The past Saturday 19th May, I was one of countless millions around the world glued to the TV screen, to follow the marriage of Prince Harry with Megan Markle from the USA.
I hadn’t been planning to follow this.
Normally, I wouldn’t be one to feel some sympathy for families that are born and spend their entire lives in extraordinary privilege as those considered royal, or inheriting vast fortunes. I have to add however that that such thoughts often morph into a realisation of the privileges I myself had in my own life: parents who loved me, who not everyone has; always having a roof over my head, as opposed to those wretched persons roughing it out on the streets; leaving my own country for another was my own choice, rather than being forced to do so by danger, hunger or persecution; and I could go on.
Although I don’t even have the fascination that so many people have in knowing even their most mundane intricacies, I found myself following the named wedding, probably as I remember the other wedding of the British royal family, that of Harry’s mother Diana to Prince Charles, a story that as we know ended tragically.
I’m not sorry for following the event, as there was one part I felt was the highlight of the wedding that I will remember for a long time, and I’m not referring to the moment when the bride and groom said “I do”.
During the wedding, a sermon was made by Rev. Michael Curry, an African-American bishop from the Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican communion. What a sermon it was!
The sermon’s theme was love, which he said was as strong as death, and if mankind is able to discover and control this power, it would have made a discovery on the par of that of fire.
He invited those present: royals, aristocrats, the well known and famous in different spheres, and naturally the millions around the world following the wedding, to imagine, even for a moment, a world led by sacrifice, the absence of egoism, the redemptive power of love, and the implications this would have in homes and families, communities, governments and countries, business and commerce.
He spoke with such eloquence, conviction and zeal that I found myself inspired. He reminded me once again how someone can inspire you even from outside your normal spiritual environment, which for me is the Catholic one.
I started to picture the zeal with which Jesus himself probably spoke with; one which led his apostles to leave all they were doing to follow him; a zeal that led him to preach to a crowd of thousands and the well-known miracle story of loaves and fishes. What has happened to this zeal after his death? Is it enough that Christianity is the biggest religion on the planet?
Why is it that in countries around the world, including where Christianity is predominant, there are people without a roof over their head, others live in humiliating and hopeless poverty, the environment is only protected subject to the economy being unaffected, a country behaves so brutally with those knocking its doors to escape an enemy or to simply ask for something to eat? What love is this?
Why does my own church, the Catholic one, have the highest proportion of cases of sexual abuse of children in its institutions in Australia? Why did its leaders move the abuse perpetrators from one parish to another, which allowed the abuse to continue? What love was this?
In my life, I have learnt that no one has a monopoly of the truth, not even the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. You can encounter a word of solace or spiritual comfort, be struck by an observation full of wisdom about a situation or Scripture, from any person, as you could naturally also encounter the opposite. Who does not recognise the spiritual strength of the messages of people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Dalai Lama?
And for those inspired by the message of Jesus, you can find individuals today including in the clergy who are able to explain this marvellous person’s 2000 year old message in such a simple, relevant, alive and full of love, challenging you to let his message transform your life.
From my side, I have always searched for those who inspire me in this way, so that my weekly Sunday church attendance becomes more relevant. This Rev. Curry would for me fall into this category. May God bless and support him in his work.
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Nhar is-Sibt 19 ta’ Mejju li għadda, kont wieħed minn tant miljuni madwar id-dinja quddiem l-iskrin tat-televiżjoni, sabiex insegwi t-tieġ tal-Prinċep Harry tal-Ingilterra ma’ Meghan Markle mill-Istati Uniti.
Min-naħa tiegħi ma’ kontx qiegħed nippjana li nsegwiha.
Normalment, m’iniex wieħed li jħoss xi simpatija ma’ familji li jitwieldu u jgħaddu ħajjithom f’privileġġi straordinarju bħal dawk meqjusin rjali, jew li wirtu ġid ta’ barra minn hawn. Irrid ngħid madankollu li dawn il-ħsibijiet spiss jinbidlu fl-għarfien li privileġġi kelli f’ħajti jien ukoll: ġenituri li ħabbewni, li mhux kulħadd għandu; dejjem kelli saqaf fuq rasi, mhux bħal dawk l-imsejkna li jinsabu fit-triq; tlaqt minn pajjiżi għal ieħor għax ridt, mhux għax kont sfurzat minn periklu, ġuħ jew persekuzzjoni, u nista’ nibqa sejjer hekk.
Għalkemm lanqas għandi l-faxxinu li għandhom tant nies li jkunu jafu l-intriċċi anke l-iktar mondani tagħhom, sibt ruħi nsegwi t-tieġ imsemmi, probabbli għax ftakart fit-tieġ l-ieħor tal-familja rjali Ingliża, dik ta’ omm Harry, jiġifieri ta’ Diana mal-Prinċep Karlu, storja li bħal ma nafu ntemmet traġikament bħal ma nafu.
Ma jiddispjaċinix li segwejt l-avveniment, għax kien hemm parti li ħassejt li kienet il-quċċata tat-tieġ li nibqa’ niftakarha, u m’iniex qiegħed nirreferi għall-mument meta l-għarajjes qalu “signor si” (bl-Ingliż, s’intendi).
