My blessed-state was passed on to Luna as we have gone for a walk on each of the last two mornings (well, we actually ran on Monday, today we just walked. . . I was too tired to run and it was so mild). It was a nice walk that was better than most mornings. It was not hot. The sun did not beat down on us. There were no other dogs (I mean “new friends”). Now don’t get me wrong, I love my neighbors and the people of this community around Plains. But, I do not love the way that they drive down Plains Church Road as they head to work. Perhaps leaving 5 minutes earlier would mean that they don’t speed past me a cloud of dust and speed—but I might be wrong about that. Luna lunges at them every single time and my shoulders feel the brunt of her power with each tug. After all, walking her at least 3 miles a day does make her very strong and very fit.
Some of those people wave at me, most don’t. One of the electricians working on the new plan beyond Hope Road slows down and says good morning to her every day and then he comments on how beautiful she is (He has a pair German Shepherds himself). I wonder about those who do not wave. . .
“Sin, he reflected, is not what it is usually thought to be;
It is those non-waving people the one who don’t even look as I grab Luna’s harness and hold her tightly that I thought about today, that I am thinking about this morning. I wonder about the state of their days? Their homes? Their families? Their children, if they have any? Their faith? The societal expectations that are upon them? ? I wonder about how they have been treaded upon and why they rush off to work so hastily as to not even make eye contact with another person. What is going on in their lives, I wonder, that causes them to live in a way that seems inhospitable, rushed, and unfriendly?
Shusaku Endo, wrote in the book Silence that:
“Sin, he reflected, is not what it is usually thought to be;
it is not to steal and tell lies.
Sin is for one man to walk brutally over the life of another
and to be quite oblivious of the wounds he has left behind.”
Silence is the story of how Christianity was forced out of Japan a generation ago. It tells the true-life story of a Jesuit priest who goes looking for the last missionary that was sent into country. In a story that wrought with suffering and torture that makes Christianity illegal, a powerful thing emerges that cannot be snuffed out by the cruel leaders of the day. . . .hope. A silent hope for an unknown future.
Perhaps as a Christian I am partial to seeing these ‘hurried-souls’ each morning in a certain way. But I wonder if what I am witnessing is nothing more than the long-lasting effects of souls being ‘brutally walked over” carelessly and haphazardly. I wonder what I, or you, could do differently when we are confronted with these moments in our day?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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