Giving thanks for losing

If you’ve ever been a fan of a Toronto-based sports team, you’ve become accustomed to the idea that your squad will lose. Particularly they’ll lose more often in the big moments than in the small. Not that there haven’t been recent (i.e. in the last 10 years) champions in Toronto: 2022 and 2017 for the Argos, 2019 for the Raptors, 2017 for TorontoFC. But then you’re going back much further for the Blue Jays in 1993, and 1992, and the Leafs in 1967. Losing is something that sports fans of Toronto-based teams are more used to than winning.

But that doesn’t mean we give thanks for it though. None of us wants to lose, no athlete, no business person, no one wants to be knows as someone who loses. So why would I then give this sermon this odd title: “Giving thanks for losing”? No one does that, and we’re not even encouraged to do that in today’s gospel reading.

The tenants

In today’s gospel reading, the tenants start out looking like winners. the land owner leases the land and thane moves away. They are left entirely on their own with no oversight. There’s win number one. Then in wins number two and three, they overpower the slaves of the land owner. In win number four they overpower the son of the land owner. Victory is theirs. While we may debate whether or not it is a series of victories to be proud of, they’ve still won. The land owner is not present, and the tenants are in complete control.

The chief priests and elders suggest that their victory will be short-lived. They suggest that when the land owner comes, those tenants will be killed — a miserable death to be precise — and the vineyard will be given to other tenants.

I think many of us agree that this sounds like a reasonable punishment — or at least we believe it might have been the fair punishment in those days even if we don’t now believe that someone should die because they killed other people.

The rejected

As all the focus is on the punishment of the tenants, Jesus turns the focus to the rejected, and quotes Psalm 118:22. In some ways, it is a shame that we don’t read that Psalm today. It has been suggested that the psalm was writtend for a service of Thanksgiving — and the original voicing of verse 22 would be the congregation. I wonder then if the congregation voices these words believing they have collectively or individually been rejected. Is this a claim of faith that they collectively or individually have become so important that they are the cornerstone? Imagine for a moment having that depth of faith — knowing that you’ve been rejected, and yet you know that God has an important purpose for you.

José Hernández

I didn’t know the story of José Hernández until I started to do the research for today’s sermon. His story has been made into an Amazon Original movie — which I haven’t seen yet, but maybe tomorrow it’ll be a good way to spend part of the Thankgiving holiday.

José is a former migrant farmworker living in the United States. He has a dream though — to become an astronaut for NASA. Having met a number of migrant farmworkers when I worked in Niagara, I’d think that it’d be quite the journey to move from migrant farmworker to astronaut. From readin the synopsis of the story though, José was originally rejected by NASA when he applied to be accepted into the astronaut program — actually to say that he was originally rejected is a bit of an understatement. He was rejected more than once — more than twice — more than thrice — in total José was rejected 11 times by NASA before joining the astronaut program.

Between being a migrant farmworker, and being accepted into the astronaut program, José became an engineer. He was finally accepted into the astronaut program in 2004, and in 2009 was part of the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009 — which was the first NASA shuttle mission sending two Latinos into space.

Giving thanks for losing

I’m sure there would have been heartbreak each time José was rejected — yet he carried on. I’m sure God’s people throughout time experienced heartbreak in the times of occupation and exile — yet they carried on. I’m sure for each one of us, there has been heartbreak each time we’ve felt dismissed, inadequate, or inappropriate — yet our God is present with us — and encourages to carry on.

This Thanksgiving weekend, may we not only give thanks for what we’d consider the blessings we’ve received from God — may we also give thanks for God’s presence in our lives when we don’t feel blessed — when we hear these words:

Matthew 21:42 NRSVue

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’?

For the amazing wonders of God’s love for us, we give thanks today. Amen.