I was planning to talk to you this week about New Year's celebrations around the world until I awoke this morning to the news of the passing of a giant of our generation, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. While I make no attempt to comment on the passing of every historical figure of my lifetime, this is one I cannot let go.
Next to Nelson Mandela, probably no single person deserves as much credit for the eradication of apartheid in South Africa as Desmond Tutu. Rather than attempting a biographical sketch, which you can find in an instant online, here are some quotes that reflect who he was as a person and the legacy he leaves:
"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together." (See my post on ubuntu here.)
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
"We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths."
But lest you go thinking Tutu was a pie-in-the-sky leader who did nothing but spout trite adages, there are these that confront us with hard truths:
"If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."
"When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land."
"Be nice to whites; they need to rediscover their humanity."
There are so many more that time and space do not permit. You might not have agreed with the archbishop on every point (is there such a person?), but he was a giant among men who lovingly, optimistically led us to see each other as God sees us.
Rest in peace, Ubaba.
I wish you and yours a happy (as we continue to learn what true happiness really is, healthy (as we continue to battle the viruses running rampant - that of Covid and that of denial), and prosperous (as we do the work in front of us with whole hearts) 2022.