"DARE TO REACH OUT YOUR HAND INTO THE DARKNESS...
...
TO PULL ANOTHER HAND INTO THE LIGHT."
Norman B. Rice
Today we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist. At Mass this morning, I was thinking of all of you and how excited we were a few weeks ago at our "re-baptismal experience" in the Jordan River - the same place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ. I believe this was not just a "special" moment, but that God had a very important message for each of us.
The Message: each of us was born into this world with a "spark"
of goodness within us. We may have lost sight of this wonderful gift, but our experience in the Jordan River is a reminder that we need to find that "spark" - "fan it into flame" - and continue to "nurture" it every day. We need to be beacons of hope for others. We need to make our world a better place. We can all do better. I know I can. We need to "DARE TO REACH OUT OUR HAND INTO THE DARKNESS ...... TO PULL ANOTHER HAND INTO THE LIGHT."
We have returned from a country that is caught in the middle of a sad reality of injustice, violence, intolerance, and fear. Why so much conflict and tension in the birthplace of Jesus - a land that should be a place of faith, peace, and hope? Why does God permit all this "stuff" to happen? Why doesn't He do something about it? God would tell us "I certainly did do something. I MADE YOU!" Our Creator has given us everything we need to make a difference. He is with us all the time - we are always in His presence. He gives us the courage and strength to help us make things happen. We are actually doing His Work!
For example, I'm sure we are accepting of the fact that we will not be able to DIRECTLY help the Palestinian people to achieve justice and peace, but our journey certainly has opened our eyes, hearts, and brains as to what they are experiencing. We are hoping that this "global adventure" has impacted your life, will impact the lives of your future students, and the schools where you will be teaching. Your horizons have been broadened and this should promote within you a sense of global awareness and global thinking - skills needed in this 21st century.
BUT what can we do to INDIRECTLY help the Palestinian people? What can we do in our "sphere of influence" to make a positive impact? How can we – as students and teachers - contribute to a better and more peaceful world?
First, we should be INSTRUMENTS OF PEACE through daily acts of kindness and gestures of care toward peers, friends, students, family members, and colleagues. It is easy for us now to care about the people we met in Palestine but probably harder to care about some of the people we walk next to every day here at home. We should SAY something or DO something that will, make a difference to someone who is hurting or discouraged or left out or lonely. Share the love, the joy, and peace in your own life. Be Reflectors of the LIGHT! LET US DARE TO REACH OUT OUR HANDS INTO THE DARKNESS ...... TO PULL ANOTHER HAND INTO THE
LIGHT.
Second, have stimulating conversations with friends, family members, teachers, and students about WORLD PEACE. Shake things up! Embrace every opportunity! Share your experiences - your new way of looking at the world! This will also give you a unique opportunity to further your understanding of the global issues you learned about from your journey.
Has this journey been a "live-changing" experience for you?
When one talks about life-changing experiences, some just put new wrapping paper on their outside. There is no internal change - it's the same person with a new covering. Others superficially change some of the contents and add new wrapping paper - leaving the internal contents unchanged. It's the same person. We have faith that each of YOU are opening up your minds and hearts to take a good look at your life - doing some major redesigning that you find consistent with "who" you are NOW after this extraordinary experience - that you are developing a new way of seeing yourselves, a more caring way of doing things, and a different way of viewing our world.
LET US CELEBRATE THE POWER WITHIN US ALL
TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
TO CHANGE THE WORLD!
Brother Ray
No comments:
Post a Comment