Finding God on the Pitch
Is Ted Lasso More Forgiving than God?
My wife came home with Ted Lasso costumes and announced that we were going to dress up as Ted Lasso and Keeley Jones for our celebrations. I had to shave my beard to make the costume work, but we must take our parts seriously. As I put on the clothing and mustache, I started thinking about Ted Lasso the show and the character. If you have not seen Ted Lasso, it is available on Apple TV+. If you have seen Ted Lasso, you know that Ted is a person who may have complex emotions, but he strives to be kind and look for the best in human beings. Ted gets disappointed at times, but his belief is that eventually people will do the right thing. Ted struggles with his own feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. Although the reasons are partly due to the fish out of water nature of the main premise of the story, but also because he feels deeply that he and his soccer (football) team can succeed.
In the final season, Nate who had betrayed the team by ripping up their “Believe” sign and going to another team has been struggling with his own hurts. Ted knows this and in one of the best two scenes of the series in episode 11, we see the core beauty of this series. Ted asks Coach Beard, his best friend, to watch the security cam footage of the night Nate ripped the sign. The team has seen it and it made them angry. But they had only seen the part of Nate ripping the sign. Ted shows Beard the rest of the night in which Nate had to hide under a desk as the team celebrated and the cleaning crew worked. Ted then makes a statement that I hope we can all see the truth within. “I hope that either all of us, or none of us, are judged by the actions of our weakest moments. But rather by the strength we show when, and if, we are ever given a second chance.”
Beard then goes to Nate’s apartment and tells the story of how Beard and Ted met. Beard explains that Ted went on into coaching football and Beard ended up in prison. When he got out, Beard looked up Ted who took him in. But Beard says he paid Ted back by stealing his car. Ted has to convince the police that he had given the car to Beard. (Nate recognizes that this is like Les Miserables.) Beard then tells Nate that Ted forgave him, gave him a job and a life. Beard says that to honor that Beard forgives Nate and offers him a job with Richmond again. Nate still thinks he deserves a head-but at least, but Beard embraces him instead. That scene is the great payoff of the entire series and one I hope we can all see ourselves within.
if our vision of God is less forgiving than Ted Lasso or Coach Beard, who do we worship? The picture we see in a TV show is one we should all feel when considering God. Are we judged by the actions of our weakest moments? Do we judge others by their actions at their lowest moments? I sure hope we are not and that we do not. Rather, do we respond to forgiveness by sharing that same attitude? Do we, when provided another chance, take that chance and honor it by doing the same? When Peter asks Jesus how many time we must forgive someone, Jesus' response to Peter’s number seven, is to say seventy times seven. The point is that forgiveness must be an ongoing attitude. When we think we deserve a head-but, we receive an embrace of loving forgiveness. This should make us glad, not fearful.
A God who is always working in kenotic (or self-giving) love, is the God revealed in scripture and in the person of Jesus. If our response to that kenotic love is not similar, then we condemn ourselves. But even in that weak moment, we are still invited to remove our blinders and see the invitation into relationship with a God of love.