August 29, 2024
I’ll be honest, I did not catch much of the Olympics this past summer. I would look up clips every once in a while, and marvel at the athletic achievements, but it really wasn’t on my radar.
However, I received a handful of calls, text messages, and emails from folks after the Opening Ceremony who wanted to get my reaction as a pastor. If you are not aware, the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics featured a living tableau recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper with drag performers. In the center of the table was a barely-clad man depicting the Greek god Dionysus chowing down on some purple grapes. The image really rankled some people, especially some Christians on social media. One person described it as being full of “overt paganism and satanic symbolism.” Some Christians were even calling for the Olympics to be boycotted.
I have to be honest, these kinds of culture wars rarely interest me. I tend to believe that the best response to such displays of mockery is to simply treat it like a fire: the less air you give it, the faster it will go out. I did not love the Opening Ceremony, but I am not sure if the intent was to mock Christianity as a religion or da Vinci’s iconic painting. Plus: it’s the French. Kitsch and camp are as French as baguettes and croissants.
I also sometimes marvel at people’s outrage when the religion of Christianity is mocked in the culture. For over two thousand years, Christianity has been lambasted by the powers that be. One of the earliest pieces of graffiti is called the Alaxemenos Graffito. It depicts Jesus on the cross, but with the head of a donkey. And inscription reads, “Alexamenos worships his god.” It was meant to make fun of Christians and ridicule their belief in a crucified Savior.
So, why are we ever surprised when faith is ridiculed or mocked? After all, didn’t Jesus tell his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
Mocking Christianity has been in vogue for a long time. And how we choose to respond to it can greatly demonstrate our faith. When we meet the world’s ridicule with red-faced outrage and vitriolic responses, I tend to think that only fuels the fire. However, if we meet the world’s ridicule with a shrug, a yawn, and a moving-on-with-our-lives I think that speaks of the confidence we have in what we believe.
Again, the words of Jesus are instructive to us: “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
So, the next time someone in culture chooses to make fun of our faith, don’t be surprised. Just shrug, say a prayer for them, and move on. After all, we have much more important things to do with our time.
