The ceremony that divided the church
by Rev Joe Taylor
Last week, my family watched the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. We went to bed feeling tired but excited that the games had officially started. Little did we know that not everyone shared our enthusiasm.
The Outrage
I woke up on Saturday morning and decided to browse social media (when is this ever a good idea?). My feed was filled with people sharing their outrage at a particular scene of the opening ceremony. A still picture of the ceremony was shared alongside a picture of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting, which admittedly showed a slight resemblance to the original. According to the outraged folk, the organisers of the Olympics were attacking Christianity, and therefore, Christians need to stand up and defend their God.
What was really going on?
Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for the organisers to make an official statement. They shared a post explaining that the scene in question was an artistic reenactment of the feast of the Greek God Dionysus. They even went so far as to apologise for any offence the scene may have caused. Phew! Finally, we could all take a deep breath and recalibrate our outrage. We may even see some apologies from those who misinterpreted the scene.
Unfortunately, the explanation did not satisfy the angry Christians devastated by the offence to their God and faith. To them, the apology was a cover-up, and the organisers were intentionally mocking Christianity.
Persecution complex
I think that many Christians struggle with a persecution complex. Perhaps because Jesus and the apostle Paul claimed that those who follow Jesus will be persecuted, we are always looking for any opportunity to claim persecution.
For example, when other world religions have been given voices in schools and governments, some Christians have claimed that their voice is being suppressed. I think standing up for our beliefs is important. However, when everything we dislike is claimed as an attack on our religion, we are revealing more about ourselves than we are about others.
Does God need to be defended as aggressively as this? Even if we claim that the Olympic ceremony was intentionally mocking Christianity, do we honestly think that God would be offended by it?
Jesus was often mocked and ridiculed, even to the point of being crowned with thorns and publicly executed. He never showed offence or outrage. He was humble and gracious in his response to all mockery. Unfortunately, many responses that I have seen to the Olympic ceremony have been anything but humble and gracious.
The real issue
Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is probably one of history’s most recreated art pieces. Many TV shows and movies have presented their take on this painting, yet none of these recreations have received the amount of hate expressed towards this Olympic opening ceremony.
What is the difference? To me, it is clear. This particular reenactment involved drag queens. For many Christians, this is the mockery that they are so offended by.
This understanding profoundly saddens me. Are these not the very people that Jesus would have shared a meal with – those who have been outcasts and shunned from society by the religious elite?
Drag queens have received a bad rap from religious legalists in recent years, with many claiming that they are a bad influence (and even predatory) on children and youth. The truth of the matter is that there have been countless more cases of child and sexual abuse within homes, schools and churches (often at the hands of clergy) than there have been at drag shows and Drag Story Hour events.
As those who claim to be Christ’s ambassadors, we must represent Jesus better than we have this past week. Rather than being known for what we are against, can we not be known for what we (and Jesus) stand for – things like love, peace, joy, hope and faith? As the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, said: “Though we may not all think alike, can we not all love alike?”
