Often when my family gets together and we start dwelling on the awfulness in the world, after awhile my Dad will break into the conversation and remind us what my grandmother would generally say, “Ya, ya, est ist ein bose velt” (loosely translated means: yes, yes, it is an angry world). It generally gets a laugh from the whole family as we affectionately remember my wonderful grandmother, but it also brings to mind the helplessness she felt about what was happening in the world.
As technology causes our world to grow smaller, we are reminded of the wars and scrimmages from the past that have wounded and hurt us. We are also confronted by the diversity of people and places in the world and find out that not everyone thinks the way we do. So, the question is how do we relate to one another, how do we let go of the anger from past hurts and make those healthy connections?
Rev. Desmond Tutu makes the ominous prediction that without forgiveness there is no future. Henri Nouwen suggests that we are all looking for the same unconditional love from one another and when we don’t get it, we strike out and hurt each other, even to the point of abuse and war. He goes on to say we are all guilty of looking for that love in the wrong places (money, success, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.) and if we could accept that God is the only source of that love, we could forgive one another and live in a world of peace.
(Prepared by the Samaritan Center of the Fox Valley, 886-9319.)
As technology causes our world to grow smaller, we are reminded of the wars and scrimmages from the past that have wounded and hurt us. We are also confronted by the diversity of people and places in the world and find out that not everyone thinks the way we do. So, the question is how do we relate to one another, how do we let go of the anger from past hurts and make those healthy connections?
Rev. Desmond Tutu makes the ominous prediction that without forgiveness there is no future. Henri Nouwen suggests that we are all looking for the same unconditional love from one another and when we don’t get it, we strike out and hurt each other, even to the point of abuse and war. He goes on to say we are all guilty of looking for that love in the wrong places (money, success, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.) and if we could accept that God is the only source of that love, we could forgive one another and live in a world of peace.
(Prepared by the Samaritan Center of the Fox Valley, 886-9319.)
No comments:
Post a Comment