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In the Middle East, a lethal attack on a football field kills twelve children and the Israeli government considers more reprisals. In Ukraine a new front has opened up in a deadly and deadlocked war with heavily armed drones bringing terror. In the north-west of England community tensions continue to increase following the incident at Manchester airport. But meanwhile a lot of global attention seems to be on Antoine Dupont, Simone Biles and Adam Peaty. Much of the world has gone Olympics crazy.

Is the wall to wall coverage of the Paris games no more than escapism? In part the answer to that question is yes. Ever since the Roman days of ‘panem et circenses,’ sport has been used by some to distract the masses and keep them quiet. But for me, it was Celine Dion at the Opening Ceremony who offered a rather deeper purpose for the games.

As she stood by a rain spattered piano at the Eiffel Tower, Dion had been silent for four years. Her body and her voice had been terribly afflicted with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. Yet from that adversity, she sang a hymn of love. What’s more the song chosen for the occasion was by Edith Piaf, another woman who knew profound suffering and yet who, from her own pain, sang that same hymn of love.

For the Christian, a love that emerges from the midst of adversity is familiar. Today is July 29th when Christians keep the Feast of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Jesus loved Lazarus so much that he wept at his death. He then stepped into the profound grief of that family and, motivated by his love, raised Lazarus to life. As Jesus did that he, anticipated his own death on the cross when, through the horror of Calvary, love was revealed in adversity.

Today it seems that the whole global family is living with adversity. One intelligence expert claimed last week after sabotage attacks disrupted the French rail network that these games were taking place against the most dangerous geo-political backdrop for decades. Two weeks of sport are not going to solve the profound problems that the world faces.

But at the Opening Ceremony, Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympics Committee, said, ‘I invite everybody, dream with us.’ The international co-operation, the close-knit solidarity and the shared pursuit of excellence encouraged by sport all model a very different humanity from what we see in Gaza and Ukraine. Maybe these Olympics can show that, even the midst of adversity, it is possible for those who want a different future to open their mouths and sing the hymn of love.

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