Heaven: the Olympics minus silver and bronze?

Jenna Murphy

March 5, 2010
It’s been just about a week since the Olympics have wrapped up, leaving many of us wondering: have the Olympics changed Canada for the better?
Kris Dmytrenko, Gillian Kantor and Fr. Chris Valka, CSB
This past Monday morning—the morning after Sidney Crosby’s historic goal and the resulting goal medal win in men’s hockey—S+L took to the streets to hear what Canadians had to say. As expected, we were met with a range of personalities and viewpoints, but one overarching theme was PRIDE. Collective Canadian pride has been awoken after a long slumber and it made its full debut at the Olympics closing ceremonies, flying beavers and all.
Now that Canada seems to feel mighty comfortable in the limelight of the world stage, we here at S+L are raising another question: is nationalistic pride un-Christian? And so we asked you, our viewers, what you thought.
One of our comments compared the Olympics to the Kingdom of God. Jack Liu writes:
I really think the Olympic games has some resemblance to the Kingdom of God: unity, friendship, health.... May we bring all these to everyday life!
On some levels, the Olympics can be compared to the proverbial mustard seed Jesus speaks of in the Scriptures. In the parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to the mustard seed, the smallest of seeds that yields the largest of trees, in whose branches the birds of the air make their home. This is a beautiful image and surely, “with glowing hearts”, Canadians will continue to reap the benefits of the Games and grow from the experience. Yet, there are some who have their reservations about having planted a 6-billion dollar mustard seed.
Tonight at 7 pm and 11 pm ET (8 pm PT), join Pedro Guevara Mann as he speaks with Fr Chris Valka, CSB and Clay Imoo, Director of Youth at the Archdiocese of Vancouver, along with Salt + Light producers Kris Dmytrenko and Gillian Kantor. Together, our first Perspectives panel discussion will cover a whole range of angles, including the distinction between nationalistic pride and patriotism.
This is an episode you won’t want to miss. Continue to check our webpage and our Facebook page for updates. Happy weekend!