91Èȱ¬

Good morning. After sixteen glorious days, the 2024 Paris Olympics are done. It has been a cavalcade of sporting excellence. And as the winners and losers pack up and head back home, I know what I’ll take away: the thrill of witnessing pure and unalloyed joy.

Long will I remember the grin of delight and excitement shown by Katerina Thompson-Johnson when – after years of disappointment – she finally won an Olympic medal. But it’s not just her. There’s something magnificent about seeing that look on competitors’ faces when the finish line comes, and they realise ‘I’ve done it.’

C.S. Lewis famously said that Joy ‘is the serious business of heaven’. He meant, I think, that when we experience joy, we are given a taste of heaven. Whether we’re people of faith or not, joy feels like a vital spark bursting into our world. It is not something that can be confected or manipulated. It just happens, in the midst of people going about their lives.

Olympic endeavour brings that rush of joy in concentrated form. Whether we’re watching archery or something more familiar like track and field, the emotion experienced when someone wins or breaks a record is spontaneous. It overflows from the action itself, and it’s so powerful it can reach out to us, the viewers, and makes us glad.

Perhaps this unbridled joy is a natural response to winning in the most pressured circumstances. Maybe it’s simply a reward for years of hard work. However, what I’ve seen repeatedly during these games is a look on competitors’ faces that goes beyond that. It’s also a look of surprise, as if they’ve experienced something beyond just the simple fact of winning. It’s a lightning bolt of exultation, as if the world will never be the same again.

It reminds me of what St Paul says when he suggests that joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit. For Paul, it’s not something that can be earned or bought. It’s a present from God which can change our understanding of reality for the better. Paul knew this himself in his famous conversion: as he travelled to Damascus to persecute Christians, he was surprised by the unexpected joy of meeting the risen Jesus on the road. His life changed in an instant.

These past weeks, I’ve marvelled at the skill and commitment of the Paris Olympians. CS Lewis also said..:‘Joy is never in our power’, and these athletes have, I think, demonstrated that. Few of us will ever be Olympians, but in giving their all, the Olympic athletes have shone with a passion that has transcended the partisan bounds of nationality and revealed the glory of the games.

Show less