It’s a strange activity when you think about it. Thirty grown men chasing an oval shaped ball that doesn’t even bounce properly.

Like most of you, I have been glued to the TV most days watching Namibia play Samoa and similar games I wouldn’t normally give even a moment of my attention to. But, hey, it’s the Rugby World Cup!

I even took the kids to the New Zealand v France game. The last time I went to an All Blacks game was 1990 – New Zealand v Australia (New Zealand won 6-3. Yawn). But hey, it’s the Rugby World Cup!

What is it about sport generally and rugby in particular that appeals to our emotions? Why do we identify with players most of us will never even meet? Why do we treat them as heroes simply because they have mastered the art of passing and kicking the strangely shaped ball? Is it even heroic? Why does the All Blacks winning matter so much to us?

It’s tempting to suggest it is because we are a small country at the bottom of the world crying out for attention, for recognition, for some acknowledgement that we can do something better than anyone else. But the reality is all countries carry on in just the same way. Americans, from the most powerful country in the history of the world, get just as passionate when they see their teams on the world stage. Australians win so many Olympic gold medals that we on this side of The Ditch struggle to see how they can possibly stay interested. But they do.

Nope, sport is something far more deep-seated in the human psyche. The fact is we need to belong, we need to be part of a family, we need to be united in a common cause, to face a common enemy, to celebrate victory, and feel the pain of defeat.

God wired us this way and perhaps, sometimes, we need to reflect a while as to why that is. I believe it is because God wants us to be family. He wants us to work together, to celebrate our accomplishments and share our pain with each other. But most of all, he wants us to be part of his family and to share it all with him, too.

In its purest form, sport is a reflection of how the world should be – countries coming together to settle their differences according to a set or rules, fairly judged by someone impartial, and then willing to accept the outcome even if it is not a favourable one.

But as usual we stuff it up. We turn sport into a God instead of seeing it as a reflection of God. We challenge the rules. We refuse to accept impartiality and behave with bad grace if we don’t get what we want.

It’s great to see our churches getting involved in the Rugby World Cup, using it as an opportunity to open the doors to their communities and perhaps share the real Good News – that which is even better than an All Blacks victory.

I like to think that Jesus is a sports fan. I like to think he’s in heaven glued to the telly like the rest of us. The only difference is he won’t just be waving an All Blacks flag. He’ll also be waving a Springbok one, and an Australian one, and a Samoan one, and an Argentinian one, and …

– Duncan Pardon