Hello,
I’ve been watching the Olympics this past week, and I find myself
marveling at the things I have been seeing. Volleyballs travelling at speeds nearing the speed of
light. Swimmers slicing through
water faster than hungry sharks. Runners
sprinting like planes roaring down a runway preparing for takeoff. Gymnasts spinning like air-born
tops. A 54 year old ping pong
player with the reaction time of a striking snake.
It is amazing what people can do when they dedicate themselves to
something, and dedication is the name of the game for those who gather under
the 5 Olympic rings.
Interestingly enough, this year the Olympians are not only gathering
under interlocking rings, but they are taking their place under the
outstretched arms of Christ the Redeemer statue of Rio. It stands on top of a mountain, 2/3 the
size of the Statue of Liberty, finished in 1931 and with its outstretched arms
it is meant to be a symbol of peace.
It is listed as one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. Like the feats of the athletes that
perform underneath it, its construction is a testimony to the dedication of
people.
But more than that, those freely raised outstretched arms remind me of
when those same arms were raised by others and nailed outstretched on a cross. Talk about dedication. Dedicated athletes train endlessly and
sacrifice their time. Dedicated
statue builders trek their way up mountains pay the sacrifice of aching muscles
and bruised bones. But the
dedication of God to his relationship with those whom he created in his image
led God to sacrifice even His Son.
One can understand what would lead an athlete to sacrifice for the sake
of wearing the claim of being the best in the world around their neck. One can understand what would lead an
artist to sacrifice for the sake of placing their artwork where it would be
seen by everyone. But when I look
at myself in the mirror, I find it hard to see what it is in me that would lead
God to sacrifice His Son….but that is what God did.
“Fact is,” God says as Jesus hung on the cross, “I see in you what you
don’t see. You see in you the
product of your hands…..I see in you the product of my hands.”
Maybe one way to look at the life of the Christian faith is the coming
to see one’s self and others not as the product of human hands, but as the
product of divine hands…..hands that shaped us in God’s image….hands that were
nailed to the cross to nail God’s claim on us….hands that lift us clean out of
the waters of Baptism…hands that invite us to be fed on the pure grace of
Jesus….and hands that will take hold of us and steal us away from death and
lead us to the place in eternity that he has prepared for us with his
hands. And as we thus see
ourselves and others, might we not then treat ourselves and others in like
manner….more forgiving, more caring, more understanding and more loving.
These summer Olympics may bring me to marvel what determined people are
willing to sacrifice and the accomplishments that brings them, but that
amazement pales when I marvel at the sacrifice that God has made in His Son and
the accomplishments that God is determined to make in my life. Yours, too.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,(ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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