just imagine if “being a Christian” were a sport, in terms of perfecting our Christ-like behaviors and running the race St. Paul talks about.
The world would undoubtedly look different. And not because we’d be doing it to win our salvation or accrue the most stars in our crown (we’re not!), but simply because we understand what it is to strive and never give up and leave nothing in the tank when we are done serving God. Our motivation isn’t the uncertainty of the outcome; it’s understanding the outcome that is our motivator. We’ve already won the trophy, the title, the season, the championship. So, let’s spray some champagne around start living like it.
