Where is true peace to be found? Archbishop Desmond
Tutu might say it can be found in the African concept of "ubuntu."
He says, "Ubuntu is a concept that we have in our
Bantu languages at home. Ubuntu is the essence of being a person. It means that
we are people through other people. We cannot be fully human alone. We are made
for interdependence, we are made for family. When you have ubuntu, you embrace
others. You are generous, compassionate."
He also says that if the world had more ubuntu, there
would be no war. The powerful would help the weak. That is where peace is to be
found.
A story from World War II shines a spotlight on
ubuntu. In 1942, the American consul ordered citizens home from the Persian
Gulf, for fear they might get caught in the spreading conflict. Travel was
difficult, and some civilians secured passage on the troop ship Mauritania.
Passengers included thousands of Allied soldiers, 500 German prisoners of war
and 25 civilian women and children.
The ship traveled slowly and cautiously, constantly in
danger from hostile submarines patrolling the ocean depths. It was Christmas Eve
and they had traveled for a full two months. They had only made it as far as the
coastal waters of New Zealand and all on board were homesick, anxious and
frightened.
Someone came up with the idea of asking the captain
for permission to sing Christmas carols for the German prisoners, who were
surely as homesick and lonely as the passengers. Permission was granted and a
small choral group made its way to the quarters where the unsuspecting prisoners
were held. They decided to sing "Silent Night" first, as it was written in
Germany by Joseph Mohr and was equally well known by the prisoners.
Within seconds of beginning the carol, a deafening
clatter shook the floor. Hundreds of German soldiers sprang up and crowded the
tiny windows in order to better see and hear the choristers. Tears streamed
unashamedly down their faces. At that moment, everyone on both sides of the wall
experienced the universal truth – that at the core of our being, all people
everywhere are one. They experienced ubuntu. Hope and love broke down the
barriers between warring nations and, for that moment at least, all were one
family.
We are meant to be one. And only after we realize that
amazing truth can we find what we need – true peace.
Steve Goodier
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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