What a week to be English! Earlier this week we watched Arthur Fery beat the odds to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Even though he was beaten yesterday, he played very well, and got so much further than anyone expected. A few days ago the England football team beat Mexico, and whilst I know next to nothing about football, the history of the stadium made this a remarkable achievement. Tonight we're all looking ahead to England's quarter-final match against Norway. I'm writing in hope, which feels like quite an appropriate posture for a vicar!
England against Mexico earlier this week felt like a bit of an underdog story - certainly Arthur Fery's early wins were. The underdog story is as old as the Bible itself. When God needed someone to take down a giant, he didn't reach for the obvious candidate. He chose David - the youngest, the smallest, the one left minding the sheep while his brothers got the glory. Gideon was hiding in a winepress when God called him to be a "mighty warrior." Mary was a nobody from nowhere when she was chosen to carry the Son of God. Again and again, the story goes the same way - the world looks in one direction, and God quietly gets to work in another.
Paul puts it plainly in 1 Corinthians 1, "God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." Not because weakness is the point, but because it gets God's fingerprints on the outcome.
So whoever you're rooting for this weekend - on the grass at Wimbledon or the pitch this evening - spare a thought for the God who has always had a soft spot for the underdog. And if you're feeling a little overlooked yourself this week, a little out of your depth - you might just be exactly where God does his best work.
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