The Agony of Defeat

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The cross could not hold Him; the grave could not contain Him. Christ is alive and He sends His Holy Spirit to give light where there is darkness; hope where despair reigned; salvation where damnation once held sway. Heavenly Father, grant this Savior comes to us all. Amen.

The date was March 21, 1970. The location was Oberstdorf, Germany. The event was the World Ski Flying championship, a competition which has skiers launching themselves from a ramp in hopes of landing far down the course. That day the weather was snowy and the ramp had become fast – very fast – too fast. That was what Vinko Bogotaj, a ski jumper from Slovakia was thinking as he began his third jump of the day. Halfway down the slope, Vinko tried to lower his center of gravity and bring himself to a stop. Instead, Vinko lost his balance and flew over the end of the ramp. Vinko tumbled, Vinko flipped, and then, to the horror of the crowd, Vinko crashed through a pole as if it wasn’t even there. Vinko was hospitalized with a concussion.

Almost 40 years later, Vinko’s accident would have long since been forgotten if it had not been for one thing: that day there was an American camera crew on hand who filmed Vinko’s flailing fall. Vinko’s footage became part of the opening of ABC’s television program: Wide World of Sports. The program began with a montage of various sports clips and host Jim McKay’s voice narrating: “Spanning the world to give you the constant variety of sports, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, the human drama of athletic competition. This is ABC’s Wide World of Sports.” When McKay got to the words, “the agony of defeat,” TV screens showed Vinko’s crash.

During the decades which followed, Wide World of Sports often changed the show’s beginning film clips to reflect headlines which had recently dominated athletic activity. All of the opening film clips were changed except for the one showing Vinko’s accident. Week-after-week, year-after-year, viewers cringed as Vinko crashed. His fall exemplified disaster and defeat. As for Vinko, he soon retired from active competition, became a trainer, and earned a living running a factory forklift in his hometown in Slovenia. In 2002, when Vinko was asked to come to the U.S. for an interview how he felt about his “agony of defeat,” Vinko showed up. And how did the interview go? Vinko had a minor car accident in the parking lot of the hotel where he was staying. According to The Los Angeles Times (December 8, 2002) Vinko said, “Every time I’m on ABC, I crash.”

In saying those words, “Every time… I crash,” Vinko became everyman, the spokesman for almost all of humanity. My life and travels have taken me many places, but I have never met the person who knows only the thrill of victory and has remained immune from the agony of defeat. I know I haven’t. On my desk at The Lutheran Hour is a bowl of jelly beans. Those jelly beans are available to anyone who comes to see me – indeed, there are people who forget me and come just to visit the jelly beans. Now there is a reason why the bowl is full of jelly beans. The bowl holds jelly beans because I don’t like jelly beans, they don’t tempt me. I have jelly beans in the bowl because whenever I put other candy into that bowl, I start stuffing myself – the agony of defeat.

All of us crash. Six months ago many of you made some New Year’s resolutions. You promised yourself 2008 would be different. You made a commitment to lose weight, stop smoking, get in shape, and throw off the bad habits which had a hold on you. Let me ask: how have you done? Did you crash? Have you encountered the agony of defeat? Turn on your TV in the wee hours of the morning. Do you know what you will see? You will see infomercials. Watch an infomercial about dieting. It will begin with someone who says, “I tried every diet ever invented and it didn’t work for me. I just gained more weight.” Like Vinko these dieters were saying, “Every time I diet, I crash.” You will see infomercials about cleaning up your complexion; infomercials about getting yourself out of debt; infomercials about becoming computer savvy. All of these, – and many more – deal with people who have tried and failed; people who have experienced the agony of defeat.

Because we have failed, the best-seller lists are filled with books which claim they can recycle losers and make them winners. Because we have failed there are numerous medications being prescribed to help us let go, or get a grip; find some peace, or get some sleep. We want to feel like all-conquering winners and there are legions of fine friends, conscientious counselors, and predatory conmen who are glad to help. And although I may be guilty of great over-simplification, when you get past the pretty packaging; when you plow through the convincing, cajoling, caring suggestions; almost all will end up saying: stop what you’re doing wrong and start doing something right.

