News travels fast...we were eating lunch last Friday when one of our chaplains checked out the NY Times update and learned of Nodar’s, the Georgian luge sledder, death. Immediately we sprung into action and headed back to our office. I called Katya, our Russian speaking chaplain who joined our team to offer help in the poly-clinic where the Georgian team was. It was especially traumatic not only for teammates, but also medical staff.
One of our chaplains spoke during a recent service about the uniqueness of this young 21 year olds death. It’s always tragic when someone young dies, but in this case 3 billion people joined in the grief. Death is a time for the living to evaluate their lives and consider their own mortality. Nodar’s very public passing gave perhaps 3 billion people this opportunity.
This Olympics is significantly changed now. How could anyone compete and continue on as if the tragedy never happened? In the days since Friday there has been a different vibe in the athlete village. No one....home bound spectaters included...should waste this opportunity. An opportunity to look inward, but also outward to those who may not be ready to face their Creator.
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