New Church Life September/October 2016 | Page 96

new church life: september/october 2016 olympic gold The Olympic Games of Ancient Greece were both religious and athletic festivals. City-states and kingdoms vied for laurel crowns amid animal sacrifices and religious overtones. Legend has it that any conflicts were put aside until after the Games. This was history’s first vision of promoting peace by bringing people together to face off in athletic competition rather than war. It didn’t really work then. And it doesn’t seem to be working now. The Olympic ideal still inspires hope, but it seems quickly overwhelmed by the harsh realities of the world. Might it be working better though than we imagine? Just before this year’s Summer Olympics began in Brazil, the Rev. Jeremy Simons preached a sermon in Bryn Athyn, Peace is not a Game. For two golden weeks these modern “Games” took over a world stage dominated by terrorism, raging conflict and divisive rhetoric that seem to defy any hope of peace but gave us a sense of unity, nobility and peace. Jeremy offered the encouraging conviction that when we bring to the Games the perspective of the Lord’s Word and providence, the unity that can seem both real and illusory contributes to the dream. “When the international community comes together for the Olympic Games,” he said, “something emulating cooperation and love among all people takes place. Surely international organizations like the United Nations, the Red Cross and many others play a more important role than the Games do. But the Olympics do some things that these others do not. “For one thing, they are visual, easy to understand, non-political and popular. Many millions of people in all parts of the world follow them with interest.” Sadly, the Olympics have become stained with politics and corruption, but the ideal still lifts our spirit. We feel it with the parade of nations opening the event, with thousands of athletes and officials from all over the world coming together in a great show of peace and love. The triumphs, the failures, the joy just of representing one’s country, and all the personal journeys touch our hearts. The final celebration left a glow of hope before plunging us back into all of the strife and challenges in the world. There may not have been an epiphany of world peace but there was profound relief that the terrorism everyone feared in such a target-rich setting never even threatened. We are left again with the feeling that no matter what evil emerges in the world – and evil unfortunately will ever be with us – goodness from the Lord always prevails. Jeremy offered this encouragement: “It is not that the Games solve anything in particular in the near future. Rather, it is that the repetition of events like these gradually changes the mindset of people in every part of the world. 502