Do you want to quit smoking? That’s simple – don’t light up. Do you want to stop gaining weight? No, problem – put jelly beans in your candy dish. (Sorry, that last one was for me.) Do you want to stop drinking; stop gambling; stop being promiscuous; stop using drugs; stop swearing; stop being abusive? Fine, you know what to do: quit doing what’s wrong and start doing what’s right. That same philosophy ought to work on a grander, global scale. Do we want peace in the world? That’s easy – let’s disband our armies, get rid of the weapons, and be friends. Do we want to end hunger? Let’s take the food to where the starving people are. Do we want a fair distribution of wealth? That’s a matter of simple mathematics: divide the total amount of money and stuff by the total number of people; then take from those who have and give it to those who don’t. Let’s do the simple stuff which can fix our wacky world; let’s turn the agony of defeat into the thrill of victory.

OK, let’s take a second or two and compose our thoughts. Let’s get ready for those changes we want to make. Just think, in a few moments we’re going to have peace, and happiness, and full bellies, and a fair distribution of stuff. Here’s the plan: when I count down to “zero,” all of us are going to change. Ready? Here we go. Five – Four – Three – Two -One – Zero. So, how did we do? If we did well, we can turn on CNN and the breaking news story will be: they just fired their reporters because there wasn’t any bad news to report. If we succeeded, in Palestine and Israel people are apologizing for the past and are hugging each other; there are no more tribal conflicts in Africa; Christians and Muslims are smiling at each other in the mid-east; and grain ships destined for starving countries are being loaded.

So, how do you think we did? Unless I miss my guess, some of you are thinking: “This is ridiculous. The wrongs of this world are too complicated to be wished away.” Some of you are thinking, “Nothing’s changed – not enough people listen to this broadcast” Most of you think I just squandered a minute of valuable broadcast time. I doubt if many Lutheran Hour listeners think things have changed at all. The agony of defeat is still with us and the thrill of permanent victory remains out of reach. We are doomed to live in inequity and inequality. Sad, isn’t it?

Would you like to know why we’re doomed? There is a reason: this world, our minds, our hearts – are sinful. You may not like hearing that, but it’s true. The best of us, the kindest of us, the most honest and philanthropic people, all have a dark spot inside of them; a cancer which no surgery can excise, which no medicine can cure. We try to do good, but we don’t. We don’t because we can’t. We struggle and strive to make things better, but something, somehow always gets in our path and pulls us back. Like a moth is drawn to a flame; so we are drawn to darkness. That is why pornography is prolific on the World Wide Web; it is why movies showing violence and inhuman activity draw large crowds.

We are sinners. Only that fact can explain why the multi-millionaires of Enron continued their scandalous activities long after they had amassed more cash than they could ever reasonably have spent. We are sinners addicted to the dark and deplorable. Why else would a woman return to a vicious and violent husband? Why else would a child, who has been removed from an abusive home, long to leave his loving, adopting family and return to a place which had only shown him cruelty?

We are drawn to darkness. Why else would the addict pick up the syringe; why else would a destitute gambler enter the betting parlor; the alcoholic walk back into the bar? We are drawn to the dark. That is why we all slow down to see highway accidents; it is why we love to hear the latest scandal about the teen starlet; it is why we listen closely when the latest disgrace concerning a pastor or priest is revealed; it is why we want to hear dirt dished up about our neighbors. Because the world is sinful, each person will know the agony of defeat. Because this world is sinful, the last living soul of every generation must confess they have failed to make a lasting, permanent difference. The thrill of victory is illusive, the agony of defeat remains.

Understand, I get no joy in saying these things. I would prefer to say, and you would rather hear: “Things are getting better, there is hope, things will be OK, and the sun will come out tomorrow.” And while there are bright moments, and there are occasional good times, I am afraid we shall all know the agony of defeat. I wish with all my heart that I was wrong; but if I am, please tell me, in spite of all the broken hearts of wives and mothers, why are nations still at war? Why, when everyone we know is longing for peace, can the leaders of the world not find harmony? Why, if illegal drugs are so horrible, do they remain big business as they’re sold to children; why are some young people so discouraged and depressed that the murderers of Columbine have become their heroes; why are terrorists still indiscriminate, so glad to take the lives of those whom they neither know nor care about. Why? We are drawn to the darkness. We are people so permeated by the pollution of sin we can’t change. That is why the agony of defeat is the evening news; it is CNN; it is our lives.