Waqt it-tieġ, għamel priedka ir-Reverendu Michael Curry, Isqof Afrikan-Amerikan tal-Kknisja Episkopali, parti mill-Komunjoni Anglikana. U x’priedka kienet!
It-tema kienet l-imħabba, li iddeskriviha bħala qawwija daqs il-mewt, u li jekk il-bniedem jiskopri din il-qawwa u jagħraf jikkontrollaha, ikun għamel skoperta oħra daqs l-iskoperta tan-nar.
Stieden lil dawk preżenti, id-dinjiet irjali, aristokratiċi, l-imlaħħqa u l-famużi ta’ oqsma differenti, u naturalment lil dawk il-miljuni li kienu qiegħdin isegwu t-tieġ madwar id-dinja, biex jimmaġinaw, imqar għal mument, dinja mmexxija bis-sagrifiċċju, in-nuqqas ta’ egoiżmu u l-fidwa tal-imħabba, x’implikazzjonijiet ikollha fid-djar u l-familji, fil-komunitajiet, gvernijiet u pajjiżi, in-negozju u l-kummerċ.
Tkellem b’tant konvinzjoni, elokwenza u ħrara li sibt ruħi ispirat. Reġa fakkarni għal darb’oħra kemm bniedem jista’ jispirak minn barra l-ambjent komunitarju u spiritwali tiegħek, li għalija huwa dak Kattoliku.
Bdejt nimmaġina l-ħrara li biha aktarx tkellem Ġesù nnifsu; ħrara li wasslet lill-appostli biex jitilqu kull ma kienu qiegħdin jagħmlu biex jimxu warajh; ħrara li wasslitu jippriedka lil miġemgħa ta’ eluf u wasslet għall-istorja magħrufa tal-miraklu tal-ħames ħobżiet u ż-żewġ ħutiet. X’saret minn din il-ħrara wara mewtu? Biżżejjed li l-Krisjaneżmu huwa l-ikbar reliġjon fid-dinja?
Għalfejn fil-pajjiżi madwar id-dinja, inklużi fejn il-Kristjaneżmu huwa predominanti, hemm nies bla saqaf fuq rashom, oħrajn li jgħixu ġo faqar umiljanti u bla tama, l-ambjent jiġi mħares biss jekk ma titfixkilx l-ekonomija, il-pajjiż ikun tant aħrax ma’ min iħabbatlu l-bieb biex jistkenn minn xi għadu li jwaħħax jew biex jitrejjaq? Din x’imħabbi hi?
Għalfejn il-knisja tiegħi, dik Kattolika, għandha l-ikbar proporzjon ta’ każi ta’ abbuż sesswali tat-tfal f’istituzzjonijiet tagħha fl-Awstralja? Għalfejn il-mexxejja mexxew lil dawk li wettqu l-abbuż minn parroċċapost għall-ieħoroħra, ħaġa li ppermettiet lil dan l-abbuż jitkompla? X’imħabba kienet din?
Jien f’ħajti tgħallimt li l-verità mhija monopolju ta’ ħadd, lanqas tal-Knisja Kattolika Appostolika Rumana. Tista’ tiltaqa’ ma’ kelma ta’ faraġ, issib serħan spiritwali, tibqa’ skantat b’osservazzjoni ta’ għerf fuq sitwazzjoni jew l-Iskritturaimġieba partikolari, minn kwalunkwe persuna, bħal ma naturalment tista’ tiltaqa’ mal-oppost. Min ma jagħrafx il-qawwa spiritwali tal-messaġġ ta’ nies bħal Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi u Dalai LamaMadre Tereża?
U għal dawk bħali li huma ispirati mill-messaġġ ta’ Ġesùu, tista’ ssib individwi llum inkluż fil-kleru li kapaċi jispjegaw lillil-messaġġ ta’ din il-persuna meraviljuża li ġie elfejn sena ilu b’mod tant sempliċi, ħaj, rilevanti u mimli mħabba, li jisfidawk sabiex tħalli l-kelma tiegħu jittrasformawlek ħajtek.
Jien ngħid għalija, dejjem fittixt lil min jispirani b’dan il-mod, ħalli kemm jista’ jkun il-mawra fil-knisja ta’ nhar ta’ Ħadd tkun l-iktar rilevanti. Dan ir-Reverendu Curry nista’ ngħid li kieku għalija jaqa’ f’din il-kategorija. Alla jbierku u jsostnih fil-ħidma tiegħu.
1http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-20/royal-wedding-meghan-markle-upstaged-by-reverend-michael-curry/9779990, retrieved 20/5/2018
2https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/world/europe/chile-bishops-resign-sex-abuse-francis.html, retrieved 20/5/2018
1http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-20/royal-wedding-meghan-markle-upstaged-by-reverend-michael-curry/9779990, retrieved 20/5/2018
2https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/world/europe/chile-bishops-resign-sex-abuse-francis.html, retrieved 20/5/2018
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