Be nice!
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
--Matthew V, 9.
The unique quality of peacemakers is their "presence" that is sensed almost immediately by those around them, especially those in conflict. There is an inexplicable power within them that has a profound affect on all parties. It brings to mind the quiet courage of the martyrs, when facing torture and death, of how their peace and strength awed their torturers and executioners. Sometimes also, the most unseemly people have this quality and it may be used throughout their lives or only on one unique occasion.
Jesus, of course, personifies the power of the peacemaker. Although capable of destroying Pilate and, for that matter, Caesar himself, He choses not to do so in order to save us--and to teach us that our gifts are to be used for the sake of others.
Your quote from Genesis, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." sums up what is required of us all--the power of the Lord is always there but only for the doing of good. The evil we must master with His grace.
And may those young uniformed peacemakers of ours who have and are laying down their lives for our freedom and comfort find their home in the God's love and ours.
May your brother and Abel rest now in the bosom of the Lord.
Thank you for a fine post!
Very nice post, KM. It needs no ending, as it has none. As God is eternal, so is his place for us. So, no ending, correct?
GOD bless you and yours. :D
Splendid, timely post.
Let's pray for a peacemaker to emerge now, someone like your friend Abel. Whoever it is, I expect he (or she?) must be able to claim a Palestinian identity. Unfortunately, whoever it is will also have to deal with suspicions from both Israel and the U.S.
A fine post, indeed. Because I live in Texas, I may know more Black folk than you do. I am very reluctant to see people in groups. God loves us as individuals, not classes. Nor does He hate class ememies. What has struck me about a number of Black people, mostly older than your boyhood friend Abel, has been those people who were who they were in spite of, maybe even sometimes because of, what they'd suffered. I understand that a good deal of the prejudice about Black folk, still virulent today, is that they are violent. What I have seen more often has been a deep peacefulness that I am unlikely ever to know in this life. I am so profoundly glad that I got to know Abel, through you.
Wow, I couldn't really tell where that was going, but it was a good journey. May God bless this world with many more men like Abel (and your brother too I'm sure).
After reading more here, I'm truly flattered to be mentioned in your blogroll. Thank you.
Has it been 20 years? In some ways it seems like yesterday, in other ways so long ago I was able to hug Able, dance with him, and eat the favorite dishes he loved to cook. He was a very good friend of mine, at one point even a roomate. I am glad to see that others still remember him also.
I had chills reading your description - I knew Able during the last 3 years of his life, I would have described him, word for word, exactly the way you did.
It never stops hurting - the memory of the tragedy, the loss of one of my best friends, but most of all - the knowlege of what the world lost that day.
I will say, though, that not a day goes by that he does not continue to inspire me, to motivate me to live life to it's fullest. My life changed that day - my promise, to achieve more, to reach higher, work harder... for the things he was unable to do. 20 years later, I haven't forgotten, not even for a day. I am glad to see there are other people out there that remember too.
Peace,
Rhonda
You do Abel honor. I knew him as a teen and worked together with him at a Friendly's Restaurant and at Bunratty's. He trancended boundries of race and music. There will be a fundraiser in his honor on Oct. 21, 2007 featuring some of the music Abel loved and a reunion of Bunratty's folks. Check out www.bunratty's.com for more info.
Laura - Thanks for the tip! Transcending boundaries... that captures him nicely.
I loved Abel! I'm still so sad for our loss of him, and sorry for your loss of your brother. I loved hearing about Abel helping your brother at summer camp, and your description of him was perfect. Abel was a person of integrity but he was also full of fun and mischief. When I needed to think of a name for my son, the name Abel came to mind because I would be honored if my son grew to be someone like him.
I'm on the west coast now...but if I were closer I would definitely be at the Bunratty's Reunion to take part in remembering Abel.
Thank you for the Merton prayer! I'll be carrying it with me. Bless you!
Thank you so much for sharing your story of your brother and Abel Harris. I, too, like Laura S (who I've been blessed to have as my soul sister for the past 30 years) had known Abel from the time I was in high school and I considered him one of my closest friends. There was a reunion of all of us tonight who were friends and/or in the music scene from Bunratty's in Abel's memory to raise money in support of Youth Enrichment Services (YES), the organization so close to his heart and was involved with at the time of his death. There were shirts being sold for the fundraiser that had a likeness of Abel with a halo over his head, roller blades on his feet and as if he were looking down upon us from Heaven above. It was hard for me not to just start crying there, thinking about the senseless loss of such a beautiful man. Until now, that is, your story has brought my tears to the surface. Even though Abel's passing is our loss, the event tonight was the perfect conclusion to an incredible week where I've just spent at this conference called the Great Turning that was held in Moultenboro, NH. Great Turning brought together this amazing group of people from all over the world to promote environmental awareness and education, bring an end to racism and a call to peace to end violent conflict and war. Issues such as these were what Abel was about in life. He embodied such things as peace, love and generosity and he didn't define himself, nor others, by skin color or religion. I made some connections at Great Turning that I know that will stay with me for life. One of those people is Azriel, who is a Jew living in Israel and is the creative force behind innovative projects that bring together communities in conflict. He specializes in interfaith and Israeli-Palestinian relations. Azriel founded an organization called Peace Begins With Myself, a program that brought delegations of Palestinians and Israelis to Thich Naht Hanh
’s Plum Village in France in 2001. I feel very blessed to have been in the presence of such a human being and someone that I can now call my friend. The same way that I feel about Abel.
I feel that the loss of your brother must be painful, as I'm sure you miss him so. But it's good to know that you are comforted by knowing that he is with Abel in a peaceful place. It gives me hope to know that the essence of who they are somehow still influence the physical world we live in for the greater good of all.
Wishing you peace and healing,
Tracey
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