But it does not have to be all of our lives. The agony of defeat, the darkness of death, the seduction of Satan, and sin, need not have the final word in our lives. There is hope. Not the wishing upon a star kind of hope; not a fairy tale’s they-lived-happily-ever-after kind of hope. I am talking about lasting and legitimate hope which comes to lost and fallen humanity in the person of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior. Centuries ago, a heaven-sent angel appeared to some shepherds as they kept lonely watch over their flocks on the fields of Bethlehem. These men, living in a world of political oppression and poverty, considered unclean by the best of society were the first to hear God’s announcement. Reflecting the Lord’s light, the angel said, “Fear not, behold I bring you good news of great joy… a Savior has been born to you.”

And so He was. According to prophecy Jesus came as true man, born of a virgin so He might be one of us. According to promise, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and came as true God, so He might defeat sin, death, and devil; so all who believe might be assured that the agony of defeat would not be their life’s story. Read through the Gospels and you will hear how the blind received their sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, the deaf were given hearing, the dead were raised, and the poor had good news preached to them. In His life, Jesus did what no man before or after Him has done. By works, as well as words, through commitment and caring, He brought light to our darkness.

Now, it is possible that your life has never been touched by the agony of defeat. It is possible that you are the rare individual who doesn’t feel he’s been struck down every time he tries to stand. If so, you need not listen. But if you are afraid for the world in which you live now and terrified of the tomorrow which will be given to your children, listen as we tell you of Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. Listen as I tell you of the Savior who came into this world to rescue and redeem you. It’s true. For You He lived every moment of His life; for you He turned down the devil’s temptation to relax and take things easy; for you He walked a path which would ultimately and inevitably lead to His death. So you might be forgiven, He carried every sin, every indiscretion, every failing and flaw that you and all of humanity have ever committed. He carried those sins past a time of betrayal and denial; past a time of lying and whipping, past a time of scourging and spitting. He was still carrying your sins when He was nailed to a Roman cross. When He could have come down, Jesus stayed put and paid the price your sin, your evil, your darkness, demanded.

There, on a cross, He paid the price of your salvation and eternal security. On a cross, Jesus bought you back from sin and death, wrested you from Satan’s sinister clutches. On a cross, He died as your substitute. Then, three days after His death, so you might be sure of His victory, so you might never doubt He is the conqueror, He came back to life and showed Himself. Here, He said, touch My hands, put your hand into My spear-sliced side. Do not doubt I was dead, or debate I am alive. Believe! Believe I have rescued you; believe the agony of ultimate defeat is at an end. Believe and be released from the slavery of sin and be adopted as sons and daughters of God. Believe and be freed from fear. Believe and with your belief, be brought to God in heaven and confidently call Him, “Father.” The angel was right: This is Good News of great joy. We have a Savior who is Christ the Lord! As God’s children, Christ’s brothers and sisters, we are confident the agony of defeat will not be a constant rerun.

On October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts IV entered the West Nickel Mines School in Pennsylvania. Before the afternoon was over, he had murdered five girls, wounded many others, and killed himself. I have two daughters of my own and I cannot begin to imagine how I would have felt about that man’s actions if he had hurt them. In much of the rest of the world, a world of darkness, there would have been hatred, talk of vengeance, reprisals, anger. That was not what happened on October 2nd in that Amish Christian community. Before that day of death was over, representatives of the church called upon the widow and family of the man who had done the murders. They came and offered food, forgiveness, support. One family invited the murderer’s widow to mourn with them at the funeral of their daughter; another Christian man held the murderer’s sobbing father for an hour. These Christians came to comfort his widow at the funeral; they helped her financially. By Christ’s power, the agony of defeat was defeated.

And for those of you who say what happened with those Christians in Pennsylvania is a one-time, never-to-be-repeated story, I hope you are right. I pray there will never again be such a tragedy. In spite of my prayers and hopes, the world is dark and tragedies will come. When they do, Christians who have been adopted into the Father’s family of faith will also come and they will do what they can to reflect the Savior’s love to those in the deepest darkness. Ask the people of New Orleans about the steady stream of strangers, many Christian, who have come to help them. Ask them about the old men, and the families, and the teens, who came and keep coming to provide assistance. Ask them and they will tell you about the thrill of victory which comes from knowing Christ and seeing the Savior’s people in action.

