A strange blue man, wearing almost nothing, appears in the feast and sings about how wonderful the world would be if we were all naked: “No more wealthy, no more poor, when we go back to being naked.” The lyrics continue with the poetic claim that the antidote to war is nudity, after all, the song says, “Where to hide a revolver when you’re entirely naked?”

Interestingly, Olympics ceremonies officials defended themselves by declaring that the scene was not about “The Last Supper” but was a nod to the Greco-Roman bacchanal feast. That’s what the blue man was about—the figure of Dionysus (also known as Bacchus) who was the Thracian-Greek god of wine, fertility, festivity and religious ecstasy.

So, the naked blue man sings about the virtues of nudity as the LGBTQ characters move about provocatively at the Table and a man takes a young girl in his arms.

Why in the world is this in the opening ceremonies? What is the deeper symbolism? And why is it so anti-Gospel?

Real Freedom

As I explained in the last post, the opening ceremonies creator wanted to emphasize the French national motto that finds its origins in the French Revolution: “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). The notion of freedom is, of course, thoroughly biblical and is one of the highest virtues we could ever embrace.

But the world’s definition (and the definition on display in the opening ceremonies) claims that liberty comes through the absence of restraint, that ultimate freedom means “no one telling you who to be or what to do or who to have sex with.” In the eyes of the world (and this is hell’s theme), the more choices the better, so you must always keep your options open. In other words, “you be you” and “don’t let anyone tell you what to do or who to love.” And most definitely, the spirit of the age says, “Don’t let religious people or principles tell you what to do –that is the ultimate loss of freedom.”

Granted, the sort of dead religion that sometimes parades as Christianity hasn’t helped. No wonder the devil strategized to convince people that Christians are kill-joys and freedom-robbers. Churches without grace have provided ample fodder for the deception.

If freedom means “no commitments” then it logically means, no one should get married and all kids shouldn’t bind themselves with restrictive notions about gender. If freedom means “no restraints” it necessarily also means “no order.”

In other words, according to the spirit of the age, freedom is disorder. Chaos.

But the freedom that Christ came to bring isn’t freedom from order, but freedom unto order.

Only the Well-Trained Dogs Can Go Unleashed!

We had a beagle named Reesie during our kids’ growing up years. We loved that dog. Beagles are cute and child friendly and hardy enough to be an inside and outside dog. But their noses get them in trouble. We tried to train him to “stay” and “heel,” and the sweet dog made an effort. But if his nose caught a whiff of a squirrel or rabbit, he was gone. So, Reesie had to stay on a leash on every walk.

I envied those people with their stately labradors who would calmly saunter beside them, unflustered by the distractions of other critters or humans. How freeing it would be for a dog to be unleashed—to run after a ball and come back to the master! Not so Reesie – I loved throwing a ball to him in the back yard, but not at the beach or a park!

Here’s my point: ONLY THE WELL-TRAINED DOG CAN GO UNLEASHED. ONLY THE SUBMITTED DOG CAN REALLY BE FREE!

When Jesus taught that the truth will set you free (John 8:32), He meant that narrow truth opens up the vastness of paradise and blessing to you. He defined Himself as the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Through One Person— the only sinless Human, the Son of God—there is a gateway to expansive life here and for all eternity. The truth is that we are born in sin and that we under a cloud of guilt until we meet the Savior who came to bear our guilt and shame. The truth is that God loves us and came to rescue us from the toxicity of our self-absorption. The truth is that Jesus has paid it all for us. The truth is that we can be saved only through Him. That’s the truth that sets us free.

Freedom doesn’t come through unlimited choices, but through singleness of choice. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33)

In the pagan festival, there was a ritual of ripping apart live animals and eating their raw flesh and a ritual known as “drinking the god.” By getting drunk on wine, it was believed the spirit of Dionysus would enter the pagan revelers and enable them to experience an ecstatic state.

I doubt the Olympic ceremonies creators had all that in mind as the celebration of Dionysus took place at a table resembling DaVinci’s Last Supper where Jesus gave the symbolic meaning of the wine – “this is my blood poured out for you, the cup of the New Covenant.” But the parody is unmistakably there.

In contrast to drunken orgies, the Lord’s Supper symbolizes the unity of the body of Christ. Paul’s admonition to never be drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit points to the glory of Gospel transformation: with God, transcendent experiences do not lead to debauchery but holiness.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, filling us with joy and love, we do not lose our minds, we gain them. We do not lose order, we find it.