On Outrage Hill
As I watched the opening ceremony and all that has followed, connections were made in my mind to a passage from the book of Acts. There we are told of an individual named Paul, who speaks to a group of people about the deep truths of life and faith using images familiar to the audience and culture he was in.
By no means is what follows is a 1-to-1 correlation but using Paul’s ‘Sermon on Mars Hill’ for structure, I put together this piece I’m calling ‘On Outrage Hill’.
Fellow Christians, I see how extremely spiritual and devout many of you seek to be. With all the commentary and speculation on the meaning of the imagery, my mind could not help but recount the passage encouraging believers that we have been given a ‘spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control’. While I recognize the temptation in myself to jump to outrage or to share that next hot take in our modern social climate, I’m here to remind us all of that spirit and the invitation of God into a life that reflects that love and self-control.
The Christ that we have encountered has put these things on display over and over again - by loving those the religious have overlooked, caring for the ones society has forgotten, and blessing those who would ultimately forsake Him. Though He knows our hearts and failures, He never stops engaging. He never stops believing in us and is the first mover in extending grace, peace, love, and redemption to us all. In Christ we see on display a wonder and curiosity of creation, and a broader imagination of what forgiveness and repentance might look like when He says to do so ‘not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’
After the first wave of outrage, we hear from Olympic organizers saying:
‘There was clearly never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. (…) If people have taken any offense, we’re of course really sorry.’
If we believe ourselves to be of God, might we respond in such a manner as this? Maybe with even more graciousness and more curiosity in how we interpret the actions of others than what others extend to us. Seeking to promptly recognize that if the impact of intention causes harm or hurt, we must be just as quick to ask for forgiveness and to repent for what we have caused and extend these same things - rather than rushing to judgement, to fear, or to hatred - to others. Knowing full well that none of these things go unseen or overlooked by God and those who are harmed.
A fuller understanding of the symbolism at play in opening ceremony from religious scholar Dr. Dan McClellan can be found here.
If a woman was being belittled and abused and gaslight about the abuse, and the abuser used nice Christian terms to excuse the abuse, how would you advise the person being abused?