TRP #011: The Olympics Opening Ceremony

The right response to a ghastly display

Author

Chris Cirullo
August 02, 2024

Hey friends, welcome back to The Remnant Post!

If you’re thinking, "Boy, I haven’t seen this email come through in a while!” then you’re 100% right.

On April 12th my wife gave birth to our 5th son, praise God! We’ve been in the trenches (in a good way) getting settled and reoriented to life with 5 kids.

Being a full-time business owner and engaging in 10+ hours a week of ministry work, something had to give for a season. So, sadly it was this weekly email.

That said, amid the break, the Lord has given me a fresh vision for how to approach this email - more on that in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Last week, the 2024 Summer Olympics kicked off. This is usually incredibly exciting for most people, as we get to cheer on citizens of our country in countless events as they represent us on the world stage.

Sadly, this time around the opening ceremonies displayed some incredibly sad scenes - most notably a reconfiguring and repurposing of the scene of The Last Supper, originally painted by Leonardo DaVinci.

As usual, many have taken to social media to battle, debate, and express anger and frustration. On both sides of the situation. And honestly, I can’t say I haven’t felt like jumping in a bit (although I haven’t). It feels like an all-out assault on and highjacking of representations of our faith in Jesus.

Until yesterday. I received an email from a woman named Valerie Woerner that shook me back awake and reminded me of why we launched this ministry to begin with. She articulated things more clearly than I would have, so I’m going to share her words with you here:

I’ve seen so many hot takes (and great ones!) on the Olympics controversy. If you’ve been here long, you know I don’t feel obligated to speak on every current event that hits the front page, but I felt led to share this today. I hope it’s encouraging and maybe a different way to see the opening ceremony events.

I’m not here to debate if it was really based on Bacchanal or what the actual intent was, but my overwhelming takeaway was this:

We do not drift into answered prayers. We pray them.

There is darkness all around. And our battle is not against flesh and blood. This is a battle that will be won on our knees, not in the post-outrage forums.

Has anyone been praying for a beautiful display of God’s glory on the world’s largest stages?

It certainly didn’t cross my mind! My hunch is that the majority of the 2 billion Christians weren’t praying for it either.

This isn’t a wagging the finger in blame but more to remind us of what is possible when we pray! Darkness and the world will threaten again. Can you imagine if we mobilized before events happened? It could be the Superbowl or your kid’s little league championship. It could be your city’s homecoming week or your church’s VBS.

God works through prayer. Yes, He can do anything possible and doesn’t need our prayers to act, but for some reason, He’s chosen to respond to our prayers. James 4:2 says we don’t have because we don’t ask.

The Billy Graham Crusades are known for their incredible impact on so many lives, but what doesn’t grab attention are the people who went before Graham. The same is true with big revivals. There were prayer warriors who would set up prayer meetings in the nights leading up to an event or sign up for times to pray throughout the event. It sometimes lasted weeks or more.

Prayer prepared the way for God’s biggest moments of revival.

How do we respond? This moment can be one we stay offended and shocked by or the event that taught us to prepare with prayer. To believe that things that feel impossible (like a God-glorifying opening ceremony) could be possible if we devoted ourself to prayer over it.

Lord, may you help us be people that lead first with prayer, and who respond first with prayer, and help us to believe more deeply that you love to hear and respond to the prayers of your people - in your timing and in your way. May you help us cultivate personal and corporate lives of prayer that change the places we live.

In Jesus name, amen.

I’m going to boldly ask you to share this email with a few friends and family members and let’s band together to be people of prayer. Click the button below:

That’s it for this week, thanks for reading. Go in peace and expectation as we pray for a move of God.

Blessings,

Chris