Laugh at Christians if you wish, think them silly for believing in something so foolish, so old-fashioned. But as you laugh, let me ask, has this world seen anything which cuts through the darkness as does the light of the Lord and Savior? Is there any system of beliefs which so readily helps others? Is there any religion which can promise, absolutely and completely, that sins are forgiven and the agony of defeat has been defeated? Do not answer too quickly. The story of Christ’s undefeated people is being told all around you. But it is not their stories that you see. What you see is the result of what a risen Christ has done for them, and to them, and with them. What you see are people who have a thrill of victory which comes to all who know the crucified and risen Christ. If you would like to know more of Him, and this thrill of victory, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for July 13, 2008
Good Government

ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.

KLAUS: Hi, Mark, and what’s on the docket for today?

ANNOUNCER: In the United States, Independence Day is a time for fireworks….

KLAUS: Legal fireworks.

ANNOUNCER: Right. Legal fireworks, and also family get-togethers and barbecues. The people of the U.S. celebrate their independence on July 4th, and our listeners in Canada celebrated Canada Day on July 1st.

KLAUS: So, are we discussing politics today?

ANNOUNCER: Yes and no.

KLAUS: What does our listener have in mind?

ANNOUNCER: This is based on what St. Paul wrote to the Christians who were being persecuted by their rulers. In Romans chapter 13, he said, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

KLAUS: That sounds pretty clear.

ANNOUNCER: Here’s the actual question. Our listener says, “I know we’re supposed to respect the ruling authorities. But what if you’ve got someone like Hitler, or Stalin, or Chairman Mao – guys who persecute and murder millions of their own people? Are we supposed to respect and honor leaders like that? And why does God allow such people to gain power in the first place?”

KLAUS: That’s a lot of ground to cover. First, let me offer a relatively straightforward answer. When the apostles were told by the religious authorities to quit preaching, they replied, “We have to obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). When leaders order Christians to stop preaching, or demand they stop worshiping, or call on God’s people to betray their fellow Christians, we have to do what God would have us to do. In this case, it might involve carrying the cross and suffering for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. First, and foremost, and always, God’s commands come first.

ANNOUNCER: Are we allowed to react with civil disobedience against such rulers?

KLAUS: Once again, God over man is the rule. Having said that, Jesus did not fight Pontius Pilate, even though that ruler was wrong. He didn’t strike the Sanhedrin dead when they condemned Him. Paul didn’t run away even though he was unjustly jailed in Philippi. The early Christians didn’t try to overthrow the Roman emperor, even when that emperor persecuted God’s people. Once again, those rulers were set there by God, even when they are ruling contrary to God’s commandments.

ANNOUNCER: But why does God allow such rulers to take control in the first place? What possible purpose could there be?

KLAUS: That question’s a little bit harder to answer. Actually it’s a lot harder because it requires us to know the mind of God. And that’s a gift I don’t have. Even so, there are certain indicators in Scripture that do offer some clues.

ANNOUNCER: Such as?

KLAUS: There were times in the Old Testament when God’s people rebelled against Him. In effect, they declared their independence from God. What usually happened then?

ANNOUNCER: The Lord allowed punishment to come upon them.

KLAUS: And how did that punishment come?

ANNOUNCER: It might have come in the form of an invading army that would either scare them into obedience or else conquer them outright. This was God’s way of turning His people back to Himself because He wanted them to know that no matter how strong they thought they were, they still needed Him. And they needed to obey His Word and be faithful to Him.

KLAUS: During the time of Old Testament prophet Isaiah, the rulers and people of Israel were pretty sure of themselves, and even more sure they didn’t need God. As a result, God sent the Assyrian Empire to punish them. Would you say the Assyrians were nice people?

ANNOUNCER: I would guess they weren’t.

KLAUS: Yes. They weren’t. They were big-time warriors and they did some big-time destruction. They dealt a harsh lesson. So, God put rulers in authority to remind His people to repent and return to Him. Those Assyrians were ultimately replaced by the Babylonians, who were pushed aside by the Persians, who were supplanted by the Greeks, and then the Romans came along. You get the idea. But it was all to God’s purpose, because those things prepared the way for the promised Savior.

ANNOUNCER: So, in the civil realm, we more or less get the government we deserve. But in the Spiritual realm, we receive from God the grace we don’t deserve and haven’t earned. Now, how was Rome part of God’s purpose?

KLAUS: Let’s see: The Romans built a system of roads which enabled the Gospel to get around pretty fast. The Greeks had established a common language so Jesus’ story of salvation could be understood by almost everybody. The list goes on. God is in control of history and He uses rulers and kingdoms for His purpose – the saving of souls.

ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Music selection for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC

“Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.