“Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human. When we want to give high praise to someone we say they have Ubuntu. Then you are generous, your are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. It is to say, ‘My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.’”—Desmond Tutu
As I ponder the world’s situation and my own nation’s situation today I wonder… There is so much hatred… there is so much conflict… there is so much violence… there is so much war… Thomas Merton reminds us that the root of all war is fear. Whether that war is an out and out attack such as we are seeing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or if it is the sort of warfare that is waged on the pages of social media or in various verbal and physical attacks that we see today, fear is indeed the foundation. It is seen in the fear of the white nationalist who believe they are losing power. It is seen in attacks on people who “look different” or who came from another country. Part of the reason that Merton’s words remain prophetic is because it seems the world really hasn’t changed that much from the world of the 1960s when he was writing/speaking-out against war, militarism, the nuclear arms race, nationalism, racism, and the military-industrial complex. There is an old phrase I learned many years ago that came to my mind as I wrote those words: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Last week I bought A Thomas Merton Reader, edited by Thomas P. McDonnell. Those who know me well might ask, why? Don’t you have enough of his books already? With the amount of traveling that we have been doing lately, I have missed having Merton close by for reading and reflection. Even though I have quite a collection of Thurman’s writings and audio CDs, I bought A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life for the same reason as I did for the Merton book.
Today I opened up the Merton Reader and the dedication really hit a chord deep within me. In a world of hatred, war, and fear he held on the the audacious hope for peace and universal friendship. Perhaps these audacious words filled with hope will encourage us to live and act differently from the world and thus change the world!
This Book is Dedicated to All My Friends
To the Old Ones and the New Ones
To Those Who Are Near and Those Who Are Far Away
Tho Those on Earth and Those in Heaven
To Those I know and Those I Have Never Met
To Those Who Agree and Those Who Disagree
To Those I Have Never Heard of
In the Hope That We May All Meet in the One Light.
Dear reader, that is my hope and prayer for each one of us and for this nation and world.
Here are Amazon links to the books. Merton: https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Merton-Reader-P-McDonnell/dp/0385032927 and Thurman: https://www.amazon.com/Strange-Freedom-Thurman-Religious-Experience/dp/080701057X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=152CIC7CKJL8P&keywords=a+strange+freedom&qid=1647801414&s=books&sprefix=a+strange+fr%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1
“In a dialogue nobody is trying to win. Everybody wins if anybody wins. There is a different sort of spirit to it. In a dialogue, there is no attempt to gain points, or to make your particular point of view prevail. . . it is a common participation.”—David Bohm, On Dialogue
Verse of the day
But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.
– Hosea 12:6
Voice of the day
“there’s no such thing / as good or bad / there is only justice.”
– Aja Monet, “on asking my grandmother about santeria”
Prayer of the day
We are waiting for your justice. We are working toward your justice.
Sometimes when watching the news I wonder how I can be an instrument of God’s peace in the midst of this fractured world. I find this prayer from Howard Thurman, one of my spiritual mentors, to be helpful.
“Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace.” Teach me how to order my days that with sure touch I may say the right word at the right time and in the right way — lest I betray the spirit of peace. Let me not be deceived by my own insecurity and weakness which would make me hurt another as I try desperately to help myself. Keep watch with me, O my Father, over the days of my life, that with abiding enthusiasm I may be in such possession of myself that each day I may offer to Thee the full, unhampered use of me in all my parts as “an instrument of Thy Peace.” Amen.
The Inward Journey: Meditations on the Spiritual Quest by Howard Thurman (Harper Row, 1961), p.104
Last week was busy beginning with a few days in Florence loading up a UHAUL with furnishings and driving to Mobile where we delivered it to a transitional program for homeless folks. We then had a delightful time with friends who are definitely family at a wedding and then spending time with two of our boys and more friends who are family.
In the midst of it all, the Spirit’s presence was definitely felt in our midst. God in Christ blessed reunions, unions, and life itself in an amazing way. Isn’t that the beauty of faith and life? Thomas Merton saw and felt that in a very visceral way in the following entry from his journal. (A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk’s True Life, The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 3: 1952-1960)
In emptying Himself to come into the world, God has not simply kept His reality in reserve, in a safe place, and manifested a kind of shadow or symbol of Himself. He has emptied Himself and is all in Christ. Christ is not simply the tip of the little finger of the Godhead, moving in the world, easily withdrawn, never threatened, never really risking anything. God has acted and given Himself totally. He has become not only one of us but even our very selves.
Dear reader, that is both our challenge and our reward. By seeing God in all things, we experience the love of God within ourselves and with each other. As Dionne Warwick sang in the 1960’s — What the world needs now, is love sweet love. May we find and may we be that love in all that we do.
“To truly heal this planet, we need the power of community, which is much more than simply a political coalition. Whenever people come together around a shared goal and practice solidarity, they connect with a power greater than the sum of their individual efforts. Thus, they’re unified and driven by meaning, trust and possibility, able to overcome any obstacle.”—Martin Winiecki
Verse of the day
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
– Matthew 26:52
Voice of the day
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Prayer of the day
Creator, soften our hearts, so we may seek to nurture and not avenge.
Our lives are destined to become like the life of Jesus. The whole purpose of Jesus’ ministry is to bring us to the house of his Father. Not only did Jesus come to free us from the bonds of sin and death; he also came to lead us into the intimacy of his divine life. It is difficult for us to imagine what this means. We tend to emphasize the distance between Jesus and ourselves. We see Jesus as the all-knowing and all-powerful Son of God who is unreachable for us sinful, broken human beings. But in thinking this way, we forget that Jesus came to give us his own life. He came to lift us up into loving community with the Father. Only when we recognize the radical purpose of Jesus’ ministry will we be able to understand the meaning of the spiritual life. Everything that belongs to Jesus is given for us to receive. All that Jesus does we may also do.
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