Download “The Olympic Spirit”

“The Olympic Spirit”
Ephesians 2:11-22 – July 22, 2012
INTRO: The people who were a part of the early church included both Jews and non-Jews, Gentiles.
There was an uneasiness about how people from these different backgrounds could all be together
in the household of God. By the time this passage was written, Gentiles had won their right to be
full-fledged members of the community of faith. In this reading, the author of this letter is looking
back at the struggle and what it says about people and about God.
The summer Olympics will be held in London, with opening ceremonies this coming Friday.
“This will be the 30th set of summer games held since the modern Olympics began in 1896.
London now holds the distinction of being the first city to host the modern games three times, 1908,
1948, 2012. The games give us an opportunity in a big way, to show the possibility of peace
between races, cultures and nations. A demonstration hopefully, of how diverse people can work
and play together harmoniously. The athletes are to follow a creed of conduct which elevates
participation over winning, peace over conflict.” (Homiletics, 7-12)
“The Olympic Games give us the chance to celebrate our shared humanity, and the object of the
competitors should be to express this humanity by performing fairly and honestly to the best of
their natural ability. The Olympic spirit can be seen in all those who compete in the Games, not
just in those who win the medals. This spirit can be seen in athletes from poorer parts of the world,
who have little chance to develop their skills or gain experience, but who do the best they can with
limited resources, and who represent their country with pride and dignity. In the spirit of the
Olympics, the most important thing is to have taken part fairly, and to have done one's best.”
(EnglishClub.com)
That’s a noble goal, but it’s probably not always the reality. For the host country, the spirit of
the Olympics may get lost in the shuffle of preparing for this event. “Residents living around the
East End of London have been the recipients of 11 miles of electric security fence, the arrival of the
biggest shopping mall in Europe, the closing of local shops, and missiles appearing on their rooftops, also for security. The East End near what has become the Olympic Park, used to feel like a
small English town, dotted with old pubs and small businesses. Now it includes new hotels, a huge
mall a casino and the largest McDonald’s in the world.” (The Christian Science Monitor, 7/9-16/12)
For the people in that particular community there’s a loss of local identity. How do you put the
old and the new together, not just for these two weeks, but after the athletes have gone home and
the East Enders are trying to find the norm for their life again.
The people of Ephesus, recipients of this letter, knew a thing or two about trying to combine the
old and the new. “Ephesus was located on the west coast of what is now Turkey and it was a Greek
city that existed for hundreds of years before being swallowed up by the Roman Empire. Under the
rule of the Emperor Augustus, it became the capital of a Roman Province in Asia. It grew into a
prominent, prosperous and powerful city—second only to Rome. Over the course of the first century
it reached a population of between 400,000 and 500,000 people.” (Homiletics, 7-12)
And within that population were participants in the early church, whose most significant
controversy was whether Gentiles would be admitted to the church and enjoy equal status as the
Jews. The Jewish people were the insiders, those who were there first, the Gentiles— the
outsiders—those who came later. It wasn’t an easy thing to put them together and see them as all a
part of the community.
So originally, they didn’t. At the Temple, the sacred place of worship, there were sections
which were walled off, where the non-Jewish people were to worship. The Temple consisted of a
series of courts, each a little higher than the previous one, with the sanctuary in the innermost
part. The first court was for the Gentiles, the second for the women, then the court for Jewish men,
the next for the priests, then the Holy Place in the highest area. The message had been, for nonJewish people to keep their distance and know their place—even at the risk of death if they didn’t.
But the Scripture tells us that those divisions are something people have created, not something
God mandated. In fact, Christ symbolically broke down the barriers and divisions, so that everyone
might have access to God. He did away with the old rules.
“Both groups, Jews and Gentiles, formerly alienated from each other by reason of fierce
nationalism, cultural pride, and religious claim, are united to become one.” (Ralph Martin)
“The Christian church has its origins within the history of the people of God, the people of Israel.
All that happened with the Jewish people is a part of the story from which we come.” (Arland Hultgren)
In Christ, the distinctions don’t exist—no insiders or outsiders. And if the church is of Christ,
this should be home country for all—all in the household.
If this is the way we are to be within the community of faith, then I believe it’s also who we
should strive to be with all of humanity. It’s kind of like that Olympic Spirit, which is probably
not always realized, but still a goal and a hope. The Gospel challenges us to recognize our one
humanity across denominational lines as well as across religious, ethnic, and national boundaries.
“Differences in race, class, gender, economic condition, politics, and opinion exist, but they are
not barriers to living in unity in Christ.” (Arland Hultgren)
Margaraet Mead once said: We have explored the entire planet and found only one human race.”
Joyce Doane joined her high school class when she entered the ninth grade. But she was a
stranger, an outsider. Her mistake had been being born in Canada. Her small village of Sombra,
Ontario, was straight across the St. Clair River from the town of Marine City, Michigan, where the
high school was. That river is one mile wide and 28 miles long. Steve Bogdonovic drove in from 12
miles out in the country and was perceived as one of them, since he lived in Michigan. But Joyce,
who came from only one mile away, was cast as a stranger—the new kid who somehow didn’t fit. It
was Walter Kruschwitz who brought reconciliation to the situation; he acted promptly, perhaps the
third day of school. Walter: "She's one of us, the minute we SAY she's one of us and SHE says the
same." Joyce: "I'll be glad to be one of you." Walter: "What does the rest of this class say?" All: "We
all say Joyce is one of us." Thankfully there was a young person who knew they were one human
family, a part of the whole human race, and he helped bring them all together, and it isn’t
surprising that fair play characterized their class throughout their four high school years. (Emphasis)
The story of Jesse Owens, African-American track and field star who won four gold medals at
the 1936 Berlin Olympics, is well-known. What is not so well-known is the friendship Owens
developed with Luz Long, one of the German athletes competing against him in the long jump.
Long, touted by the Nazi regime as a prime example of the new Aryan man, was favored to win the
event, and had in fact already broken the Olympic record in one of the qualifying rounds. In a
gesture of fair play, he had advised Owens to be careful not to get too close to the foul line when
beginning his jump. As it turned out, Owens defeated him in the final round, edging him out for
the gold medal. The two took off, arm in arm, to run a lap of honor around the stadium, under the
very eyes of the disgruntled Nazi officials.
Owens himself returned to face prejudice in his own country. Attending a reception at New
York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, following the ticker-tape parade welcoming him and his fellow athletes
back home, he was required to ride the freight elevator.
Of Luz Long, Owens later remarked: "It took a lot of courage for him to express his friendship to
me in front of Hitler.... You can win all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating
on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us
embrace victoriously" (Homiletics, 7-12)
The gold medals may take the attention of a lot of people. One list I saw included the number of
gold medals many countries had brought home, in the last five summer Olympiads. The United
States topped the list at 190; China, 143; Russia, 108; Germany, 95; between 63 and 45-Australia, France, Italy, South Korea, Cuba, and Great Britain.
Yes, bringing home a medal is great, but greater still may be the true spirit of the Olympic games
in which one athlete helps out another. It’s being able to share in somebody else’s joy, when they
win a medal—even if we didn’t. It’s sharing in someone else’s sorrow when they can’t finish a race—
which was Suzy Favor Hamilton’s story, found in today’s Sunday paper. It’s taking down the walls
that divide us whenever and wherever we can, so that we are better able to celebrate our common
humanity.
--Sue Burwell