Victory as Gift--November 13, 2024

Victory as Gift--November 13, 2024

"When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'  'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." [1 Corinthians 15:54-58]

As I write this, the Cleveland Cavaliers are undefeated--they are only the twelfth team in NBA history to get to an 11-0 start to the season. As a Cleveland-area native, that means I feel some measure of celebration every time they win a game. To some degree, fans get to share in the victory of their teams, even though it is patently obvious that my cheering while I watch on a screen does not contribute to their success in any way.  (And, simultaneously, I share in the heartbreak and disappointment of every painful Browns loss I've endured watching through this season so far.  Fans share in the defeats as well.) 

The bottom line is that success for the Cavs doesn't depend on my contributions to the team, and yet the team's wins are shared with me and all the other fans for us to celebrate.  There is literally ZERO chance that they'll ask me to shoot the free-throws or even hand out towels to the starting line up, and yet, their victory is shared with Cavaliers fans both within the city limits of Cleveland and all those in the diaspora anywhere.  The same is true for whatever team in whatever sport you root for--the players on the field or on the court do the work, but you get to celebrate (or commiserate, as the case may be) because they are your team--and you are their fan.

In a way, there's something similar in the way the New Testament talks about Jesus' victory over death--he has done the defeating, but he "gives us the victory." None of us has died for the sake of the world or risen to break the power of death, but Jesus has, and he has given us his victory to share. That's really important, because it gets the relationships in the right direction. Jesus doesn't need our help to ensure a cosmic win against sin, death, and evil--rather, Jesus has already come out victorious and shares that success with us so that we no longer have to live in fear of death or ruled by the dictates of sin and evil.  Jesus has the undefeated record of wins on the court, so to speak--but we get to share that triumph like it's free giveaway night at the stadium and they are handing out free jerseys for all the fans to wear.

In fact, that image is also a part of how Paul talks about sharing in Jesus' victory.  It's like this old perishable body "putting on" imperishability, and this old mortal self "putting on" immortality--like it's a gift to be worn, not an achievement I have to attain on my own.  It really is like being given the team jersey as a gift, not a matter of having to make our own at home from scratch in order to be good enough to get admission to the field house.

Taking these biblical images seriously does something to us--at the very least it makes us profoundly aware of how graced we are, and hopefully also profoundly humbled at how Jesus saves us.  For the biblical writers, it's not like Jesus is the coach and we're the ones actually sweating, shooting, or getting fouled on the court. It's that Jesus is the One doing the work, and we are enabled to share in his victory even if we don't know a point-guard from a pick and roll. Jesus does the saving. Jesus has the victory.  It does not depend on our praying hard enough, following rules well enough, fighting culture-war battles fiercely enough, or courting political influence strongly enough.  Jesus has won the victory. He gives his win to us.

Sometimes I hear Respectable Religious Voices talk in ways that seem to forget that.  Sometimes you'll hear them insist that "If all good Christians don't do X or Y or Z..." then the devil will win, or Christianity will die, or God's kingdom will be thwarted.  But that's precisely NOT how the New Testament sees things.  We are told instead that that Jesus has already won--the question is whether we will take that victory seriously even in the face of a world that doesn't believe it yet.  We've been given Jesus' own resurrection life to put on like the team jersey--it has been a gift, not a to-do list.  When we remember that, we will find ourselves less belligerent, less bitter, and less bellicose in the world.  And maybe on days when we are especially joyless, we'll recover reason to celebrate as we claim Jesus' victory as our own to share in.

Jesus has given you his win--the one that really matters, against death. Let that set you free today.

Lord Jesus, give us the faith to trust in the victory you have already accomplished.