An extract from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Address when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984
“Unless we work assiduously so that all of God’s children, our brothers and sisters, members of our one human family, all will enjoy basic human rights, the right to a fulfilled life, the right of movement, of work, the freedom to be fully human, with a humanity measured by nothing less than the humanity of Jesus Christ Himself, then we are on the road inexorably to self-destruction, we are not far from global suicide; and yet it could be so different.
When will we learn that human beings are of infinite value because they have been created in the image of God, and that it is a blasphemy to treat them as if they were less than this and to do so ultimately recoils on those who do this? In dehumanizing others, they are themselves dehumanized. Perhaps oppression dehumanizes the oppressor as much as, if not more than, the oppressed. They need each other to become truly free, to become human. We can be human only in fellowship, in community, in koinonia, in peace.
Let us work to be peacemakers, those given a wonderful share in Our Lord’s ministry of reconciliation. If we want peace, so we have been told, let us work for justice. Let us beat our swords into ploughshares.
God calls us to be fellow workers with Him, so that we can extend His Kingdom of Shalom, of justice, of goodness, of compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, joy and reconciliation, so that the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. Amen.”
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu
Shamsia Hassani : “Art changes people’s minds and people change the world.” (Shamsia)
The photographs in this blog are from a remarkable artist who, through painting, outdoor wall murals and paintings. challenge the people of violence who are ruining countries, destroying the lives of innocent people, caring nothing for the natural world and threatening civilizations.
Initially her concerns were focussed on Afghanistan which is the country of her parents. She was born in Iran in 1988 but the family eventually returned to Afghanistan. When the Taliban took over again, because she was in danger, she fled the country. Not only was she a woman of intelligence but the Taliban, against their own promises, have been persecuting and waging battle against all women. The strides the women had taken in emancipation, progression, education and equality have all but been erased. Shamsia expressed her feelings against the inequalities women face in Afghanistan but she has widened it to all places in our world where women, and attacks on human rights, have sought to reduce women to lesser beings to men. Nothing new there but the world has, in most places, moved on and the hard fight for the rights of women has brought a new understanding and even sadness and repentance for how they have been treated. Sadly, the battle continues for a deeper understanding.
It is this movement towards cherishing our common humanity that was helped by Shamsia. After attending a graffiti workshop in Kabul, she used what she had learned to good effect. He wall murals were not dissimilar to Banksy. The street art centred on a woman with shut eyes and no mouth. Shamasai said that “many of my paintings have a recurring character but, most importantly she is a human being. The eyes are closed, she says, because there is nothing good to see in these violent situations Afghan women had to exist in a male dominant society and the aim of her art was to give women a voice and a face which showed power, ambition, and a strength to achieve goals. She says that the woman in her art work shows us , “a human being who is proud, loud and can bring positive changes to people’s lives.”
One commentator says, “Her art has inspired thousands of women around the world and has given a new hope to female Afghan artists in the country. She has motivated hundreds of Afghans to develop their creativity through her graffiti festival, art classes, and exhibitions in different countries around the world. Her murals are on the walls of Afghanistan, USA, Italy, Germany, Vietnam, Switzerland, Norway and other countries. Sadly the situation in Afghanistan means that much that was achieved has been destroyed by the Taliban.
Shamsia says that, “The character in my paintings sometimes plays different roles such as a combatant or a refugee with no future. At times, she searches for peace, and sometimes she has no identity whatsoever. She also gets lost in her dreams as well as the pain and sorrow, she struggles with the past and the future but is a patriot who loves her homeland and fights hopelessness.” And who longs for Peace.
Given the situations in the Ukraine, The Holy Land, Afghanistan and Sudan, this desire for peace is shared by so many of us.
The photos of her work that I have used come from a large collection of her paintings. They tell their own story and allow us to interpret what they say to us. If you want to see more or discover more about Shamsia there are plenty of articles on the internet. I have been helped in writing this by an interview she gave to ‘Bored Panda’ and information in The Guardian Newspaper. She has her own website and a lot of her work can be looked at on Instagram. I have referenced her before in this blog on 22nd April 2022. This was in connection with art and words that she did as her prayer for the Ukraine.
Below is a poem from St John of the Cross which began my thoughts for this article.
If you Love
You might quiet the whole world for a second if you pray.
And if you love, if you really love, our guns will wilt.
O God, we are one with you. You have made us one with you. You have taught us that if we are open to one another, you dwell in us. Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.
O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept you, and we thank you, and we adore you, and we love you with our whole being, because our being is your being, our spirit is rooted in your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes you present in the world, and which makes you witness to the ultimate reality that is love.
