As I write this (Friday, 13 October) we are coming into a massive weekend of “winning” and “losing” with regard to both the government Elections and the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup. Which “Chris” will be the Prime Minister, Luxon or Hipkins? Will Winston Peters get back into Parliament (a place he has frequented since 1978) and/or will Lily Carrington, Ethan Reille, or Hana-rawhiti Maipi-Clarke become the youngest MP in over 170 years? Will Ireland get past the quarter-final for the first time in their RWC history, and thus enjoy their greatest success so far, or will the All Blacks suffer the same humiliation as their shocking worst-ever result in 2007?

But as you read this, you will already know the outcome to these questions! For the people involved in the elections or the rugby, there will either be a sense of joy and success, or disappointment and devastation. The same will be true for us, depending on how these events pan out. But we all have to face the challenges that winning and losing bring in life. Drivers’ licence tests, school or university exams, applications for jobs or halls of residence, relationships, and a myriad of other experiences in life will bring success or failure, we will all come first or last at times, and we have to work out ways to deal with these challenges. On the wall at Wimbledon is the following wise advice from Rudyard Kipling: “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters the same …” then we are more likely to have a balanced, happy life.

In the Kingdom of God, Jesus tells people that the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 20.16). This comes at the end of a parable he tells about the manager of a vineyard who hired workers throughout the day; he offers those starting in the early morning a very generous pay, which they accept, but he also gives the same pay to those workers who were hired at the end of the day. The early starters complained about this, but the manager tells them that they were still given a very generous amount, and shouldn’t compare themselves to others, just because he has chosen to be generous. This is a challenging parable! But it can remind us to be gracious and compassionate in our successes (and not let them go to our heads), and to humbly accept and learn from our defeats (and not let them get to our hearts). We can do this because we are loved by a generous God who is with us in all situations, no matter which Chris wins, and whether or not the All Blacks win or lose (as much as I really hope that when you read this we are celebrating their success!).

Dr Gillian Townsley
Chaplain