As we leave the Jews of Jerusalem in exile and begin our reading of Hebrews, we might need to pick up a lesson from chapter 13. Did you see the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris last Friday? I didn’t see much of it, and I missed the mockery of Da Vinci’s Last Supper put on by drag queens. Rod Dreher writes about the event and its significance.

Here’s the word from near the end of Hebrews:

Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13.13, 14, ESV)

“Outside the camp.” If you don’t think so, read the Dreher article. If you don’t believe that we’re in exile, read the Dreher article. If you’ve forgotten we’re in a spiritual battle… You get the idea. Paul’s challenge is clear:

This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. (Ephesians 6.12, MSG)

In the meantime, the instructions to the exiles apply and immediately follow the “outside the camp” observation:

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13.15 – 16, ESV)

P.S. There is doubt in some circles about whether the Opening Ceremony intended to mock Da Vinci’s Last Supper. Here’s an alternate view with some good lessons by a Christian art teacher: The Paris Olympics’ Altar to an Unknown God. And here’s another alternate view that explains that how art is perceived is as important a consideration as how it was intended to be perceived: The Lessons of the Paris Olympics Tableau. A friend of mine who reviews culture for a living observed that the director most likely vastly underestimates how many Christians might be offended and vastly overestimates the size of the LGBTQ… population.