July 22, 2012
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
I like to watch the Olympics! How many of you are going to watch the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXX Olympiad this Friday night? Once every four years, athletes around the world come together to compete for their countries. The 2012 Summer Olympic Games that will be held in London will be the 30th set of modern summer games that began in 1896. And London now holds the distinction of being the first city to host the modern games three times, having previously held them in 1908 and 1948.
As a short-distance runner in high school mainly running away from other school kids and a recreational tennis player with a few handicaps, I like the summer games more than the winter games. Before the start of the competition, let’s see if you can answer these important Olympic questions:
Q: Why isn’t sun-tanning an Olympic sport?
A: Because the best you can ever get is bronze.
Q: Why did they send the Olympic judge out in search of the lost wedding ring?
A: Because he was a “medal detector.”
Q: Why does the Olympic torch always start in Olympia?
A: Because it’s hard to put out a “Greece fire.”
Yes, I admit these are pretty corny but I would wager that many of you are going to use them with your friends this week.
One of the reasons why I like the Olympics is the games are serious attempt to show the possibility of peace between races, cultures, and nations. At the very least, they’re an important demonstration of how diverse people can work and play together harmoniously.
From aquatics to archery to weightlifting and wrestling, the goal is to compete fiercely…but not kill each other. Whether athletes are playing men’s basketball or women’s water polo, they are to conduct themselves with “Olympic spirit,” which elevates participation over winning, peace over conflict.
A few years ago at a church staff retreat, it was during the summer Olympics. Since we were away at this secluded retreat center and no way to watch the games, the topic came up about how the games were going and how many medals each country has accumulated. And it was a big surprise to me that within our church staff, we have members who were cheering for China and others for the good, old USA. The games revealed in us where our loyalties were and how fear, misunderstandings and maybe conflict can lie when we see the world from different vantage points. How about the recent uproar about the USA team uniforms designed by American designer Ralph Lauren but made in China! The USA Olympic Committee has already announced that the 2014 uniforms will be manufactured in the US.
Peace is an elusive prize. Perhaps true peace cannot be found at the XXX Olympiad. Perhaps it requires a single X—the monogram of Jesus the Christ.
Ephesus
When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he was addressing a group of Greeks who knew a thing or two about the Olympic spirit—the spirit of the ancient Olympic games.
Located on the west coast of what is now Turkey, Ephesus was a Greek city that existed for hundreds of years before being swallowed up the Roman Empire. Under the rule of the Emperor Augustus, it became the capital of a Roman province in Asia. It grew into a prominent, prosperous and powerful city—second only to the city of Rome—and expanded over the course of the first century until it reached a population of between 400,000 and 500,000 people.
Ephesus was more like the London of Roman Asia. If you watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics this Friday night, imagine Ephesus. The city had an open-air theatre that could hold 25,000 people. Dramatic productions were certainly staged there, but also gladiator combats.
All of this history sets the stage for Paul’s letter, which is written to Ephesian Christians living among the rich and proud residents of a major capital city. The people of this city had money and power and influence, like many of the people who will be gathering in London this week for the Olympics. A city almost has to be affluent to be awarded the prize to host the games.
Paul reminds the Christians, often poor and marginalized, that worldly success leaves one feeling empty, without a sense of inner peace. In Ephesus, they had the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. But what has the goddess Artemis done for them lately? And the Roman emperor himself is considered a god, but he’s better at demanding taxes than giving assistance. Some of the Ephesians have heard of a powerful God worshiped by the Jews, but they know that Jews practice circumcision—at the very least, this is a painful deterrent to conversion.
Paul knows this about the Ephesians, so he writes to the Christians living there: “Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (2:11-12).
Even though the Ephesians in this cosmopolitan city were people who had money and power and influence, they felt cut off from a relationship with God. Paul reminds his readers that at one time they were without Christ, aliens and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus they who were once far away are now brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ. Think about it, what good is money, power or influence if you have no relationship with God? What good is a gold medal at the XXX Olympics if you have no hope or God in your life? Maybe a medal, any medal might make you feel good for the moment but nothing material can bring you lasting peace and joy to the soul. Rather than the three XXX in the XXX Olympics, all you need is a single X—Jesus the Christ.
The X Factor
The solution that Paul offers the Ephesians is that now in Christ Jesus they were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. He writes, “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us (vv. 13-15).
When people come together in London from different races, cultures and nationalities, peace is not going to be found in a spectacular opening ceremony or even at the closing ceremonies. Even if we have a well-planned out worship service, peace is not necessarily present.
