Get ready for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, also known as Paris 2024! This year’s opening ceremony takes place on July 26 and the Olympics will continue through August 11. Most events will take place within and around Paris, with some held at 16 other cities spread across France, plus one site in Tahiti—a Pacific island in French Polynesia some 9,765 miles from Paris!
I have loved the summer Olympics since I was a boy growing up in Greece, with track and field events being a particular favorite. I love witnessing the human spirit reach for excellence, athletes from around the world overcoming great odds, world records being broken, and the memorable moments of humanity that delight a watching world. I also appreciate the existence of the Special Olympics, Deaflympics, and Paralympics, which enable more people to participate in the joy of competition.
Of course, there is also a dark side to the Olympics: the mental health struggles of athletes, the ever-present specter of drug doping, the inordinate obsession about medals counts, the questionable process of selecting host cities, the occasional displays of poor sportsmanship, and divisive nationalistic expressions that stoke ancient hatreds. But despite such challenges, I still love the idea of the world seeking to come together every four years for a competition that aspires to the highest levels of athleticism and sportsmanship.
Something remarkable about the Olympics is that they were around when the Old and New Testaments were being written! From 776 BC to AD 393, the Olympic games were held every 4 years in Olympia, Greece. (They were restarted during the modern era in 1896.) We know that the apostle Paul was in Corinth in AD 51, the same year that the Isthmian games took place nearby. We don’t know if Paul attended those games but we do know that Paul (and other New Testament writers) used language borrowed from that world of athletics.
During the next few weeks, as the Paris Olympics approach, I’d like for us to explore some New Testament texts in which our authors apply these great athletic metaphors to the living of the Christian faith. We’ll consider the following verses:
- “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.” 1 Corinthians 9:24
- “…this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
- “…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:1-2
May these great Biblical texts serve to inspire us in our pursuit of Christ-like excellence!
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