Every thought and action count

Dear friends,  In the French film “Amelie” a young woman who grew up isolated largely as the result of her parents has thoughts and take actions that seem innocuous but have a decisive impact on the Parisian world around her, especially when she consciously tries to make people happy.

On Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, at the edge of Korea town, there stands a simple monument featuring two sheets of metal with the most famous words of Robert F. Kennedy carved out.  I assume it was put there because not far from there he was assassinated.  This is what they say: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”The language strikes us as very male-centered now, but other than that the words are still very relevant. What strikes me about many of Robert Kennedy’s great quotes is that they were often about people doing a small thing that has an impact down the road.

The ancient Greek thinker Archimedes is supposed to have said: “Give me a place where I can stand and I will move the world.” It expresses a similar sentiment.

We have entered that season of anticipation we call Advent once more.  Again we wait for the calls to repentance in the desert by primitively dressed men with outlandish diets, the mysterious prophecies of the Messiah’s birth and the light that keeps building (even though much of it is stolen by blatant commercialism now). Again we wait for the birth of a child that will say and do great things in a time and place that do not seem to matter, but wind up mattering more than all the words and actions that came before and have come ever since.  How weighty these words have been and how transformative and hope giving the actions!  He wished to have an impact with love and kindness, He bent history in unprecedented way, He created a great ripple effect, He stood firmly and moved the world.

In the last month we have thought together about how much light we bring to the world as a congregation and about how we must be connected to the communities around us through listening. We need to bring those together. As I wish you a meaningful Christmas season I hope that as a congregation you will find ways to pay attention to your thoughts and connect them to the thoughts of others in the congregation so that you will create new currents of energy that can transform lives around you and decrease suffering.  Your thoughts and actions as a member of the Parkview family matter and have consequences.  May they have the maximum impact in bringing compassion to the world God loves so.  During Advent may you wait thoughtfully, actively and gratefully and may God bless our ministry. See you in church! Aart