Hope for the Modern World

"Be not afraid. Come, follow me..." Jesus to his disciples, Pope John Paul II to the world

 If there is any message of hope in the modern world for the followers of the Christ, it is this: there is a limit, and this limit has to do with the mercy of God.  There is a limit imposed upon evil in the world, in history, wrote Pope John Paul II as he recalled his youth in Poland under Russian domination. In secret he studied to become a priest.

Despite all our fears, of the human capacity for evil and wickedness, or the confusion of our own hearts, we need not be afraid for God loves. Indeed God is love itself. In Christianity there is the great teaching, the revelation that a being, a creator existed for love, in love with all that was created; this being was Gospel, the 'good news.' In a largely joyless, suffering world of oppression and hatred, the future Pope found joy. In the community of Christians, he felt joy so large that he felt compelled to share; this brought him to his vocation as a priest. He went forth to share this good news. Joylessness turned to hopefulness for the young priest from Poland.

In the modern, industrialized West, threats to human happiness take subtler forms than for those who suffer unjust governments. They threaten the Spirit, the Community no less than overt acts of evil. 
And yet there is the Christ, whose message is taken up by followers throughout the world, all parts of the world, not only in the West. It is a universal message of hope, of peace, of love, faithful love.
Saint John, the disciple, writes of the radiant, burning love made visible in the incarnation of the Christ. The Holy Spirit comes down from above to kindle the hearts of ordinary men so that this love is made visible, tangible and real. 

This love is the ordinary love of the Creator. It is not the love of hearts and candy, romantic and fickle.  "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life..." 1John1:1

I Am Afraid to Tell You...

True Colors
by Cyndi Lauper
Listen Here

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small

But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow

Show me a smile then,
Don't be unhappy, can't remember
When I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I'll be there

And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow

Sometimes we're afraid of telling ourselves or others about what really matters to us. It may at times seem silly, but it happens to most of us at least some of the time. First we must recognize what is us, what belongs to us. And making that real is often accomplished, in part, by saying it aloud to someone else. We're like the lyrics says, afraid to let our true colors shine through, afraid to be real with you. Why? There is no one reason, really. Each of us have many and many unique reasons.

We may be afraid that if we tell, another will be "mad at us," we won't be liked, there is fear of criticism instead of the effort to understand what I'm struggling with, or that change will be necessary on the part of others. Fears that I will not be valued in my realness, that you may even prefer me to be unreal with you...
This last one is possibly the scariest; to find that our beloved isn't big enough or willing to support us in being true to ourselves. Possibly we think that a part of us will hate them for their lack. We might wonder, why are we in their company, what are we doing with them?

Sometimes we aren't owning our feelings or values because we sense a need to 'humor' our beloved. It seems like they just maybe can't or won't accept our news... That is a situation which over time, may eat away at us, leaving us with a feeling that we're trapped. In knots, afraid to tell my truth; it's a horrible feeling that I have to humor you. Playing pretend with you, afraid to tell what matters, what is truth for me; perhaps you will find me disloyal, insensitive, contrary.

Yet in the situation in which all the options seem possibly bad, like telling who I am, it is this place that we must arrive in order to stop making loyalty to oneself, to my own insides, less important or perceived as disloyal to you. Can I stay connected and stay real within your sphere? Do my true colors shine through?