Christadelphians : Belgian Ecclesia Brussel – Leuven

The Race for Life

Posted on June 29, 2012. Filed under: News and Politics, World | Tags: Ancient Olympic Games, Hera, London, Olympic, Olympic Flame, Olympic Games, Olympics, Torch Relay |

Though some may already look forward to The Summer Olympics of 2020, in Tokyo (Japan), or to Spanish Madrid or Istanbul in Turkey.

This year it will take place soon in London, where the Opening Ceremony shall take place on Friday, 27 July 2012.

The Olympic Flame has been lighted already in Athens  at the Temple of Hera in Olympia. After a short relay around Greece, the Flame was handed over to the new Host City London, at another ceremony in the Panathenaiko stadium in Athens.  The Flame was then delivered to the Host Country on 18 May 2012 , where it is transferred from one Torchbearer to another, to travel over 1019 communities in the UK, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey during the 70-day Torch Relay, spreading the message of peace, unity and friendship.

The tradition of lighting the  torch comes from the ancient Greeks. During the Ancient Olympic Games, a sacred flame was lit from the sun’s rays at Olympia, and stayed lit until the Games were completed. This flame represented the “endeavor for protection and struggle for victory.” It was first introduced into our Modern Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. Since then, the flame has come to symbolize “the light of spirit, knowledge, and life.”

The Torch Relay also began in the Ancient Olympics and was revived at the 1936 Berlin Games. Originally, the torch was lit at Olympia in Greece and then carried by relay to the host-city of the games. The last runner carries the torch into the Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. The flame is then lit from the torch and will remain lit until it is extinguished during the Closing Ceremony. The Torch Relay symbolizes the passing of Olympic traditions from one generation to the next!

It ends its journey as the last Torchbearer lights the Cauldron at the Opening Ceremony in the Olympic Stadium, marking the official start of the Games. The Flame then stays lit until it is put out at the Closing Ceremony, signifying the end of the Games.

At 9:15 am on Friday 1st June 2012 the Olympic flame passed the Christadelphian hall in Ormskirk as it made its 8,000 mile journey around the UK.  Thousands of people lined the streets as Olympic fever swept the town.  When it arrives in London it will open the XXX Olympiad where we will witness a global spectacle with viewers all over the world rooting for their national athletes, willing them on and longing to see them on the winners’ podium feeling proud and excited.

The identity of the final torchbearer is kept secret until the last moment. But for your Olympics, your game of life, you should know your torch-bearer and look forward to the highlight of the opening ceremony of your Olympics. While at the Olympic Games the final torchbearer often does a lap of the stadium before lighting the monumental cauldron with the Olympic flame, you should be running more than one lap in your life.

At the games there may be the symbolic release of doves evoking the climate of peace in which the Olympic Games should take place, but as a Christian you yourself should be the light. You should be one of the many flames in the Christian world which attracts many people, who want to see how you are able to win the race. As at the Roman times you have to win the race for life or be in the stadion with the lions. The flame remains lit for the duration of the Games and is only extinguished at the closing ceremony. But your flame should stay lighted and may not go out when the world-games come to an end.

You should not be part of the heathen games, but be part of the more life insurance games. Making sure that you shall be able to enter the small gate, to see in front of you a world of peace and tranquillity, were you and other believers shall be able to live for ever, in the Kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the believers in Corinth (in Greece) a city which was steeped in Olympic culture and had gymnasiums, arenas and stadiums.

As at the games many receive a prize, but they have to do something for it. We at our games also have to do some work.

Read more about it in: The Race for Life? Ormskirk Christadelphians

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In the context of the modern Games, the Olympic flame represents the … parabolic mirror used today for lighting the Olympic flame, causing an intense heat …
The divine origin of fire made it a sacred element and the Greeks maintained perpetual fires in front of their principal temples. The flame was obtained when the sun’s rays were captured at the centre of a recipient called a skaphia, the ancestor of the parabolic mirror used today for lighting the Olympic flame, causing an intense heat which allows a flame to be obtained.

Official London 2012 website

Olympics Games 2012 Torch Relay Begins

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