News from the Pews

As I write this the Olympic Torch is currently in the Loire valley as it continues its journey through France.

Published 1st July 2024 By Andrew Heron
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When the Kangaroo Valley Voice is published at the beginning of July, it will be in the region of France noted for the production of Champagne, stopping overnight in the ancient city of Reims. On July 26, the Olympic torch will be carried through Paris as part of the opening celebrations of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games. The torch relay is but one of the many events that mark the lead up to an Olympic Games. 

For the cities that seek to host the games the lead up begins many years before the event. Many of us I suspect will remember the announcement by the International Olympic Committee President, Juan Antonio Samaranch, that “The winner is Sydney.” The announcement that Sydney had won the right to host the 2000 Summer Olympics was made at 4:27am on Friday 24 September 1993, seven years before the games began. 

The planning and preparation for the Sydney Olympics finds its origins in the 1970s when the idea for a Sydney-based Olympic games (to be held in 1988) was first floated. In the succeeding years the idea waxed and waned until it began to gain significant traction in the late 1980s. Living in Sydney at the time of the announcement, I can remember the frenzied preparations that seemed to go on for years for the games. For the last three years before the games began, I had a birds eye view of the Homebush Stadium, as the tower of the church we served in had one of the best views of the site.

I have had the privilege of knowing several Olympic athletes. None of them are household names but for a few years they were amongst the best in the world at their chosen sport. One of them told me how they had been training since a child just to have the chance to go to an Olympic Games. The sacrifices that our elite athletes make, the loneliness that they often go through in the many hours of training and preparation, the self-discipline required to ensure that they peak at just the right time requires an almost religious devotion.

In late July and early August 396 Australians will compete in Paris against athletes from around the world. Some of us will adjust our sleeping habits to watch the games, especially those events where we hope an Australian will bring home a gold medal. Most of those who attend from every country will have to be content with the knowledge that they represented their country at the highest level.

I often wonder what goes through the mind of an athlete after their race is run. For some it is the thrill of victory, the joy of standing on the dais being awarded a medal. But for many, even those who win a medal, they speak of the emptiness that comes at the end of their career. Mirroring this feeling of hollowness is the quick fade of glory. I was asked recently who won the men’s 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics. I had no idea. (In case you were wondering, it was Marcel Jacobs of Italy in the time of 9.80 seconds).

Perhaps because of the transitory nature of athletic glory, the apostle Paul writes that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim 4:8). Paul was writing at a time when the Ancient Olympic Games were still being held and although the most famous, these weren’t the only athletic competitions being held. In both Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, physical fitness was seen as a goal worth striving for. Paul mirrors this view, but he also recognises that there is a greater prize, a prize that has rewards far beyond a gold medal or a victor’s purse. Godliness is the prize that Paul encourages all people to struggle towards. 

In many ways the idea of “godliness” is strange in our modern world. In the world of the Ancient Olympic Games, it was the idea of showing reverence and caution towards the pantheon of God’s. The apostle takes this idea and adapts it in a distinctly Christian way. The Christian ideal of godliness is to honour God with our lives, a life that flows from the knowledge of God and his grace to us in Jesus Christ. Like training for the Olympics it is a lifelong struggle but holds a promise for both this life and the next. 

Yours in Christ

Andrew

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