Some self-identifying Christians make a mockery of the word Christian and what it is meant to signify. Then you have someone like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and you catch a glimpse of the true Christ-life, one marked by humanity not perfection, humility not self-absorption, faith not fame, boldness not timidity, joy in the face of suffering not suffering for the lack of joy.
As is the case with his friend the Dalai Lama, when people think of Archbishop Tutu I will go out on a limb and say the images that first flash in their mind is of a face widened by a captivating smile and infectious laughter. What is most significant about this is that both of these spiritual leaders have known persecution and are moved deeply by suffering. The Dalai Lama knows the pain of exile and Desmond Tutu knew the evil of apartheid.
Desmond Tutu lived a life of integrity in which he consciously held together joy and awareness of suffering, laughter and the tears evoked by injustice and hate, prayer and work for justice. How? Why? Because he tasted the reign of God announced and embodied by Jesus and knew beauty and laughter and joy and justice and mercy and compassion and radical love outlast the ugliness of racism and hate, the tears of sadness, the pain of suffering, the temptation to despair, the blight of indifference and callousness.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Sydney Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. All because he took seriously the words of Jesus: “Come, follow me.”
WORDS OF WISDOM from Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
I don’t preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period.
Now Jesus seems to say to the scribe, “Hey, life is more exhilarating as you try to work out the implications of your faith rather than living by rote, with ready-made second-hand answers, fitting an unchanging paradigm to a shifting, changing, perplexing, and yet fascinating world.” Our faith, our knowledge that God is in charge, must make us ready to take risks, to be venturesome and innovative; yes, to dare to walk where angels might fear to tread.
GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS
We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.
I give great thanks to God that he has created a Dalai Lama. Do you really think, as some have argued, that God will be saying: “You know, that guy, the Dalai Lama, is not bad. What a pity he’s not a Christian”? I don’t think that is the case — because, you see, God is not a Christian.
Without us, God has no eyes, without us, God has no ears; without us, God has no arms or hands. God relies on us. Won’t you join other people of faith in becoming God’s partners in the world?
There’s no question about the reality of evil, of injustice, of suffering, but at the center of this existence is a heart beating with love.
RELIGION
Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.
POLITICS
When people say that the Bible and politics don’t mix, I ask them which Bible they are reading.
RACISM
I am fifty-two years of age. I am a bishop in the Anglican Church, and a few people might be constrained to say that I was reasonably responsible. In the land of my birth I cannot vote, whereas a young person of eighteen can vote. And why? Because he or she possesses that wonderful biological attribute — a white skin.
History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone, discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene.
HUMANITY OF HUMANS
A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons.
FORGIVENESS & JUSTICE
There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative – not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew.
Injustice and oppression will never prevail.
Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion.
Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations.
PRAYER
“Prayer Before the Prayer” by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu
I want to be willing to let go, to forgive.
But dare not ask for the will to forgive,
in case you give it to me And I am not yet ready.
I am not yet ready for my heart to soften.
I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again.
Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentor’s eyes
Or that the one who hurt me may also have cried
I am not yet ready for the journey.
I am not yet interested in the path
I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness
Grant me the will to want to forgive.
Grant it to me not yet but soon
Can I even form the words? Forgive me?
Dare I even look? Do I dare to see the hurt I have caused:
I can glimpse all the shattered pieces of that fragile thing
That soul trying to rise on the broken wings of hope
But only out of the corner of my eye.
I am afraid of it. And if I am afraid to see How can I not be afraid to say:
Forgive me? Is there a place where we can meet? You and me
The place in the middle where we straddle the lines
Where you are right and I am right too.
And both of us are wrong and wronged
Can we meet there?
And look for the place where the path begins
The path that ends when we forgive.
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great stuff, dan.
Thanks, Kev.
Thank you Dan. Katie