World Cup Sacrifice vs. Sacrifice for the World

For some people football (let's call it what the rest of the world calls it) is like religion. The 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa is over. From my point of view, there were only a few exciting games. Most games were rather disappointing, unfortunately. In the end, Spain won the tournament; although they did not play the most attractive football, they are a worthy champion due to their effectiveness. The Netherlands came in second, for the third time in their nation's World Cup history.

There is, however, one scene in particular that I would like to mention. It is a scene from the game between Ghana and Uruguay. It matters because it violated my sense of fairness and fair-play.

It was the last minute of over-time when field player Luis Suárez from Uruguay stopped the ball, goalkeeper-like, with his hand on the goal line, thus preventing the ball from entering into the net. For this illegal safe, the referee gave Suárez the red card and sent him off the field. Ghana was awarded a penalty shot and had the opportunity to win the game still in regulation time. If only they had converted their penalty shot after Suárez's handball, the whole dispute that followed after the game, would have been moot. But the Ghanaian player missed. Eventually, Uruguay – and not Ghana – won the game after penalty shoot-out and advanced to the semi-finals.

People in Uruguay celebrated Suárez as a hero. People in Uruguay referred to Suárez's safe on the line as the “hand of God.” Suárez himself said later that he had to sacrifice himself for the team and for the country. In other parts of the world, especially on the African continent, he became a villain.  

As far as I am concerned, it was not so much Suárez's handball that made me upset; even though his illegal handball-safe by itself pushes me to edge of my understanding of fair-play and sportsmanship. Rather, it was something else that made me really upset. It made me really upset when Suárez allowed his teammates to carry him on their shoulders after the game (see the photo). Of course, a team can celebrate its victory. But given the circumstances, this was a provocative gesture that added insult to injury. It is one thing to stop the ball on the line with the hand. It can happen, though it should not happen. But Uruguay was lacking a sense of decency in their moment of victory when they carried triumphantly the person who had denied an otherwise regular goal, which would have meant their elimination from the tournament. (As an aside: maybe the football world association FIFA wishes to decide to change its laws [yes, football is played by laws, not by rules] when a field player makes an illegal stop on the goal line. Instead of giving a penalty shot, the goal should count. And the player in violation should still receive the red card. If the goal counts anyway, there is no enticement for a player to use the hand of God to make such an illegal stop.)

Let us put this incident from the Football World Cup in a different perspective, namely that of matters of faith.

 How can one see the hand of God at play in such a blunt violation of fairness? Does this mean that the hand of God sides with the cheaters in this world? Rather, when I think of the hand of God, the wondrous signs come to my mind that God performed with his “mighty hand and outstretched arm” by which the LORD God brought the Israelites to liberation and freedom (see Deuteronomy 7:19). God gives hope to, and sides with those who face injustice and oppression.

When Suárez played the ball with the hand on the goal line, he broke the law and was penalized. The Pharisees repeatedly accused Jesus of having bent or even broken the law. But by doing what looks like a violation of the law, Jesus actually emphasized the aspect of grace as it becomes manifest in God's law. Filled with grace, Christ came truly to fulfill the law (see Matthew 5:17).

Suárez could call his handball a sacrifice only in the light of victory, which then earned him the (questionable) status of a hero. When I think of sacrifice, I think of a different kind of victory: the victory that Christ won on the cross when he stretched out his arms for the salvation of all. There is purpose in Jesus' sacrifice. Not just a self-serving benefit that resulted from a particular moment in a football game. The Thanksgiving at the Table puts it this way, “Dying on the cross, [Jesus] saves us. Risen from the dead, he gives new life. Living with you, he prays for you.” This makes all the difference for our very lives.

 Blessings to you in Jesus' name, who prays for us, gives us new life, and saves us,
 Bjoern E. Meinhardt, Pastor