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Every year, September 21st is a day to remember. While there are 365 days in a year, each day presents us with different opportunities. That day I reflected on the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations Assembly declaring the day the annual International Day of Word Peace. The theme this year was Peace among Races. There are many events around the world to mark the occasion and create awareness of the Power of Peace. Some are large and some are small events. Everyone was asked to have a moment of silence at noon in their towns across the world...
The first week in August, 1945, I was downtown in Seattle when it was announced that Japan had surrendered following the dropping of the atom bomb. Seattle’s streets were filled with people going wild with joy. People were jumping on police cars and fire trucks. Those in uniform were especially joyful. One Seattle man was extremely sad as he reflected on the effects of the bomb. Children in classrooms looked out of the windows at the bright lights from the bomb and, in a few seconds, they were incinerated. People looked for water to deal with t...
I’ve experienced some of the upsets that America faced over sixty years ago. It was 1960, a presidential election year. Richard Nixon was the Republican candidate and John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, was the Democrat. The foundation for the election and for daily life was spelled out in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We mu...
For many years there was a Skagit County 300-acre dairy farm owned by a couple with a family. As the couple grew older, they decided to sell the farm. There was a man in Seattle who was interested in the purchase of a farm. His name was Rabbi Raphael Levine of Temple de Hirsch. He was born in Lithuania. When he enrolled in school he was mocked and insulted for being Jewish. About age seven he and his family immigrated to America. Then he went to school and experienced the same insults and mockery for being Jewish as he did in Lithuania. The you...
The dictionary, in its definitions of family, includes “all those descended from a common ancestor.” During my years as a priest I have become acquainted with hundreds and hundreds of families. Many were happy and united. Others were devastated by the death of a parent, by illness, financial needs, by alcohol or drugs. What inspired me was how some families coped with problems. The family members all joined in caring for an elderly parent or caring for a sick member for whatever reason. Much depends on everyone according to the family in whi...
I offer a unique idea for bringing about peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The idea is based on an incident in World War II. It was told to me by a German priest, Bernard Haring. He was serving in the medical corps in the German army when the German troops began to retreat from Russia. He was assigned to care for three severely wounded German soldiers. To add to his problems, the temperature was way below zero. He came to a Russian farmhouse and decided to seek shelter. He knocked at the door and the owner appeared and saw the Germans...
I read with great interest the article of March 22,2021 in The Seattle Times. The headline said, “A Christian Vision of Social Justice.” From previous columns I had learned that the writer, David Brooks, is of the Jewish faith but is very ecumenical, as the article indicates. His approach for division “is based on the idea that we are all made in the image of God. It abhors any attempt to dehumanize anybody on any front.” He then tells us, “Christian social justice emphasizes the importance of memory. Today, many Americans are trying to tell t...
One of the greatest stories of reverence for life is found in the Jewish scriptures, in Chapter 2 of Exodus. Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, gave an order to all Egyptian subjects. “Throw into the river every boy who is born to the Hebrews but let the girls live.” A woman with a son hid him for three months from the pharaoh’s decree. Then she placed him in a basket, daubed with bitumen and pitch. She released him on the River Nile hoping some mother might help him. The boy’s sister remained close to the river to see what would happen. Pharaoh...
One day as Jesus was preaching in Galilee to the apostles, as recorded in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 10, an unusual event must have taken place. A sparrow must have flown past or rested on the branch of a tree and drawn the attention of Jesus. He said, “Are not two sparrows sold for next to nothing, yet not one falls to the ground without your Father’s consent?” He had spoken about difficult days ahead for the apostles. They would be imprisoned, beaten and betrayed, even by family members, because of their devotion to Jesus. These words must ha...
The dictionary describes tenderness as being acutely sensitive to pain and the feelings of others. Pope Francis, in his new message to all people, said, “Tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women.” America presents us many examples of such people. One is Abraham Lincoln, who said, “I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man’s bosom.” His whole life revealed great tenderness. After the civil war he declared, “Rebel leaders need not expect he would take any part in hanging or killing even the worst o...
The word ubuntu comes from the Bantu tribe of South Africa. It was introduced into general use by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and prioritizes inclusivity over exclusivity, community over competition, hospitality over hostility, dialogue over confrontation, and respect over domination. A few years ago, when the archbishop visited Seattle, I was privileged to have a scheduled meeting with students from the University of Washington with Archbishop Tutu presiding. He reminded the students of the difficulties he experienced with the education of his...
After spending years in Jewish-Christian dialogue I am heartbroken at the article in the Seattle Times of Sept. 28, 2019. It told that in Seattle there has been “almost 400 percent increase in hate crimes since 2012 – impacting Jews and other minorities.” The Jewish people represent the only national people forced into worldwide different areas for two thousand years and then reassembled to establish their nation along democratic lines. The Jewish people experienced the worst inhumanity and cruelty in history but they also give us lives t...
