Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time B
The
1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin
are
generally remembered for their controversy.
Hosted by Hitler’s Nazi party,
the original intention was that no Jews or blacks
be allowed to participate in the Games;
at the threat of international boycott,
the organizers relented.
Hosted by Hitler’s Nazi party,
the original intention was that no Jews or blacks
be allowed to participate in the Games;
at the threat of international boycott,
the organizers relented.
But
there’s a little known piece of 1936 Olympic trivia
which
has recently caught my attention.
It
seems that two Japanese athletes—
Shuhei
Nishida and Sueo Oe—
tied
for second place in the men’s pole vault.
Rather
than continue
to compete against each other in a jump-off,
to compete against each other in a jump-off,
the
two drew lots for the silver medal.
Nishida
won, and Oe took the bronze.
But
when the pair got back to Japan,
they
had their medals cut in two and then joined together
so
that each had a medal which was half silver and half bronze.
For
the next few weeks,
the
eyes of the world will be fixed on London
and the Olympic Games now underway there.
and the Olympic Games now underway there.
The
Olympics would not be the Olympics, of course,
without
competition…but—as stories like that
of
the Japanese pole-vaulters remind us—
competition
is not their ultimate purpose.
The
purpose of the Olympics is not the awarding of medals—
though
it is right for us to celebrate excellence and achievement;
no,
the purpose of the Olympics
is
to bring the world closer together:
first
by uniting athletes across competitive borders,
and
then by better uniting their nations
in
mutual understanding and respect.
If
strict competition isn’t the ruling principle
even
of the Olympic Games,
then
maybe there are some of the other areas of life and society
where
we need to reexamine our purpose and priorities.
I
think of global economics,
where
the gap keeps growing between rich and poor;
where
nearly a billion people go to bed hungry each night
while
there’s more than sufficient food to feed the world.
I
think of national politics,
where
the focus has shifted from what’s best for the country
to
who wins and who loses—no matter the cost.
I
even think of the Church,
where
conflicts escalate on so many issues
ranging
from liturgy to lifestyles.
But
for all the struggle to come out on top,
why
does it seem we’re not getting ahead—
in
fact, that we’re loosing ground?
Is
this what it means to take first place?
Consider
how that little boy
brought
forward by Andrew on the mountainside
That’s mine! I earned it. I brought it. Get your own!
But
instead, he placed his few loaves and fish in Jesus’ hands
and
watched a miracle unfold:
not
only that there was more than enough food to go around,
but
that, by sharing this simple meal,
a
ragtag crowd come from all over
had
been changed into a community
reclining
on the grass to picnic together in this out of the way place.
“I
urge you,” Saint Paul writes to the Ephesians,
“to
live in a manner worthy of the call you have received.”
He’s
encouraging us to be the very best!
But
Paul here doesn’t advocate a fiercely competitive spirit
where
triumph comes at great expense to others;
rather,
he’s summoning us to a humble striving
that
preserves unity and strengthens the bonds of peace.
Just
imagine how different our times would be
if
we each did our very best every day—
not
for our own glory, but for God’s!
In
1936, a world on the brink of war
desperately
needed the example of two Japanese pole-vaulters,
telling
it that there’s something much more important than winning.
In
2012, when so many things still divide us,
the
world very much stands in need of the same message.
May
this message come not only from the Olympic Games,
but
even more from those of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ:
who
have in common one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Continually
brought closer together in one body by the Eucharist,
may
our increasing unity give living witness
to
the one God and Father of all.
Yes,
we may need to lay aside some of our competitiveness…
…but
let’s not neglect to go for the gold!
1 comment:
Great Homily!
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