Real peace requires Jesus, according to Paul. In his flesh Jesus makes different groups into one, and breaks down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between them. Like the X that forms his monogram, the Greek letter for Christ, he brings two lines together and unites them.
X marks the spot where reconciliation happens.
Gaining the peace of Christ is not a human achievement, like making it into the Olympics. It is Christ’s accomplishment, not ours. Our challenge is not to earn him or deserve him, like a cherished gold medal. Instead, it is to accept him as a gift from God.
This is hard for us because we’re an achievement-oriented nation. We honor our Olympic athletes because they work so incredibly hard, training and competing and perfecting their skills for years and years. But the prize of peace with God is based on Christ’s achievement, not ours.
Olympic peace comes through an Olympic Jesus, an Olympic Savior. When we put our faith in him, we are invited to join him on the gold-medal platform.
Ping Pong Diplomacy
As we know, China is now a leading trading partner for the United States—think about this year’s Olympic uniforms made in China. But not long ago, during the regime of Mao Zedong, the two countries were barely on speaking terms. A friendship between two athletes, described by the press as “Ping Pong Diplomacy,” had a major role in initiating the thaw.
During the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, in 1971, American player Glenn Cowan missed his bus from the training area back to the athletes’ housing. A Chinese player waved to him to board the Chinese team’s bus. The Chinese star player, Zhuang Zedong arose from his back seat and went forward to sit with the American. Rejecting curios like a pin picturing Chairman Mao, he offered him a silk-screened picture of the famed Huangshan Mountains.
Rummaging through his athletic bag, all Cowan could come up with to offer, in return, was a comb. “I can’t give you a comb,” he apologized, through an interpreter. “I wish I could give you something, but I can’t.” (Cowan later bought a T-shirt with red, white, and blue peace-emblem flag with the words “Let It be,” which he presented to Zedong a few days later.)
Disembarking from the bus, the athletes were met by photographers and reporters who were astounded at the sight of an American and a Communist Chinese athlete together, in apparent friendship. When a journalist asked Cowan if he’d like to visit China, he replied that he would.
Although the Chinese foreign office later overruled a suggestion that an invitation be extended to the U.S. Table Tennis team to visit China, the decision was soon reversed by Chairman Mao himself, who had heard the report of the two athletes’ friendship. He reportedly said, “This Zhuang Zedong not only plays table tennis well, but is good at foreign affairs, and he has a mind for politics.”
In April 1971, nine American players, four officials, and two spouses toured China, an event that heralded a thaw in relationships between the United States and China that has continued since.
Olympian Jesus
While our country’s relationship with China is now better than anytime in recent history, it is still temporary. But what Christ did as an Olympian Savior will last forever. So just exactly what did Christ do in his record-breaking performance?
First, he abolished an on old way of life, one that was filled with hostility between people. Paul tells us that Jesus “has abolished the law…that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it” (15-16). As a diverse group of people at the foot of the cross, we can now look up together as one body, grateful for the sacrifice that was made by Christ with his one body.
Second, Jesus opened a door for us, giving us access to God. “So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far and peace to those who were near,” says Paul; “for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father” (vv17-18). The Ephesians knew how difficult it was to have access to the Roman emperor or to have peace with him. But now they have the good news that we all have access to the highest of powers, Almighty God!
Third, Christ made us part of a structure more glorious than the Ephesians’ Temple of Artemis. Paul says that we are “members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (vv. 19-21). Each one of us is a building block in this sacred temple, a structure made out of people of every race, culture and nationality. With Christ as our cornerstone, we stand strong as “a dwelling place for God” (v. 22).
This means that when your church staff may be rooting for different countries during the Olympic games, we are still joined together and growing together with all of you into a holy temple in the Lord, the body of Christ on earth.
It’s Olympic Jesus who is the X factor that gives us lasting peace. Together we stand as one people in peace at the foot of the cross. We have access to the Almighty God. We are joined together as a holy temple, people of all racial, cultural, and national backgrounds united in faith.
Let’s give Jesus the gold.
Let us pray.
Olympic Jesus, in your act of grace and unconditional love, you have unified us together as your beloved people. Equip us and train us to become your ambassadors of peace and justice as we serve you in our faithful words and life-changing deeds in this world. Lead us to treat every alien, every stranger, every immigrant, every forgotten person as your friends so that we may begin to build a strong foundation of trust and reconciliation in this world that is in such desperate need of a Savior. We pray these things knowing that you are that Lord and Savior. Amen.