Love's love at the Olympics
Are you headed to the Olympics? We can’t all be spectators in Sochi this February, but we can all be present at the Games through prayer! Our prayers support healing and harmony by recognizing that the Olympics can be only a manifestation of the love of Love, another name for God. These prayers provide protection for athletes, spectators, and all involved.
At the time of writing this article, two suicide bombs have been detonated in Russia, killing and injuring a large number of people, and Russian police are searching for three more potential bombers thought to be in or near Sochi, where the Games will be held. I live in Colorado Springs, so the Games are uppermost in my thought as February 7 draws near. Colorado Springs is home to the US Olympic Complex, housing the US Olympic Committee and over 15 of the Olympic Training Center programs, along with two international sports federations and the USOC headquarters. I have toured the US Olympic Training Complex with friends several times—an impressive and educational experience.
Several days ago, as I prayed for protection for the Olympics, these lyrics from “What the world needs now is love,” a song released in the spring of 1965, came to thought. Hal David wrote the lyrics and Burt Bacharach composed the music. It was originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon, and since then over 100 artists have reproduced it. The song contains these memorable lines:
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of ….”
The world is always in need of “love, sweet love”—God’s love can never be too clearly expressed on the international stage, and the Olympics can be a time for healing as this love is made evident. The Apostle Paul reminds us in the Bible that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26 ). Doesn’t the application of this statement rule out any acrimony, jealousy, envy, or rivalry stemming from nationalism, ethnicity, or tribalism?
The Olympics can be a time for healing as God’s love is made evident.
Interestingly enough, an Olympic Truce was established almost three millennia ago at the original Olympics in ancient Greece. It was a tradition that there would be a laying down of arms before, during, and after the competition in order for the athletes to travel to and from and compete in safety. In 1993, the United Nations made the Olympic Truce an official part of the Games. This protection of safety and peace is one example of divine Love’s love being made manifest on the human scene. Now, I’m not talking about a mortal sense of love, the opposite of human hatred. The love of God is so much more powerful. It is exemplified in respect and affection that recognize each individual’s spiritual identity to be worthy, upright, and honest.
This love of Love can be seen in all of the security measures being taken for the games. Putting appropriate security in place is definitely the right and wise thing to do, as it reflects divine qualities of order and integrity. As we individually pray for the safety of all, we can recognize that these measures will be both effective and preventative. We’ll also witness God’s love in a right sense of healthy competition among the athletes—an attitude that precludes any drug enhancement. The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote in the New York World in December 1900 about “the most imminent dangers confronting the coming [20th] century,” one of which was “insufficient freedom of honest competition” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 266 ). That “freedom of honest competition” will inspire, invigorate, and enlighten all of those participating as well as those watching. We can appreciate each athlete’s dedication and commitment to expressing spiritual qualities of grace, strength, agility, and poise.
Paul’s analogies in the Bible so often relate to athletics. He wrote in his letter to the Corinthians: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection” (I Corinthians 9:24–27 ). As we pray about the Olympics, we can know that the focus and stamina expressed cannot be undermined by injury or vulnerability. That love of Love is a divine law of protection for the beauty, strength, and agility which each athlete is expressing.
In prayerfully supporting the Olympics, I love to work with the Daily Prayer that Mary Baker Eddy gave Christian Scientists to pray with each day: “ ‘Thy kingdom come;’ let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!” (Church Manual, p. 41 ).
“Thy kingdom come” is the reign, rule, and control of divine Love. And it is God’s Word that can be seen “enriching the affections of all mankind” and governing them throughout the Olympics with the love of Love. Through prayer, we all have front-row seats to witness Love in action—in every event!