In the presencer of greatness
28/06/13 05:21
It is easy to think that the great people – leaders who changed the course of history, artists whose creations fill museums, musicians who composed songs for all centuries, and religious leaders who took a stand for their faith – that all of those people are relegated to history. We tend to think that the great ones came along before our time.
There are great people whose lives influenced us. Of course we can list the names of Biblical ancestors of faith whose stories our people have been telling thousands of years: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Elijah and Elisha, Jeremiah and Isaiah, Amos and Micah, Jesus and Paul and so many others. But we have also been taught about the incredible period of history in which the great founding documents of our nation were forged. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution came from an amazing time in the history of the world. Greatness emerged in so many characters of those days: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hancock and so many others. And their way was paved buy the religious pioneers who came to this land: Robinson and Bradford and Smith. They followed in the footsteps of the great reformers: Luther and Calvin and Zwingli.
In the world of music we wonder what it might have been like to hear Bach at the console of a mighty pipe organ or Mozart at the keyboard of a pianoforte. We imagine Schumann at the keyboard or Strauss conducting a waltz in front of an orchestra in Vienna. We are grateful for the classical music that has survived the test of time and wonder about the times that produced the artists who gave us these great gifts of music.
In visual art, we have heard stories of Michaelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. And we have seen the greatness of the sketches of da Vinci, the paintings of Monet and Degas and van Gough. And there are so many other great artists whose work lasted much longer than a lifetime, well beyond a generation.
Because we came into this world after many millennia of human habitation, it makes sense that we might witness greatness when we look back at our history. The times through which our people have lived have demanded greatness. And in each generation there have been a few great leaders who changed the course of history and left their mark for all time.
But greatness is not only relegated to the dark pages of history books. The span of my life is relatively short, but I have lived in the presence of greatness. The romantic pianist, Vladimir Horowitz’ famous Soviet recitals in Moscow and Leningrad were occasions of greatness. One human being rose to such a level of artistic excellence that may never before have been achieved. It was amazing to watch the television program of the Moscow concert and then to watch it again on VHS and later on DVD. I still have a recording of that concert and when I listen to it, it seems to me to be enough to have simply been alive when such an event took place. I may not be much, but I lived in a time of unparalleled artistic excellence.
I remember being a student in Chicago in the late 1970’s. Our South African colleagues had to give away their libraries before they returned to their homes because the books we read were banned in the repressive apartheid regime. I heard their stories and wondered when the bloody revolution would begin and how many innocents would be killed in the cause of majority rule and simple freedom for all. We were not able to see the path of peaceful change. But the transition of power in South Africa and the process of truth and reconciliation was one of the most dramatic moments in all of human history. And we watched it unfold before our very eyes. And we saw human greatness that rivaled the greatness of any generation that ever lived. Steve Biko inspired millions. His death in police custody may be a genuine case of martyrdom in our time. Nelson Mandela’ self sacrifice, endurance of the Robben Island prison and emergence into leadership of the transition movement is one of the great stories of the human spirit that will be told for generations and generations. His election as president of the new South Africa was a moment that brought the world to tears of joy. I may not be much, but I have witnessed greatness and great things have occurred in my time.
And now, as Mandela comes to the end of his earthly journey and as we join in prayers for a peaceful transition for the great man, we once again realize that none of us is exempt from the passage of time. Our moment is brief in the vastness of history. But death cannot erase the story of Nelson Mandela. The world will never forget what he did. And his name will forever be associated with justice, truth, peace and reconciliation.
I could write pages about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the contributions he made to all people that will continue long beyond our time.
And there are so many others.
The truth is that we often do not recognize true greatness in the moment. Our human differences often find the real greats of our time immersed on controversy. Opinions about them vary in the present moment. But true greatness rises above the pettiness of the moment. True greatness rises above the conflicts of the contemporary.
It is entirely possible that I will live longer than the religious experiment that we call the United Church of Christ. Our church will be reconfigured. New forms will emerge. New ways of working with other Christians will take precedence. Christianity cannot be confined in an institution. But some of what we have done together in this wonderful church will last forever. As our church begins its 29th General Synod today, there will be great preachers and passionate speeches. There will be wonderful music and meaningful worship. But we all know the decline in membership and decrease in budget that mark this moment in our story. It is easy to think that the greatness of our denomination has faded.
But I suspect that history will tell the story in another manner. The Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ may well be remembered as the most important words written in the 20th century. The historic and courageous stands taken by leaders of the United Church of Christ may well be the foundation for the new church that is emerging from the confusion of multi-denominationalism.
I have no doubt that I am living in the midst of greatness in dramatic times. Sometimes, however, it takes a while for the greatness to be known and identified and celebrated.
