{"id":28886,"date":"2022-09-15T21:34:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T04:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28886"},"modified":"2022-09-15T21:34:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T04:34:52","slug":"a-saint-is-a-sinner-who-keeps-on-trying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-saint-is-a-sinner-who-keeps-on-trying\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cA Saint is a Sinner who Keeps on Trying\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am finding it difficult to write and reflect upon the works of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, as these two individuals seem superhuman to me. Rather than offering my thoughts on their ideas and experiences, my preference would be to absorb their words, listen to their hearts as reflected in their stories, and contemplate \u2013 for a very long time – the writings in their two books we are reading, No Future Without Forgiveness<\/em> and Long Walk to Freedom. <\/em>\u00a0Only then, might I feel comfortable carefully and mindfully putting my thoughts out there as more fully digested reflections and insights. So, it is with some trepidation that I proceed here, not wanting to minimize their story in my limited perceptions, and realizing I only understand a small amount of the concepts they are communicating. I hope to digest more of their wisdom and that of their peers over the next few weeks and months and years and incorporate that into my journey of growth and development.<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu offer a deep consideration of human nature and our potential for good and evil. They speak of atrocious harm done by one group of humans to another. They also point to the best of human qualities, that when embraced, allow us to accomplish transcendent reconciliation, peace, and growth. In their country of South Africa, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela describe accounts of extreme evil and also extreme love.<\/p>\n

It is interesting to me that Archbishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela, well-known, revered, and admired by many for their ability to live into the best qualities of humanity, seemed to see themselves as equals to their human sisters and brothers and by no means above the ordinary. In his book, Conversations with Myself,<\/em> Nelson Mandela, in a 1975 letter to Winnie Mandela during her time of incarceration in Kroonstad Prison, wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026the cell is an ideal place to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and regularly the process of your own mind and feelings. In judging our progress as individuals we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one\u2019s social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education. These are, of course, important in measuring one\u2019s success in material matters and it is perfectly understandable if many people exert themselves mainly to achieve all these. But internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one\u2019s development as a human being. Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others \u2013 qualities which are within easy reach of every soul \u2013 are the foundation of one\u2019s spiritual life. \u2026Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela communicates that anyone has what is required to grow into a wise, selfless, insightful person, with hard work and self-reflection.<\/p>\n

Desmond Tutu, likewise, appeared to lead an everyday life well-grounded in his humanness and resistant to setting himself apart from others based on his status and reputation. He displayed this connection and unity with people in the way he interacted with them daily. In May of 2008, Desmond and Leah Tutu traveled to Portland, Oregon at the invitation of the staff of a small nonprofit, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). \u00a0The Archbishop spoke at the University of Portland to over 4,000 people. I joined the EMO team in 2010 and heard many great stories of the Tutus visit. Some of my favorite stories involved my friend Carla, who was the EMO development director and designated as the Tutus\u2019 driver and host during their five-day stay. She described them as \u201cfunny and warm\u201d and said it was quite easy to feel close to them. Of Archbishop Tutu, Carla said, \u201cA wonderful, grounded, warm person who fills any room with a kind of pleasant peace, the Archbishop himself was charming. He talked about serious things, eloquently, at the lecture, but when he was offstage, he was playful, whimsical, and fun.\u201d Carla tells a humorous story about driving the Tutus back to their hotel in a downpour and pitch-black night after the speaking event at the University of Portland. She got lost, trying to take a short cut. While passing the intersection of Rosa Parks Way and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Desmond Tutu expressed his pleasure that we had streets named for \u201csuch heroes.\u201d They passed through the intersection several times, as Carla tried to find her way, and each time the Archbishop commented teasingly, \u201cAh yes, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr\u2026 again.\u201d Both Leah and Desmond Tutu were personal, caring, and interactive with the many people in their midst, blessing babies, stopping to talk to children, and according to Carla, \u201cstopping to shake the hand of every doorman, receptionist, and janitor we met.\u201d Following their visit, Desmond Tutu kept in touch with their new friends from Portland, writing letters, offering prayers, and referring to Carla as his \u201cdear Chauffeuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have often wondered, with the many people that Archbishop Tutu met in his travels and in his home country of South Africa, how did he manage to stay in touch with his humble friends in Portland?\u00a0 How did he make time and maintain interest in these people with whom he spent five short days? Perhaps, it was his deep value of each individual and the inherent connection he believed to be amongst all humans. Maybe the answer is found in the Archbishop\u2019s discussion around \u201cubuntu.\u201d He says, when you have ubuntu, \u201cthen you are generous, you are hospitable, you are friendly and caring and compassionate. We belong in a bundle of life.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 This would explain his understanding of connection with his friends in Oregon, and around the globe.<\/p>\n

Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela embodied some of the most positive qualities obtainable by humans. Their unique experiences and the unique convergence of world events during their lifetime offered extremely challenging circumstances through which they persevered and emerged resilient and courageous. Their message of hope, persistence, forgiveness, generosity, and connectedness is challenging, reminding us that within us all is the potential to develop character that transforms not only ourselves, but contributes to creating families, communities, nations, and a world in which forgiveness is extended, reconciliation is forged, and trust among enemies is eventually possible. I look forward to further learning about these individuals and their peers as we set out on our venture to South Africa.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Mandela, Nelson, Conversations with Myself<\/em>. (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2010), 211-212.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Tutu, Desmond, No Future Without Forgiveness. (<\/em>New York, NY: Doubleday, 1999), 31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am finding it difficult to write and reflect upon the works of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, as these two individuals seem superhuman to me. Rather than offering my thoughts on their ideas and experiences, my preference would be to absorb their words, listen to their hearts as reflected in their stories, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1098,2315],"class_list":["post-28886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mandela","tag-tutu","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28886"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28887,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28886\/revisions\/28887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}