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Hi everyone! I trust that you’re all having a good week. It’s hard not to smile on a beautiful, sunny February day like this one—though I know some members of our community are currently facing more difficult situations than others. May the sunshine be a reminder to us all that our gracious and loving Father is watching over us, whatever the week may hold.

It’s a nice week to get outside while the weather is warm and the sun is shining. It’s also a big week for sports-lovers, especially for those who like to watch skiing, skating, snowboarding, international hockey and all those other events that make up the Winter Olympics. Can you believe 4 years have gone by, and we’re into another cycle of the Olympics again?

I don’t watch a lot of Olympic events anymore, apart from key things like the men’s and women’s hockey finals and some of the final ski events. There were a few years where Diane and I watched more. For example, when we were living in Chicago and going to school, tracking Olympic events was a way for us to feel connected with home and to affirm our Canadian identity. Go Canada! (Our schedule wasn’t quite so tight that year, which also helped.) Of course, we also watched more events in 2010 when Vancouver was hosting, because it was impossible not to get caught up in the excitement with so much going on in the city.

These days, I just scan the results from time to time to see how things are going, and that’s about all I can manage. But it’s still interesting to see how things unfold. Perhaps some of you are like my Mom, who let Olympic TV run all day, whether or not she was sitting to watch, pausing for favorite events or highlights. And it’s likely that there are also many of you who, like me, won’t see much at all. Either way, we’ll get lots of Olympic news, I’m sure. Even now, though the official opening doesn’t happen until tomorrow, I see that the Canadian curling teams have won several opening matches. So, the news is rolling out already.

Whenever the Games are held, I’m always struck by the promotional hype that goes with them. There’s the competitive hype, of course: “Our team is better than your team!” And there’s lots of advertising. But there’s also a certain amount of “sports unite the world” hype, where people talk about how wonderful it is to see representatives from nations all around the globe gather to challenge themselves and one another, but also to show sportsmanship and kindness to each other in the process. There is, in fact, a lot of goodwill associated with the games. I do wish the international political climate was a bit more like the considerate and respectful mood that covers most of what happens at the Olympics. It’s good to see athletes who have just competed against each other stop to shake hands, to speak well of their opponents, sometimes even to help those who’ve fallen or struggled, and to congratulate those who have done well. We could use more of that mindset!

But I’m also conscious that sporting doesn’t really unite the world. There’s a lot of smiling and gracious behavior for a week or two as people gather for the big event. Then everyone goes home and “back to normal.” The athletes may continue to be respectful when they meet at other events along the way. But the nations that were fighting before continue fighting after the Olympic torch goes out. Tensions that were put aside for a short time tend to flare up again. Our world stays just as broken as it was before. We’ve thought briefly about how good it would be to have more global unity, and have seen a few signs of hope during the Olympics. But it takes something much bigger and more powerful to really bring healing and unity to our world.

So, watching Olympic fever come and go always points me back to our Lord Jesus. As the worship song reminds us, Jesus is the “hope of the nations.” He is the one who teaches us, not just to be respectful and to show good sportsmanship, but to actually love those around us and to treat them the way we wish to be treated. Beyond that, He is the one who can change our hearts and actually make us loving and kind and gracious, if we’ll let Him. He’s the one we need.

Fortunately, He’s with us and working in us and in our world all the time. Not just once every four years. That’s good news.

We’ll get a reminder of these truths this Sunday as we think about the final verses in Colossians. If you’re reading ahead, we’re looking at Colossians 4:7-18, and the message title is “Jesus Brings Us Together.” There’s more in the passage than the unifying power of Jesus, but it’s one of the important themes. May it be a source of encouragement to us, and of perspective during this time of Olympic hype.

Hmm. It’s also Super Bowl week. I don’t know how that fits into my weekly musings, other than to say that I’m glad the big football event is late enough in the day to leave lots of time for church and lunch first!

Oh, and one final piece of news. Last week, I talked a bit about the upcoming Family Ministry Forum. We now have a date for the event. Having consulted with various groups in the church, it seems the best date will be one week later, March 1. That’s a Sunday. We’re still working out specific details, especially around how we’ll manage lunch, but we will plan to meet after church and a little way into the afternoon. Watch for more info in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone who has given input so far.

Well, that’s plenty for this week. Have a wonderful week, enjoy that sunshine, have fun watching whatever amount of Olympic action suits you, and hopefully we’ll see you soon. Richest blessings!

—Pastor Ken