Wednesday, September 22, 2010

And the mountain continues to stand




Just as God showed Moses the Promised Land so long ago and just as Dr. King said that he, too, had been to the mountaintop and seen his Promised Land, so do others who are willing to follow for their part of a dream. It is not an easy task nor is there a guarantee of success. It's all in having a dream, trusting in that dream, and wanting to make that dream a reality no matter what the dream cost.

The mountain waits for someone willing to make the climb.

I've been to the mountaintop.



Dr. King came into Memphis on April 3, 1968 to work with the Sanitation Strike and the preachers of Memphis. That night he addressed the small crowd that came out to hear him, because of a heavy rain. He riveted the room with his "I've Been to the Mountaintop Speech", "Well, I don't know what will happen now...but it doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop...I've looked over and I've seen the Promised Land."

Perhaps he had a premonition that something bad was about to happen or perhaps, he wanted to tell them that they were on their way and could not be stopped. But, whatever his reason was for using that line, a shot rang out at 6:01 on April 4, 1968 at he stood the next evening on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

The man who preached non-violence had been killed by a sniper's bullet. But that bullet would not still the voice of Dr. King!

March on Washington August, 1963

Dr. King and those who worked and struggled in the movement with him planned a major March on Washington to be scheduled on August 28, 1963. Entertainers and speakers
joined him as well as a crowd of people estimated between
200,000 and 300,000.

When Dr. King, with the stirring rhetoric of a Baptist preacher, took the platform on Washington Monument, he mesmerized the crowd with his 17 minute speech which was destined to be remembered for years and years. It became famous as the "I Have a Dream Speech". One of its most famous lines was: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character".

There was no stopping the movement or the rhetoric of this man. This speech and the March was widely credited with helping pass the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the National Voting Rights Act in 1965. President Kennedy and President Johnson both realized that things could not go on as usual. There was a voice in the land which would not be stilled!

Martin Luther King 1929-1968

Dr. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister, an activist, a prominent leader in the civil rights movement and a leader of people. He believed in equal rights for all people and was willing to face any hardship in order to move the movement along.

He was interested in finding out more about the methods of Mahatma Gandhi and non-violence and Dr. King went to India in 1959 and visited the birthplace of the leader who had made his mark and changed the course of India. Dr. King was profoundly affected by the visit and it deepened his understanding of non-violent resistance. He came back to the United States and preached the doctrine to his followers and to anyone who would listen. That visit to India and his study of Gandhi changed his way of doing things from that point on.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

He keeps on going.



The prisoner was imprisoned for many years in terrible conditions.

He was allowed one visitor and one letter every six months and often the letter was so censored that nothing was legible except the black marks. But, the people did not forget. They kept chanting, "Free Mandela". Finally someone listened and responded. And in a free election, he was elected President.

After serving one term as President, Mandela stepped down so that others might follow. But for this man, born in 1918, he did not walk into a retiring life. He has worked relentlessly for the health and well-being of the people of South Africa and for the world. He has been responsible for setting up three foundations.

His life has been an inspiration for people around the world and he is held in high esteem.

He has continued to preach reconciliation instead of vengeance.

27 Years in prison


Nelson Mandela was an African-American in an African-American land. The problem was that the white man ran the country in spite of the fact that the white population was far less than the African-American population. Apartheid became the rule of the day. It was another word for legal segregation enforced by the National Party government during the years of 1948-1994.

In 1961 Mandela became the leader of new party which tried non-violent protests and later took up arms when they saw that the movement was gaining no ground. They coordinated sabotage campaigns against military and government buildings, trying to make sure that no people were killed in the process. But people did get killed and the guerilla war continued.

The suspects were rounded up and among those caught and charged was Nelson Mandela. He was arrested after living on the run for 17 months and was imprisoned. At the time of his trial, he said: "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination and have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all people live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.. It is an ideal which I hope to live for all to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Monday, September 20, 2010

Nelson Mandela of South Africa and the World


Nelson Mandela is a man known all over the world for his struggle to find peace in South Africa. He has had multiple honors.

