I went out searching, looking for one good man; a spirit who would not bend or break.

The title today is a lyric from the final track of U2's Zooropa sung by Johnny Cash called The Wanderer. You can hear the latest on U2 by going to www.u2.com and check out Johnny's website by following the link to the right. Clicking the title will take you to the wiki entry for Desmond Tutu.



For Youth Sunday I built this stadium for a backdrop and filled it with pictures of people who were either arguably good or evil. One of my good folks was Desmond Tutu and this was the picture I used. Most of my kids and a ton of grown ups didn't know who he was, and I, being in need of a hero moment decided today's post would be in honor of him.

While Nelson Mandela is the icon we associate with the struggle against aprtheid in South Africa, Desmond Tutu was in the thick of the fight from beginning to end. He was a black man ordained as an Anglican Priest in a country that didn't even give him a vote or basic rights. He became the first black Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg. He was the first black Archbishop of Cape Town. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for his outspoken opposition to apartheid in 1984. He was the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which granted amnesty to criminals and voice to victims of apartheid crimes. The commission has been praised as a healing presence in South Africa since apartheid ended in the early 90's.

Tutu was always a man of forgiveness, preaching reconciliation as the future for South Africa throughout decades of violence and hatred. When Mandela was elected President and now famously invited his jailer to dine at the President's mansion, this was a reflection of the message Tutu had always held true to, that forgiveness was man's way out of such despicable wrong.

Tutu was at IPFW a few years ago. I only saw the tape, I wasn't there yet. He had these amazing stories of healing and grace and an inspiring spirit. It was then that I got into Tutu, did some googling and reading on him. Here is a slection of my favorite Tutu quotes.

“Without forgiveness, there's no future”

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

"Jesus did not say, 'I if I be lifted up I will draw some'. Jesus said, 'If I be lifted up I will draw all, all, all, all, all. Black, white, yellow, rich, poor, clever, not so clever, beautiful, not so beautiful. It's one of the most radical things. All, all, all, all, all, all, all, all. All belong. Gay, lesbian, so-called straight. All, all are meant to be held in this incredible embrace that will not let us go. All."

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together”

And my afvorite quote from Bishop Desmond Tutu...

“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?" He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.”



May we find heroes among us.
May we find heroes within us.