Photo: Emmanuel Head. This striking structure, built between 1801 and 1810 by Trinity House, is one of the earliest daymarks built in Britain (possibly the earliest one). A daymark is a navigational aid for shipping, and this one stands 35 feet high. A good place to sit awhile. Photo taken by Gill Henwood.
My friend Gill Henwood recently stayed on Lindisfarne (Holy Island), Northumbria. Near the ruins of the Benedictine Monastery, is a cliff top walk along what is known as The Heugh (pronounced ‘Hee-uff’). It is believed that this rock was utilized by the Celtic/Anglo-Saxon monks, as part of the early monastery, built in 635AD when King Oswald, newly reclaiming his father’s kingdom, sent to Iona for a monk to begin the work of bringing the Northumbrian people to the Christian faith. St Aidan set up his monastery on Lindisfarne which becomes an island twice a day. It was near enough to Bamburgh, the King’s castle to allow Aidan free access to the King and yet quiet enough for the young Anglo-Saxon novices to learn the Gospel of Jesus, the prayers, the sacramental life and the lessons of mission. Because Lindisfarne becomes an Island twice a day, it can welcome tourists and visitors but also it can flow into silence. Both purposes are valid but it is good that sometimes, being still allows the voice of God to enter our hearts, where we are converted by Love for a life of love.
We are invited to Sit Awhile and allow the multi-faceted island re-create us from within. Gill’s poem below takes its inspiration from this.
Sit Awhile
A place to sit awhile to listen…
sea splashing as the tide retreats oystercatchers piping as they fly on the wind swans overhead in their pair…
to see… seal heads bob up in the surf cormorant fishing in the seaweed ships on the horizon far off the low silhouette of the Farne Islands.
But nobody here ‘til the causeway opens and the coaches arrive.
I feel… wind ruffling my hair the breeze brushing my cheek a Presence balming my soul the Spirit enlivening all.
Lastly … the gannets skimming the waves. Stunningly beautiful.
Nearly grown up fox cub at Latton Vicarage. Photo by Lynn Hurry
“Excuse me bothering you. I am one of the little fox cubs who live in the garden of Latton Vicarage. I belong to a family of foxes who live safely at the top end of the garden. My mamma died earlier in the summer but papa is still with us. As you see I am almost fully grown now and this is thanks to my surrogate mama, Auntie Lynn. She looks after us, feeds us and cares about us. She is a loving and kind person and she has taught us gentleness and care for others. I suppose you know that us foxes tend to be a bit self-centred.
What I want to bring to your attention today is about other foxes who have no one to care for them, and not just foxes.
Aunty Lynn has been telling us about the awful things that are happening in the bigger world at the moment. She told us about places called Gaza and Israel and another with a more difficult name – I think it’s called Youkrane. Lots of terrible things are going on at the moment. Humans are fighting each other. Not in the playful way me and my sisters and brothers do – that’s just fun – but violently and with guns, bombs, missiles, shells which explode. There are so many people injured or killed. Homes are destroyed and many people, including children, old people, vulnerable sick people need lots of attention and love.
But I also want to talk about the animals. Like the children, they are innocent. They’ve done nothing wrong. So many of them are suffering. Many have been completely abandoned. Others have been injured as the bombs have destroyed the places where they live. Some have been buried under the rubble. There is no one to rescue them or animal doctors to make them better. Cats, dogs, donkeys,cattle, sheep, chicken, even some animals I’ve never heard of who lived in a zoo, are facing death and are in pain. They can’t find food, water, warmth. They don’t know what’s happened to them or why. The humans who cared have too many other troubles to worry about animals. They don’t mean to abandon them. It’s just what happens when human beings fall out of love for each other and fight.
So I’m very grateful that Aunty Lynn loves and cares for others and all of you who care for other animals. We don’t always say, ‘thank you’, but we are lucky, especially when we think about other animals much worse off than ourselves.
Please think about the animals suffering in the places of war. Please pray for them.”
Lord God, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power. You created all things for your glory, yet there are those in your Creation who languish in pain and suffering.
Among them, we pray for all animals who have been abandoned and who have lost security and shelter. We pray for those without food and who are thirsty in places where there is no water. We pray for the animals injured by bombing, shrapnel or fallen buildings; for those who are trapped and are dying in the rubble.
In the trauma of war and violence, stretch out your loving hands and bless all animals in need today, whether wild, in captivity, on the streets, lonely and afraid. Please bless also, all who had to abandon their pets as they too fled from safety. The hardest decisions may be small in the face of terrible violence but hearts will have been be broken. Please be with all who are missing their pets and grieving for them.
Lord, as Pope Francis told us that our animals will have a place in Paradise, may those who have and died find a home in your eternally loving heart.
Lord,have mercy and bless with your peace those in conflict at this time. Amen
Mr G's Ponderings 