That's reader Brian with his hand on the Olympic torch as it made it's way through Bowmanville. He was able to do the same back in the eighties.Being around to see the Olympic torch pass by was not high on my priority list but yesterday I arrived back at the church from hospital visits just as people began cheering from nearby King St. So I walked the short block to be part of the festivities, wondering if Bowmanville was the only place in Canada where torchbearers had an honour guard of elephants, camels, zebras and caribou. A short while later I walked back from a nursing home and looked up to see the same critters moseying along Church St. on their way back to the zoo.
Do you know that Adolf Hitler was behind the Olympic torch relay tradition? The torch was not part of the modern-day Olympics until 1926, then Hitler decided in 1936 that a relay of perfect Aryan specimens running all the way from Greece to the Olympic stadium in Berlin would send a strong statement to the world about the values of the Third Reich. Despite these dubious beginnings the torch relay is seen in such a positive way by host countries.
As Christians we should understand that the negative connotations of a symbolic act can be made into something positive. The cross was a brutal form of execution used by a number of ancient cultures, including the Roman Empire. For centuries the Christian movement did not use the cross as a symbol of faith because it was such a humiliating and barbaric end to Jesus' life. Now we associate the darkness of Good Friday with sacrificial love and look to the resurrection of Easter as our hope.
Anyone else watch the torch pass by?
I did not watch the torch pass by, however my awesome friend took my daughter and her girls out of school for the afternoon and had an Olympic Party, which included going to see the torch. They very much enjoyed it, although I think once they saw it pass, wondered what the excitement was all about. It is my hope that when they see the torch lit in Vancouver, they will know that they were a part of it all. I think in the case of the torch, it is a symbol of light, lighting the way for the athletes, but I also think it is a symbol of being a part of something bigger, that being Canada. The torch has been and will go through many Canadian cities and villages connecting the people of Canada.
ReplyDeleteI had the chance to see the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 (just post 9-11) and it was quite a moving experience, one which positively changed my thinking of the goodwill created by this international event. I was reminded again yesterday, as the torch passed by, of the possibilities the Olympics represent, both for individual athletes, and our world.
ReplyDeleteI read up on the torch run, prior to taking a group of kids to witness it, and was reminded of the link to Hitler. For the kids it was no more than "Go Canada", and as Nancy said, if not today, someday to draw on the experience, but I was interested today to re-think the torch as a parallel to the cross. I think it was Maya Angelou who said that we needed to face our history with courage. Thanks for bringing that parallel to mind.
Thanks for these responses. Since I wrote this entry we have all seen the media coverage ramp up because the relay has entered the navel of the universe, Toronto. As we all know everything that happens in life is more newsworthy if it is T.O!
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the visuals last night. Canadians of various hues and national origins saying that carrying the torch is one of their proudest moments as Canadians and how much they love this country. Wonderful. Adolf must be spinning in his grave, and we're all delighted.