Even though our time is short, we can afford to be patient. For the times in which we live are times of greatness.
There are great people whose lives influenced us. Of course we can list the names of Biblical ancestors of faith whose stories our people have been telling thousands of years: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Elijah and Elisha, Jeremiah and Isaiah, Amos and Micah, Jesus and Paul and so many others. But we have also been taught about the incredible period of history in which the great founding documents of our nation were forged. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution came from an amazing time in the history of the world. Greatness emerged in so many characters of those days: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hancock and so many others. And their way was paved buy the religious pioneers who came to this land: Robinson and Bradford and Smith. They followed in the footsteps of the great reformers: Luther and Calvin and Zwingli.
In the world of music we wonder what it might have been like to hear Bach at the console of a mighty pipe organ or Mozart at the keyboard of a pianoforte. We imagine Schumann at the keyboard or Strauss conducting a waltz in front of an orchestra in Vienna. We are grateful for the classical music that has survived the test of time and wonder about the times that produced the artists who gave us these great gifts of music.
In visual art, we have heard stories of Michaelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. And we have seen the greatness of the sketches of da Vinci, the paintings of Monet and Degas and van Gough. And there are so many other great artists whose work lasted much longer than a lifetime, well beyond a generation.
Because we came into this world after many millennia of human habitation, it makes sense that we might witness greatness when we look back at our history. The times through which our people have lived have demanded greatness. And in each generation there have been a few great leaders who changed the course of history and left their mark for all time.
But greatness is not only relegated to the dark pages of history books. The span of my life is relatively short, but I have lived in the presence of greatness. The romantic pianist, Vladimir Horowitz’ famous Soviet recitals in Moscow and Leningrad were occasions of greatness. One human being rose to such a level of artistic excellence that may never before have been achieved. It was amazing to watch the television program of the Moscow concert and then to watch it again on VHS and later on DVD. I still have a recording of that concert and when I listen to it, it seems to me to be enough to have simply been alive when such an event took place. I may not be much, but I lived in a time of unparalleled artistic excellence.
I remember being a student in Chicago in the late 1970’s. Our South African colleagues had to give away their libraries before they returned to their homes because the books we read were banned in the repressive apartheid regime. I heard their stories and wondered when the bloody revolution would begin and how many innocents would be killed in the cause of majority rule and simple freedom for all. We were not able to see the path of peaceful change. But the transition of power in South Africa and the process of truth and reconciliation was one of the most dramatic moments in all of human history. And we watched it unfold before our very eyes. And we saw human greatness that rivaled the greatness of any generation that ever lived. Steve Biko inspired millions. His death in police custody may be a genuine case of martyrdom in our time. Nelson Mandela’ self sacrifice, endurance of the Robben Island prison and emergence into leadership of the transition movement is one of the great stories of the human spirit that will be told for generations and generations. His election as president of the new South Africa was a moment that brought the world to tears of joy. I may not be much, but I have witnessed greatness and great things have occurred in my time.
And now, as Mandela comes to the end of his earthly journey and as we join in prayers for a peaceful transition for the great man, we once again realize that none of us is exempt from the passage of time. Our moment is brief in the vastness of history. But death cannot erase the story of Nelson Mandela. The world will never forget what he did. And his name will forever be associated with justice, truth, peace and reconciliation.
I could write pages about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the contributions he made to all people that will continue long beyond our time.
And there are so many others.
The truth is that we often do not recognize true greatness in the moment. Our human differences often find the real greats of our time immersed on controversy. Opinions about them vary in the present moment. But true greatness rises above the pettiness of the moment. True greatness rises above the conflicts of the contemporary.
It is entirely possible that I will live longer than the religious experiment that we call the United Church of Christ. Our church will be reconfigured. New forms will emerge. New ways of working with other Christians will take precedence. Christianity cannot be confined in an institution. But some of what we have done together in this wonderful church will last forever. As our church begins its 29th General Synod today, there will be great preachers and passionate speeches. There will be wonderful music and meaningful worship. But we all know the decline in membership and decrease in budget that mark this moment in our story. It is easy to think that the greatness of our denomination has faded.
But I suspect that history will tell the story in another manner. The Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ may well be remembered as the most important words written in the 20th century. The historic and courageous stands taken by leaders of the United Church of Christ may well be the foundation for the new church that is emerging from the confusion of multi-denominationalism.
I have no doubt that I am living in the midst of greatness in dramatic times. Sometimes, however, it takes a while for the greatness to be known and identified and celebrated.
Even though our time is short, we can afford to be patient. For the times in which we live are times of greatness.