“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 1:4-8
When you want to learn something new how do you seek out information? Maybe you go to the library and get some books (if you’re old school like me), or perhaps you just google the topic on your phone or computer. Maybe you ask your friends and mentors? All of these seem like very logical options.
But I’d like you to consider another source of knowledge that could be more powerful than all of those combined.
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;
He is like the beasts that perish. - Psalm 49:10-12
Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him. – Psalm 49:16-17
If you stroll around the campus of any major university and look at the buildings there is one thing that is consistent. Most of them are named after somebody.
Sometimes they are named after the person who wrote the check responsible for it being made. Other times they are named after important graduates or historical figures. The legacy of that individual lives on in the building, through the scholarship of the students who are educated within its walls.
Eh… not really.
Every one of the buildings at my college had names on them and I didn’t know who they were or why they were there. For all I know they were a bunch of dusty dead folks who were so narcissistically concerned with their legacy that they dished out copious amount of coin to make sure that their name is never forgotten.
Buildings may last longer than our bodies, but memories don’t endure all that long. People come and people go. Even those who are “remembered” are seldom remembered for who they actually were. They become historical figures, lost in the mythology of their towering triumphs and colossal defeats.
So this makes me wonder. What legacy do I want to leave?
The vain, egotistical side of me of course wants to leave a legacy. Remember me! I’ll take one order of that towering triumph mythology please. Thanks.
But on the real, I don’t care much about legacy anymore.
Let’s get one thing straight. I do care about making an impact on the world. I think it is important that as a citizen of humanity I do my part to make the world a better place.
But even more than that I hope that I can pass along the things I have learned to my future kids. Sure it would be nice if they inherited material security, but more than that, I want them to be the beneficiaries of a life lived with courage and faith. I want them to have an example of loving kindness and forgiveness. I want them to see the content of my character and strive to be better than me, and their kids to be better than them so that we can continue to spread love throughout the world.
I know that this is something that I can give to the world no matter how much money I make or how many buildings have my name on it.
And if my children and grandchildren inherit these things, they will be the best investment I will have made in my entire life.
As I read his statements and those of the organizations that advocate for the victims I couldn’t stop thinking one thing…
What’s taking so long?
Like seriously… what’s taking so long here? Why has the Pope not come with a clear resolution and plan of action? Maybe there is so much more under the surface that it would be too damaging for the church to reveal it. Maybe the Pope has some personal involvement here…
Who knows?
But what I find interesting here is that the Pope is asking for forgiveness when he really wants reconciliation.
Here’s what I mean.
Let’s say someone does you wrong and they ask for your forgiveness. Sure, you can forgive them; but, would you ever put your trust in them again?
Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. But it takes time to build trust, and that building of trust is reconciliation. It only occurs when you follow up your request for forgiveness with sustained and consistent action to demonstrate that the victim of your treatment can have faith in you again.
And that’s what these victims need. They need to see results. They need to see that the church has taken concrete actions to expose those who committed these crimes. They need to see that there are measures in place to prevent this from happening again and to deal with the offenders who do this in the future.
Every rational person knows that no single person or entity is perfect. The Catholic Church cannot reasonably promise that their priests will not do anything bad in the future.
And no one is asking for such a promise.
But good gracious… let’s get some transparency here! As people of faith, the folks in the Catholic Church should do what Jesus said.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5: 23-26
They seem to have done neither. If they go and reconcile with the victims by demonstrating their remorse through meaningful action then this will eventually go away.
Otherwise, the victims will continue to drag them to the courts of law and public opinion…
After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel…
After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. - Judges 2: 6-7, 10-12
This made me think of this great episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Ashley Banks (the youngest daughter) decided that she wanted to go to public school. Of course Uncle Phil was against it. Why should she go to public school? He was rich. He could afford to put her in the best schools money could offer.
Plus he grew up in public schools and had to struggle through them to become the man that he grew up to be. The private school, in his opinion, would better prepare her for any kind of future she may want to have.
So what did Ashley do? She switched schools without her parents knowing (kinda far fetched but bear with me here).
Of course her parents found out and there was this big fight about it. Then Uncle Phil’s wife, Vivian, brought up a great point. They had worked so hard to provide their children with everything they couldn’t have, that they didn’t stop to think about how wonderful some of the things that they had actually were.
Many of us have come from troubled backgrounds. Perhaps you grew up poor, and never had the chance to receive a proper education. Maybe you were the first generation to immigrate to the place that you live. You had to learn a new language and struggle to adapt to a new reality. However, through the grace of God and hard work you still persevered and blazed your own trail in the world.
It seems logical to do all that you can to prevent your children from going through what you went through.
That may not be the case. We have to remember that we have a responsibility to the next generation. We have to teach them the best we can. We have to expose them to the best opportunities that we can afford. Some of these best opportunities don’t come from the fruits of our blessings, but rather, from the richness of faith, culture, and heritage that combined to make us who we are.
Some of the legacies that we seem to run from are the source of our blessings. Uncle Phil had to be reminded of all of the good that he experienced as a product of the public school systems before he could realize that he might be robbing Ashley of one of the most powerful treasures of his childhood.
So let’s teach the children about our various cultures. Let’s encourage them to speak our native languages. Let’s fill them in on the successes and mistakes that we, our families, and our communities have made.
This way they will be in the best possible position to avoid what happened to Israel. Hopefully they will make better choices and create better realities in the future for everyone.
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. – Mark 10: 13-16
I train a martial art called Capoeira. It is a Brazilian martial art created by enslaved Afro-Brazilians as a means to resist slavery. And now, it has grown to be a very popular martial art all over the world.
One of the things I love most about it is that it is a family affair. If one were to drop by Capoeira Brasil (where I train) you would not only see adults training, but also children of all ages. You may even see a dog or two. It’s more than a martial art. It is a loving community and a way of life.
Late last year I befriended a special little two and a half year old named Isaiah. His mom brings him to class, and while she trains, some of the community of folks hanging around looks after him along with the other children.
He’s such a great child.
We became friends during our annual festival. We were watching some of the masters fight and he was there just giggling and laughing and having a great time. It was easy to see that his spirit was full of the same joy that you could see in his smile. It was as if everything in life was good and beautiful. He had the eyes of someone who is still amazed by the miracles he witnesses everyday.
I waved to him and he giggled and waved back. Then after playing like this for a while he reached for me to hold him. I was totally surprised, but who could say no to that little guy?
Not me.
Ever since then whenever I see him he always gives me a big hug and a smile and we always play for a bit.
There is something special about the way a child sees the world. It is good and pure and inspiring and so full of love. I think this is what Jesus was talking about in the scripture above.
If we could work on being more like children, to see the miracles of love and joy and laughter and play all around us; then maybe we would understand how to be better people.
Perhaps seeing the miraculous in the everyday will help us to love better, to appreciate more of those things we take for granted.
I’m trying to approach everything like it is brand new; each new day, each new person, place and thing.
I’m going to be more like Isaiah so that I can better see the miracle of life that God gives to all of us every single day.
