“Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning” — Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Desmond Tutu led the nation of South Africa into a new world in the aftermath of apartheid in the 1990s. He passed away the day after Christmas. Apartheid, translated as separateness, was the institutional and social racism that plagued this nation for nearly 50 years. Tutu was the key leader who led the nation through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that brought about a new world following the atrocities of apartheid.
Martin Luther King, Jr. cast a vision for a reconciled America, provided leadership, passion, and direction for a renewed society through the civil rights movement. Assassinated on April 4th, 1968, we commemorate and remember this giant of a man on January 17th, 2022; 2 days after his birthday.
The turning of a new year always brings about reflection. It causes for pause and some polishing of our internal compass.
Is your life headed in the direction you desire it to go?
Truth be told, we can all bemoan the circumstances that are inflicted upon us. 2021 was a bummer of a year. It was a sequel to the box-office flop of 2020 in so many ways. It was wrought with impossible situations and miserable conditions. The bad news is this: 2022 will likely hold similar—or different— miseries. While we can look back on the last two years and use the world unprecedented; the reality is that the years pre-covid had similar impossible realities. The years following 2022 will be served up with junky circumstances as well.
The lives of both Tutu and King are testimonies against the circumstances that come at us. They lived in situations with horrific racism, blatant injustice, and infuriating inequality. They were not alone in this suffering by any stretch of the imagination. But these two, along with others, rose above the circumstances and provided light.
I’ve never paid much attention to New Year’s resolutions—my experience is they last for a week at most. I am, however, all for new beginnings. I’m all for transformation. It doesn’t happen with a statement and a sentiment one day a year. Transformation is a lifetime of work partnering with the Holy Spirit. A different Martin Luther—the one our corner of the Christian world is named after—reminds us that our baptism is a new beginning and we are called to return to it each day. This is the first step of transformation. It is a daily returning to a source more powerful than you and a truth that forever beckons you forward. For us, this is baptism. Here God works. Here God has done the hard work. Here God calls us forward to live into the new reality He has created for you.
I close this article with some profound and powerful thoughts from these two giants. A new year provides an opportunity for a new beginning. The truth of our faith and our God is that every day is an opportunity to start fresh and new. These two understood this powerful truth of our God. I invite you to learn from their wisdom. Make these quotes a part of your new beginning. Not just for this week, but for each day as we live into God’s future as a beacon of light for the world around us. Together.
Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes
- Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.
- Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
- Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
- Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.
- Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.
Desmond Tutu Quotes
- If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
- My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.
- Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
- God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.
- I am not interested in picking up the crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.
- Isn’t it amazing that we are all made in God’s image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people?
- Without forgiveness, there’s no future.
If you are interested in learning more about Archbishop Desmond Tutu you can certainly Google his name and learn, but I would also invite you to search for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
