Spiritual Olympics Week One: Carrying the Torch

Spiritual Olympics Week One: Carrying the Torch – Rev. Kevin Anderson

Our Scripture this morning comes from the Gospel of Matthew

chapter 5 verse 14-16:  let us hear these words of Scripture:

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,

but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house . 

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good works and give glory

to your Father in heaven.

This is the word of God, for the people of God.

Thank be to God:

Well next week the opening ceremonies for the 2012

Summer Olympics in London England begin. 

And during the next few weeks athletes from around the world

will represent their countries with pride, in more than thirty six

sporting events ranging from Sailing, Archery, Canoeing, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, diving and many more! 

The United States Olympic Committee will be sending a total of 530 athletes to the Games in London, 269 women and 261 men,

and there are a lot of chances for our atheletes to metal in

one or more of these events. 

AN ANCIENT HISTORY

It is very easy to forget that the Olympic games have a long history.  since the games are all televised now,

and before that a person could hear them over radiowaves,

it is easy to think only think of the Olympics in the modern age,

yet the richness and wealth of these games goes back

about 776 years before the birth of Christ, started in Greece,

held every four years in Olympia.

The games brought athletes together from many different

city-states around the county, these games like today

were held every four years, during the Olympics these city states

held truces and stopped war with each other

to honor the celebration of these games.

This way the athletes could travel to and from the games in safety.

Unlike the Gold, silver and Bronze metals we give to our Olympic athletes today, the prizes for those that were victorious were

wreaths of laurel leaves.  There were also fewer events during those early games, and another ovious difference is that the

ancient Greeks did not have boxes of Weaties that showcased images

of their victorious Olympic atheletes,

Yet we have more connection to the ancient and modern

than one might think.  One thing that has connected us together;

the ancient and modern games, has been in how we honor and praise the victories of our athletes, chronicling their victories

and accomplishments for the generations. 

Also another connection between the ancient and modern Olympic games is the Olympic flame.  The flame represented the fire that was stolen from Zeus by Prometheus,

the flame kept burning for the entire ceremony. 

One misconception we have however is that the torch carrying relay that opens our Olympic games did not originate in Greece.  Unfortunately the passing of the torch opening relay,

was actually created in Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes,

yet when the Olympic games were held after the war, the nations decided to transform this relay into a symbol

of peace and goodwill between nations. 

After WWII it became called a “rely for Peace” 

as runners carried the flame through war-torn Europe.

Today, the Flame of the Olympics is already traveling around

the world, it was lit in Greece, and will have traveled 70 days

across Europe, carried by 8,000 inspirational torchbearers,

traveling throughout 1,000 cities, bringing the light,

the flame of peace with them.

THIS Relay, the torch that travels throughout the countryside,

the Olypmic flame which lasts throughout the event,

Reminds me of something more Biblical,

it reminds me that we are called to be torchbearers for Christ,

You see, WE are to be torchbearers

bringing the light of Christ to all those dark places of the world,

and to all places not just the dark ones,

as we celebrate the power of transforming power of Christ.

Scripture reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the World,

In the Gospel of John, Scripture says that in Jesus,

“was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. ... The true light, which enlightens everyone,

was coming into the world.”

And in the 12 Chapter of John Jesus tells his Disciples that,

"The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."

These Scriptures tell us not only God’s mission in Jesus and in his words but also OUR SHARED Mission to the world.

That when we have that light, the light of Christ burning within us,

we must carry it with us, ahead of us, in front us,

we must wear it proudly, as Paul says in Romans,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power

of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:

first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

We must say proudly, that “I am not ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL”

In our Scripture reading this morning: from Matthew  5:14-16

Jesus has been preaching all around Galelee, and as Jesus

moves through Galelee the crowds follow him, so Jesus finds a place on the side of a mountain where he can see the fullness of the crowd as he preaches what has become known to us as the Sermon on the Mount.

In this sermon Jesus teaches the people about the ways of Discipleship, and CONTINUES TO set up God’s mission in the world through Jesus’s words his life and his teachings, as we learn from this Scripture this morning, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world and just like a city on a hill cannot be hidden from our view,

we are not to hide the light of Christ from the view of others.

In this first part, we learn that while Jesus is the light of the world,

we become part the light, when we have the light burning within us.  We become part of the body of Christ, and in result become a light

for others.

Just like a wildfire, when a fire grows, when it moves,

almost anything can become engulfed in the flames,

anything as small as a pine needle to a full blown tree

can be set ablaze. 

Everything that catches flame, becomes part of the whole fire,

it becomes part of a movement, a spreading fire, caught by the wind,

it moves grows and reaches new heights,

We are a part of the fire,

We are part of the flame 

We are part of the tongues of fire,

As the Holy Spirit moves through us,

Guides us, and sends us forward as torchbearers for Christ.

We are NOT to keep it to ourselves,

YET even if we try, it does not work,

because the power of God’s eternal fire cannot be contained

to one torch alone.

If we really are engulfed in the fire of love which is Christ,

like a city on a hill, people will see. 

People will know.  And people will say
HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD.

The Gospel of John tells us

that we are to let our light shine before others,

that they can see our faith in action,

they will see us be an active part of the transformation of the world,

as we glorify our God by helping others, through our active faith.

Because Faith and Religion are ACTIVE

John Wesley once said in a sermon that our Religion

is not a solitary religion,

that our faith is not a solitary faith. 

That when we know the truth and when the truth lives within us,

We become part of that eternal Flame.

As the Olympic Torch makes it way towards London this week, as the flame of peace prepares to provide light to all those who have come together as one representing with pride their countries and all those that have come before,

“Will you be torch bearers for Christ?”,

Will you take that torch from town to town?,

Will you share it with others?

Will you pass on the torch that more people may share

in the truth of God’s grace and love for us all?

Because our faith, and our Hope is not just for ourselves,

but for the world, and when we are NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
when we wear our medal crosses which speak to our eternal rewards in heaven and when we give our lives to a greater purpose,

we participate in a “RELAY FOR LIFE”,

for lives to be transformed for Jesus,

Let us not be ashamed of the Gospel and let us go from this place feeling that burning flame in our hearts,

 LET US PRAY:
Gracious and Loving God, set our hearts on fire for you,

stoke the flames of your Holy Spirit in us

so that we might be torchbears of your eternal flame.

It’s in your name we pray
Amen