Chaplain's Column | Good Friday

Where Losers Become Winners

An Easter reflection by Club Chaplain, Ian Nicholson

Winnnnnners! We’ve all heard the age-old football cry as a passionate goalkeeper desperately launches his sliced kick towards his overwhelmed 5’ 8” centre-forward once more – only to see it come straight back. But still it continues - every game, every kick, every pass, every tackle, every half time talk – winnnnnners!

The cliché is that football is all about winning, but here’s the thing – for every winner there has to be a loser and no one wins all the time. But we keep going – the pursuit of the win makes us alive. In that sense we are all the same; we aim for the stars – whether in relationships, parenting, perfect health, fulfilling jobs, great holidays, friendships and perhaps even football. Sometimes we are winners but, let’s be honest, sometimes we lose and, beyond that, sometimes we think we have won only to realise down the line that it was a false promise - a loss. Regrets? I’ve had a few. We are all losers.

Have you ever wondered why on earth today is called Good Friday? The day we remember when a unique man who loved and served the outcasts, the failures and the downtrodden – the losers – and gathered a remarkable following (no social media influencers in those days) in the process became the ultimate loser. He was abandoned by every friend, tortured brutally and eventually publicly executed – an object of ridicule and hatred. He died a nobody and everything collapsed. So, what on earth is ‘good’ about Good Friday.

The reality is that nothing at all is good about Good Friday without Easter Sunday. On the Friday as He was undeservedly executed the seemingly ultimate loser identified with us all in our losses. We are each of us unique and special but, despite our herculean efforts, we have each come up short – we know that. He went where we are. However, the Easter story, doesn’t end on the Friday because Sunday is always coming. The Sunday when billions believe that the tomb was empty and all losers discovered the promise of sharing in the same new life and hope.

It is a wonder how, over 2000 years, the violent execution of a nondescript man in a nondescript nation has gone on to shape human history more than any other individual While many will, I am very aware as a Chaplain, and fellow loser, that not all reading this will share the same belief in the Easter resurrection. However, I would hope the story still gives us all pause for reflection and hope – losers can become winners!

Oh, and in case there is any doubt this weekend there will only be one sporting thing on my mind – winnnnnners!!

Happy Easter,

Ian Nicholson, Club Chaplain