Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: 2Kgs 4:42-44; Ps 144(145):10-11,15-18; Ep 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15
We’ve had a great week with the Olympics. If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us probably overdo the nationalism on such occasions. But even the most committed poolside Aussie is able to take some delight that a French swimmer like Leon Marchand can bring home gold in front of his home crowd in Paris. Even though the French won’t allow athletes to wear headscarves or crucifixes, we don’t get too upset at the gymnast Simone Biles wearing the GOAT ornament around her neck. After all, she is not only the greatest of all time; she also came back from the devastation of Tokyo with resilience and good grace to produce a near-perfect performance.
Listen at https://soundcloud.com/frank-brennan-6/homily-4824
Our hearts are touched when we see the victorious Mollie O’Callaghan inviting the second-placed Ariane Titmus to join her on the number one spot on the podium for the photo after the presentation of the medals for the 200m freestyle, or giving her relay gold medal to Jamie Perkins on the reserve bench straight after the medal presentation for their self-styled 4 x 200m ‘redemption’ relay, making up for their failure in Tokyo three years previously.
Things got off to a great start with the opening ceremony. If you were like me, you only got to see the tail end. But what a magnificent spectacle to see Celine Dion singing from the Eiffel Tower accompanied by the grand piano soaked in rain. After all she had been through with the death of her husband and of a brother in 2016, not having performed for many months during the protracted illness of her husband. And then having been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, this was her first public performance in four years. She sang Piaf’s l’hymne a l’amour, including that most unOlympic sentiment: ‘If you asked me, I would deny my homeland’.
But then the culmination of love:
‘If you die, may you be far from me
I don’t care if you love me
Because I would die too
‘We will have eternity for us
In the blue of all the immensity
In the sky, no more problems
My love, do you think we love each other?
God unites those who love.’
When I posted the words of the song on Facebook, one disgruntled reader wrote: ‘How about discussing the insulting behaviour targeting the Christian faith at the opening ceremony.’ At that stage I did not know what he was talking about, and I have still not seen the footage. I doubt I ever will. It seems to have been removed from all sites, perhaps because of the fuss that has been made. My Facebook friend was referring to the offensive skit parodying Leonardo da Vinci’s great depiction of the Last Supper.
Now, this is not just any painting. It, together with the church and the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as ‘a unique artistic achievement, of an exceptional universal value that transcends all historical contingencies’. The UNESCO citation notes: ‘The Last Supper has exerted a considerable influence, not only on the development of an iconographic theme but also on the destiny of painting’ and ‘it is no exaggeration to say that this painting opened up a new era in art history’.[1]
The Parisian skit in the opening ceremony featured ‘a group of drag queens involved in some kind of pagan feast that mimicked Leonardo da Vinci’s fresco’. The choreographer of the scene said: ‘I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.’[2]
No doubt there are cultural sensitivities and differences when it comes to art and performance of this kind. So I thought it best to restrict my reading of reactions to the French bishops who I found to be very measured and sensitive. They said: ‘We believe that the values and principles expressed and disseminated by sport and Olympism contribute to the need for unity and fraternity that our world so desperately needs, while respecting everyone’s convictions, around the sport that brings us together and promotes peace among nations and hearts. Last night’s opening ceremony… offered the world a marvellous display of beauty and joy, rich in emotion and universally acclaimed. The ceremony unfortunately included scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity which we deeply regret….. This morning, we are thinking of all the Christians on every continent who have been hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes. We want them to understand that the Olympic celebration goes far beyond the ideological biases of a few artists. Sport is a wonderful human activity that deeply delights the hearts of athletes and spectators alike. Olympism is a movement at the service of this reality of human unity and fraternity. Now it’s time to take to the field, and may it bring truth consolation and joy to all!’ So, let not ‘the ideological biases of a few artists’ spurred on by an incoherent choreographer take away from the wonder and achievement of these days.
Contemplating afresh the wonderful fresco of da Vinci which has come to our attention this week, and delighting in those who are good sports in every sense, reaching for the heavens, and sharing their brilliance with generosity and care for each other, let’s give thanks for the one at the centre of that fresco who declares:
‘Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.’
Let us plead with Jesus:
‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
Let’s hear Jesus assure us:
‘I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.’
From 2024, Fr Frank Brennan SJ will serve as part of a Jesuit team of priests working within a new configuration of the Toowong, St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Frank Brennan SJ is a former CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). Fr Frank’s latest book is An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023 andhis new bookis ‘Lessons fromOur Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum’ (Connor Court, 2024).
[1] https://cenacolovinciano.org/en/museum/the-works/the-last-supper-leonardo-da-vinci-1452-1519/
[2] See https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/ncr-voices/when-will-bishops-stop-taking-culture-war-bait-paris-edition
