A moments silence for a bitter weekend for New Zealand Sport…

Friday night a workman-like Warriors side refusing to welt under the darkness of a Novacastrian Knight, splashed with a dash of a rookie Locke provided hope that this was going to be a joyous time of rare rousing and revelling with multiple accoutrements of Lemonade and Sticky buns for the faithful, as Four very odd million Kiwis were once again presented with visions of grandeur… glory… no?… however, come Sunday night what was meteorological on Friday had become psychological, as the mythical men of old, men of renown, the men dressed in black… fell… and a country sighs!

To top this whole malarkey off, one has to read that those Dorklanders, I mean Aucklanders are trying to steal one of Canterbury’s own, nae Southbridge’s own, Dan “don’t you dare do it” Carter, from the very place that offered him the lights, camera and action for him to do the business.  Surely Dan does not have the shameless conviction to follow in the footsteps of one Carlos Spencer and to be spoken of with such contempt.  Memories of the concrete embankment at Lancaster Park still resonate within as a previous heir of the Canterbury #10 throne (Andrew Mehrtens) stood peerless against the Northern and Southern usurpers trying to rape and pillage.  Surely Dan can not be bought (leave me with my naive murmurings, I can not approach such immoral realities that I know lurk without).

All such talk will sound absurd to any readers not enlightened about such things as Rugby Union and the All Blacks.  Therefore, let me speak plainly.

The All Blacks is the name given to New Zealand’s National Rugby Union team.  This last Saturday night at a southern city, we were beaten by those Frenchies 27 – 22, and there was no rainbow to these warriors.  The All Blacks don’t do losing and the rugby public are allergic to accepting such realities… this is not good… send in the hounds!

However, before the deep becomes our end, let me offer some hope.

With such a young team(some 10 starters missing) and this being the first game of the season, I am confident that any sense of complacency (I know there shouldn’t be) will be dead at denial, and when the full extent of the International calendar is put in context, this loss will be seen as catalytic, somewhat of a reality check, where in the Colosseum of battle, you must come hard or not at all.  If the All Blacks had sneaked home, which they would have except for that intercept by the Maxine-factor Medard with sideburns for days, the brutal and stark reality of a loss would not have that iron sharpening iron effect that such a result will have had on their psyche and philosophy.  I am on my lilo, so my hope is afloat!

Okay, so you are a grizzled veteran on the sporting stage… I can hear you now, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”… or… “Winning isn’t about life and death, it’s far more important than that.”

If such be your reality as you read this refrain, settle your bereaving heart and understand that although I want my All Blacks to win… who could imagine another World Cup like the last, or 99, such could be fodder for numerous nightmares… there is a Christ-glorifying, Christ-sanctifying effect for an All Christ when its All Black on the rugby field (far be it from me to offer reflections on my own posts, but that line lights my fire)!

Here is your tunnel to light your way…

Because, when the All Blacks lose, we are given a glimpse of the failure of finding our self in our sport and the real reality that true hope, joy and fulfillment in this life can only be found in and through Christ, which means that we are too guilty far too often of accepting this reality at the checkout for justification, but fail to see that such a receipt is payment for our practical, moment-by-moment Christ-likeness at the storehouse for a lifetime of sanctification, where Christ is all, and gives us all… When we lose (and I don’t like it one bit), we are given a microcosm of a moment where we are challenged to the core about where we find meaning in the bump and grind of daily life, and this is a sign of God’s grace in our existence, because the micro is an early warning sign against the macro… and we should redeem such times!

What this means practically is that when the All Blacks win our world should not be all back slapping and joyous rioting like the life-less ordinary that we hoped for has finally arrived… and when they lose (it does rarely happen), it should not be the portent of a coming downer to dark days of depression… because if such is the case, can I say that such a reality suggests that the Gospel, through Christ, is not being practically drained as the only reservoir that provides the fullness of effect for living this life in our foreign lands, and we are getting our redemption at such a time, in and through another source (the success of our team), which means that we are in the default mode, a.k.a idolatry!

Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that one can not be disappointed when the All Blacks lose and equally satisfied when they do the damage, but when such an effect goes from an enjoyment of living in this cultural moment to a dominant impact in one’s life and responses, can I suggest that in such times, we are giving too much of ourselves to a harlot that wants our world, but can not offer hers!

I speak from personal experience.  I am a sports guy and I like my All Blacks big-screen and big-time.  While I would confess as a younger man that my redemption was in Christ, which it was as a positional truth, as a practical outworking of this in my daily life, the culture of sport had too much of my heart and mind, which translated into impacting on how I lived the life!

Therefore, reader, whatever sporting zone you are reading this in… whether you are a Penguins fan, a Magic man (in all likelihood), a “will it be The Lions or a Bokke bloke”… or, even if you are black and you’re proud (remember The Commitments) and you are disappointed with a loss, be thankful that in such realities, and at such times, the spotlights are on and Christ has entered the building (kicking Elvis to Grace-less land) and you are given an absolute clarion call and a clearly present moment both to see the incomparable worth of knowing Christ, the other worldly self-sacrifice on your believing behalf, the surreal hope that will become your forever reality… and to see that nothing, nada, not one thing in this life can compare with this reality and that NOTHING can and should take this practically away… not even the All Blacks… and, too often we practically accept such short comings, until they are taken away from our view and we acknowledge that we too often take the booby prize in our own personal 24!

Dwell on such realities and redeem this loss, which will also make the coming victory all the more sweeter as we view it in the ever-grander coming redemption, which will make 2011 worth forgetting, as we anticipate that final whistle blast when it will be all over… except for the after world function!

Captain Kirk of 1987 and Captain McCaw of 2011 will mean nothing when the King of Kings hands you your Crown… Yeah Baby… When you dwell on such things, it’s amazing what one forgets!!!

Until Next Time

I am Jonny King