He became the oldest elected President of South Africa when he took office at the age of 75 in 1994. In 1993 he was given the Nobel Peace Prize. Statues and bridges named for him are to be found all over the world. He has received the Peace Prizes of Turkey, India and the Soviet Union . The United States and Canada have honored him with their country's highest awards. The United Nations declared that July 18 would be designed as his special day to be remembered.

Yet, for all the deserved honors now heaped upon him, this man, languished in a South African prison for 27 years! He paid a heavy price for reaching out to help raise others out of discrimination!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

A Saint Remembered


Mother Teresa did not take her eye off of a goal of her "call within a call". She pressed on undaunted by skeptics, criticism, favorable press, awards, or compliments. She, as they say, walked with kings and kept the "common touch".

In l979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway for overcoming poverty. When she was asked what we could do to promote World Peace, she answered, "Go home and love your family!" In 1985 she was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan.

After her death, Pope John Paul II had her declared a saint to be known, thereafter, as the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. The Missionaries of Charity, which she began, had 4000 Sisters working to carry out her work. Six hundred and ten missions were operating in 123 countries when she died.

And all started by a woman willing to listen to a "Call within a Call".

Leaving the Order for a bigger Order

Initially she was sent to Loreta Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland to learn English since that was the language that was taught to school children in India. It was her intention, and that of the Order, than this novice known later as Mother Teresa would return to India and that she would be a teacher of children. And that happened. But it did not happen for long!

Although she enjoyed teaching, she became more and more disturbed by the poverty that was all around her in Calcutta. She could not sit inside a building, with some amenities, and go outside into the real world and witness the pain and suffering of those without food, shelter, medicine and any kind of hope for something better. She kept saying to herself and to anyone who would listen, "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person". And she took her own advice and reached out her own hand, first, to help another.

In 1950 she founded the Missions of Charity in Calcutta, India. She said she received "a call within a call" and made up her mind that she must leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. She took off her habit and replaced it with a white cotton sari with a blue border. It was not an easy task. She had not expected an easy task but she had no idea how difficult it would be to find daily provisions. Gradually others saw and responded to the need.
In 1952 she opened the first Home for the Dying saying, "A beautiful death is for people who lived like animals to die like angels -- loved and wanted."

Her hands were never idle; her heart was never unconcerned. Every moment made a difference to someone out there in desperate trouble.


Saturday, September 18, 2010

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)


People make a lot of judgments about people by what a person looks like or where that person buys their clothes or works. But God looks upon the hearts of people and decides if they would be willing to climb aboard for a long, uphill climb!

This was certainly true of the person who would later be known as Mother Theresa. As a small girl in Calcutta, India, she was fascinated by the stories of missionaries and vowed that one day she would join the order of the Sisters of Loreta and be a missionary.

At the age of eighteen she joined the Order and never saw the members of her family again! She took the name after Thesese de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries.


Winning the Nobel Peace Prize

In 1952 Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of Reverence for Life. When he finally came to Oslo, Norway, people crowded to speak to this person who urged the world to stop nuclear tests and weapon-making and seek ways of peace. Even the King of Norway welcomed him to the country.

He took the prize money and returned to Lambarene and his work. Some people promoted him as some kind of jungle saint or a modern Christ healer but he continued his work, dressed in rumpled clothing and using his hands to heal and help. He lived out his life practicing a reverence for all life, as well as preaching the same.

A Reverence for Life Philosophy

Dr. Schweitzer decided that he would pursue these interests until he was thirty years of age and then he would give himself to serving humanity and follow the command of Jesus Christ by becoming a "Fisher of Men." He followed his heart and did exactly that going to Lambarene in West Africa where the need for medical attention was overwhelming. There, he eventually founded a hospital.

One day while he was out on a boat on the River Oguwe, he came upon a philosophy for which he had long been searching. He made the phase the basic tenet of an ethical philosophy which he developed and put into practice. He called it REVERENCE FOR LIFE. The basic thought, so far as he was concerned, was that good consists in maintaining and enhancing life, and to destroy or hinder that life is evil.

Some critics thought it was too simple "Don't ever step on a bug".
Some critics thought it was too difficult, "No one can stop a nuclear war if one is headed your way!" Neither were correct in their assessment of the philosophy Schweitzer intended. But, in spite of the critics, or maybe because of them, the philosophy and the philosopher became more newsworthy!

Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)



When God looks for people to serve as his hands on earth, he sometimes calls on the busiest of persons or those who already have their hands in many varied projects. The words "Renaissance Men" is often used to describe such people. They do a lot of things and they do them all extremely well, to paraphrase the meaning of the term.

Such, indeed, was the case of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the ultimate Renaissance Man. His father was a German pastor who insisted that he learn theology and to play the organ from the time of his birth in Kaysersberg.

He did his father's bidding. He received a degree in theology and was given a place to serve. He studied with an organ teacher and became an outstanding organist and organ-builder, even writing books on both subject. And, if that was not enough, he studied philosophy and medicine earning additional degrees. All of these things, he did well.

But God was about to add another heap to his load!

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Assassination of the Leader


But the story does not end with "they all lived happily ever after!" This man who preached non-violence was killed by an assassin on 30 January 1948 as Gandhi was walking to a platform to address a prayer meeting. He had survived four unsuccessful attempts to kill him but this one was lethal!

His ashes were interred at the Aga Khan's palace in Pune.

But the lessons of Mahatma Gandhi spread like wildfire in every place where people were being persecuted and where violence was a way of life!

Satyagraha or "The Truth Force"

Gandhi might not have been typecasted for the role but he took on the role as the spiritual and political leader as India fought for their independence. How did this little man "rev" up a country to fight for their freedom!

He did it in an entirely new way! He was a pioneer of satyagraha or "truth force". He preached a resistance to tyranny, and mass civil disobedience, but to do it in a totally non-violent way! It did not make sense to some people who were used to using brute force to get things done but Gandhi was convinced that it was the only way to accomplish his goal. The people believed in him and his words and they reached out to stand in protest in huge numbers.

He said that the goal of the drive for independence was to convert, not to coerce, the person who opposed it. The Indian people became believers for non-violence because, in the end, it worked for them.

Gandhi got a new title "Mahatma" or "Great Soul" and India got its independence because of this frail-looking one man. And his focus on non-violence inspired movements for civil rights and freedom around the world.

God saw beyond the obvious and found a person who was willing to find a new way!


Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

Sometimes God makes strange choices for people to be his hands on earth. They sometimes look strange or wear strange wardrobes or eat strange foods or go to strange places of worship. But they are willing to act and react when God calls them for a specific task.

Such was the case of Mohandas Gandhi in India. He was a wiry little man to many people who looked at him with his glasses that were bigger than his body and his diet of only vegetables when he ate anything at all. He wore the traditional Indian ahati and a shawl instead of Western attire. He also was Hindu and practiced his religion. All in all, just at first glance, this seemed like a strange choice for someone to lead the people of India to their independence.

Thank goodness, that it was God's choice to make!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Meeting President Lincoln


The book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" sold like wildfire in America and all over the world. Ordinary people began to realize what the ugly face of slavery really looked like. More and more people began to resist the practice and fight against it.

No one hated the idea of slavery any more than the President of the country, Abraham Lincoln. He was willing to risk his presidency and even his life to stop this terrible practice. It did not make him a popular person; but it did make him a person who was concerned for all human dignity. He was delighted to see that people were wrought up about this injustice because of this book of Mrs. Stowe.

When Mrs. Stowe met President Lincoln in 1862 he is reputed to have said to her, "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started the great war!"

She became God's hands on earth to create a pulpit to encourage others to do their own thinking about what was right and what was wrong!


Uncle Tom's Cabin


When Harriet, or "Hattie" as she was known by the family returned to Cincinnati, she cold not blot out the image of families being pulled apart with different slave-owners buying one member of the family and another buying another member. Her family had stood up against such kind of behavior and spoken out about how evil it was. She and her husband had even supported the Underground Railroad and housed several fugitive slaves in their home.

But she had to find a way to do something more to stop this evil in the country. God had given her a writing talent and she would use her hands to show what a terrible thing slavery was to every human being.

In June, 1851, the first installment of Uncle Tom's Cabin appeared in the anti-slavery journal of the National Era. Then the second installment appeared. Harriet watched and waited as the public began to read--first in the North and then in the South. In 1852 the book was published in a two-volume edition and sold 10,000 copies the first week it was on the market. It was either a rightful success or a terrible injustice, depending on which side you took on the issue. But everyone rushed to read a copy about the slave and the cruelty of his master!

