All God's People
Since my return from vacation, there has been a great deal of conversation regarding this year's Olympic Games, especially the opening ceremonies. What do you think Phelps will do this year?…Are you a Lockte fan or Phelps?…Why do men's beach volley ball uniforms cover so much skin and the women's look like less than underwear?…I was so proud to see Anthony Davis and Carlos Almeida and know they have KY roots…Did you see how many athletes have KY ties?…What did you think of the opening ceremonies?…Did you get it?…I loved the nod to Britain's contributions to children's literature…Their costumes weren't very inspiring…I got chills when they offered up the moment of silence for those who sacrificed their lives in WWII…The forging of the rings was amazing…The fireworks probably cost a pretty penny…Can you believe they had the Queen as a Bond-girl!…that was hilarious…
My ultimate favorite part of this year's opening ceremonies has to be the lighting of the torch. Don't get me wrong, I really love all of it, but this year's method of lighting really touched me deeply. As the athletes paraded in, I often wondered and even asked Bob if he knew what those kids were carrying. I later learned they were copper cauldrons that were laid at the point of ignition. For so many years there is always great speculation by the public as to who would be chosen to light the cauldron. Great pomp and circumstance always surrounds carrying the torch to each destination and much is given on each person who carries a piece of the flame along its journey to each Olympic Games. Bravo London! Having Britain's young athletes (who also represented a good degree of human diversity) come to the cauldron and add flames to each copper vessel that represented each participating nation and for those flames to rise into the air and join as one flame burning brightly for the world to see…in this one moment in time…we are ONE! It literally brought tears to my eyes.
Oh, if only we could become ONE. As I watch bits and pieces of this year's events, I still think back to that visual moment in the opening ceremonies and long for a world where God's people truly come together as one…putting aside differences of race…religion…ethnic backgrounds…sexual orientation…political affiliation…gender…social class…economic status…etc…etc. The list of things that separate us could go on forever. Let's start making a list of all the things that bring us together…we can start with the games. Our humanity…Our love for those important people in our lives…Our struggles to survive day to day…Our joys over life's triumphs…A belief in something greater than ourselves…A yearning to be loved by another…Our longing for enough…A table that welcomes ALL.
Thankfully, you and I can say we can appreciate each of these uniting categories. Maya Angelou has a beautiful poem called the Human Family where she states…
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
​I love this year's cauldron, because to me it epitomizes this statement…"We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." Thank God we have a table at our place for ALL.
Blessings,
Tracy