Saturday, February 06, 2021

 


Peace and Love 


As signs of Spring begin to be seen, our thoughts turn toward hope for ourselves, each other, and our world. 



Many of my friends and family 

  who have received communications from me 

    have noticed that I often 

      close my correspondence with the words, 

        "Peace and Love." 


This is not just to remember my years 

  in the 1960's, 

    nor is it only to remind myself 

      that I'm an aging hippie. 


It has more to do with an expression 

  of my deeply held values. 


I do truly believe in my heart 

  that this world would be a much better place 

    if we all practiced and shared 

      more peace and love. 


I'm not speaking of either peace or love 

  in a sentimental sense, 

    even though feelings 

      are deeply involved with both. 


Peace is far more than the absence of conflict. 


Deeply involved with the reality of peace 

  is our acceptance of each other as human beings, 

    sometimes in spite of and sometimes because of  

      deep differences between us. 


Peace is a powerful force, 

  stronger than its opposite in every ultimate sense. 


A sense of peace between people 

  enables us to appreciate 

    the things we can learn from each other. 


Without that sense of peace, 

  we may think of those who are different from us 

    or who think differently 

      as our enemies 

        or even as a different kind of person, 

          maybe not really human beings. 


I'm thinking of the opposite of peace 

  as disorder - chaos, and conflict. 


Certainly thinking of other people as enemies 

  can easily and quickly lead 

    to disorder, chaos, and conflict. 


At its heart, peace means well being, 

  and so it is something we can work 

    - even struggle - to acheive, 

      for ourselves, for our loved ones, 

        for our neighbors, 

          for members of our community, 

            and even for people who might be 

              in deep disagreement with us. 


Like peace, 

  love is certainly involved with our feelings, 

    but it is also much more at its heart and center. 


Love means caring, and so its opposite is not hate. 


The opposite of love is apathy, 

  and apathy means not caring. 


Peace and Love work hand in hand, 

  each needing the other to achieve 

    its own optimal state of being. 


The calm that peace can bring 

  is needed to allow love to care for the other. 


On the other hand, 

  peace sometimes brings so much calm 

    that nothing can be accomplished. 


Love is active, 

  and it can bring about many accomplishments 

    to fulfill the possibilities that peace enables. 


Loving our sisters and brothers 

  means actively caring for them, 

    seeking to be sure 

      that their basic needs can be met. 


It may not be easy, 

  but we can desire and work 

    for basic needs to be met 

      for people who are on the other side 

        of some of the conflicts of our time. 


It would be much easier to do 

  after the conflicts have ended, 

    but it can be even more important 

      while some of the conflicts are still going on. 


The form of love that can allow us 

  to seek the best for our enemies 

    is often called forgiveness. 


This form of love is a way of letting go. 


If we hold on to anger or hurt, 

  we harm ourselves, 

    not those who have hurt us. 


In the immediate future, 

  we will need to show compassion, 

    not condemnation, for those 

      who have been led astray into extremism. 


In the United States today, 

  there is an urgent need of forgiveness 

    to enable the healing 

      of the deep divisions among us. 


In our case as in all cases, 

  forgiveness does not mean 

    permission to do wrong to us or others again, 

      and it does not mean escape 

        from the consequences of one's actions. 


So there is nothing against forgiveness 

  in prosecution or other kinds of  accountablity 

    for harm done or threatened against other people. 


Forgiveness means that love can overcome hate, 

  and past wrongs do not have to control 

    the present or the future. 


Forgiveness is one of the greatest forms of love 

  that can help bring about peace, 

    not only for the person who is forgiven, 

      but often even more for the person who forgives. 


As a way of understanding how forgiveness can work 

  for peace and love in the life 

    of a nation and its people, 

      we need only think of the possibility of 

        a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 


Such an official opportunity for forgiveness 

  helped in the healing and rebuilding 

    of South African society 

      in the years after the dismantling of apartheid. 


In the United States today 

  we are in deep need of healing and rebuilding, 

    so the consideration of the establishment 

      of our own version 

        of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission 

          may be an idea whose time has come. 


When some of the members 

  of the House of Representatives 

    and the Senate of the U.S. 

      do not feel safe in doing their work, 

        there is urgent need for a time of healing 

          to help restore peace and love in our land. 


We have been called 

  to just such a time of healing 

    by a voice that may have been surprising 

      to some of us, 

        but whose words came as a clarion call 

          in the poetry proclaimed at the Inauguration 

            of President Biden and Vice President Harris. 


Amanda Gorman spoke words 

  that I will never forget hearing, 

    and that I hope to hear over and over, 

      just as we heard them again today. 


I have long loved poetry 

  because of the power of the words to move us. 


Like most of us, I had to study the analysis of poetry 

  in school. 


The analysis was not one of my favorite things, 

  but I want to do just a little bit of it today. 


*** Some brief analysis of the poem: ***


As Amanda Gorman said in her magnificent poem, 

  "We've learned that quiet isn't always peace." 


In that phrase, 

  we find a summary of the relationship of the poem 

    to this week's theme. 


From the structure of the poem, 

  we learn some important balance of the ideas, 

    from the beginning of the poem to its end: 


The context of  the words, "quiet and peace" 

  can be seen in the beginning of the poem:  


When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We've braved the belly of the beast

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn’t always justice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we've weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn’t broken

but simply unfinished 


So we see the power of this poetry: 


"Quiet isn't always peace." 


"What just is 

  isn't always justice." 



Then comes the conclusion, 

  moving us from the shade 

    into the ever-present light 

      with which we can choose to unite: 


When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it.

------------------------------------------------------------


In the peace and light of a young woman's poem, 

  we can catch a new vision of peace and love 

    for our present and future. 


It's not only feelings. 


It's great power, ultimately the most powerful Force 

  in the universe. 


In the end, peace and love will prevail. 


We can see the peace and love 

  in the light of the present, 

    if only we are brave enough to see it, 

      if only we are brave enough to be it. 


Amen. 


So let it be. 


Blessed be. 


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