Harriet Beecher Stowe 1811-1896



Sometimes it takes a specific incident to make a person be aware of what needs to be done by one of God's children on this earth. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a preacher's child, the mother of seven children and a writer living in Cincinnati.

Then she made a visit to Kentucky to visit a friend who lived on a plantation and she saw something that would make her blood boil! In the space of an afternoon, she witnessed the terrible sight of a slave auction for the very first time. She could not forget the scene. She could not forget watching slave mothers being sold away from their children. She could not imagine the depth of her own pain if she had been that mother!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

God's Hands on Earth


Martin Luther witnessed the power of the printed word and how desperate people were to read and think for themselves.

He wanted people to be able to read the Bible in their own language (German) instead of Latin which only the priests could read.

With the help of the printed word and interpreters of the Latin word, he made this dream a reality. People all over Germany could take their own Bible in their hands and they could read it for themselves. It did not make for a life without struggle for Martin Luther, but he chose to
continue in the storm that his life became.

He became God's hands on earth and he reached out to many others to do the same.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Printing Press makes history.


But there was one thing different this time! The Gutenberg printing press was now a reality and Luther had printed his 95 Theses before he tacked them to the Wittenburg door. Within two weeks, copies of the Theses had spread all over Germany. And the word kept traveling all over Europe! There was no secret to what was said! People read it and discussed it.

Many think that this printed piece began the Protestant Reformation. People began to like the idea of doing their own reading and making their own decisions about what to believe.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)


Martin Luther became "God's Hands" after he was caught out in the middle of a terrible storm. He prayed that he would be delivered and vowed that if this happened, he would become a monk in God's service. When the storm was over, he lived up to his word.

Little did he know that he would be walking into a much more powerful storm and this storm would last most of his life.

But he was not a person who ran away from making waves in God's business. After reading and praying, Luther became convinced that salvation came freely to every person directly from God. This was not the opinion that his superiors wanted him to have. They had been making good money for the church by selling "indulgences" (which meant that people were trying to purchase their salvation with money.)

He did not just whisper his ideas to other people close to him. He wrote it all out (Called 95 Theses), nailed it to the door of the Castle at Wittenberg on 31 October 1517.

We are God's hands on earth.

All through the years, God has called people to be his "hands" on earth for that particular moment of time.

Sometimes those people were needed to do something that would take only a moment and sometimes they were needed to scale a mountain and try to help others to reach to the top of that mountain.

Sometimes, those people missed the mark, or missed the step. Sometimes, those people kept at the task. These people put their hands to God's use!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Moses pays a big price!


But God told Moses, then and there, that because of his disobedience, he would never be allowed to lead the people into the land that God had promised them. Years later, God was true to his word.

He took Moses up the mountain to Mount Nebo and allowed him to look over into the land of Jericho, into the Promise Land. But that was as far as Moses was allowed to go. God told him that someone else would be taking over the job of leader.

There was no replaying that one sad and bad day when he decided to play it his way! Actions have consequences even if a good person has a few bad days! And there, on Mount Nebo, Moses stayed! And he died on that mountain as others moved on without him.


Moses on the Mountain


It is not easy for a person to do what is right all the time, even when that person wants to sincerely. And very few, if any, people have a handle on doing things perfectly and never messing up or measuring up.

Even Moses in the Bible, for instance. He did most things right but he did a few things really wrong. Some of the things he did right helped him achieve fame and some of the things he did wrong cost him dearly.

Moses spent a good part of his 120 years of life leading people who were tired of being led through the wilderness. He got fed up with their complaining and one day, it was just too much for him. He either got too "big for his britches" or he decided that he would rather call his own shots.
Either way, it was the wrong decision.

The people were thirsty and no water was in sight. God told Moses to call the people together and to take a rod and speak to the rock. Instead, Moses called the people together, like he was told, and he did take the rod in his hand, but then he changed the order and he hit the rock twice.

Sure enough, the rock spewed forth water.





MOUNTAINS OF FAITH