55 My Monologues : Nelson Mandela
Oh, dear Venerable Mandela,
A quarter of a century ago on sunny February morning as we were all glued to the TV screen..telecasting live:
And there you were! wearing a beaming smile on your rough and wrinkled face!
You walked relaxed but with measured pace.
You did pleasantly surprise me with your cheerful, relaxed manner.
To be honest, I expected you ranting and raving with a stern, angry, revengeful facial expressions.
After all, you were in prison for twenty seven years!
You had a right to be angry and vengeful as you were unjustly imprisoned.
You have many outstanding personal qualities and characteristics.
I love a couple of them.
How i wish!
I had some of your qualities!
Oh, dear Venerable Mandela,
Your endurance in facing and fighting the seemingly insurmountable odds for a just cause is remarkable indeed!
The tough years prior to your imprisonment and the long twenty seven torturous years of your prison life didn't blunt your boldness to fight for freedom, fraternity, and equality for your fellow South Africans.
How I wish!
I had a fraction of your seemingly unlimited endurance!
Oh, dear Venerable Mandela,Unlike you,
I give up and give in easily in the face of obstacles and opposition. Often enough, I don't show grit and determination you have.
Rather, I run for cover!
Quite often that's me!
Oh, dear Venerable Mandela,
Another quality which you embody is your readiness to forgive those persons and the systems of apartheid that brought untold suffering and shame upon you and upon your people.
When you came out of your prison walls after twenty seven years of torturous confinement you did not carry along and keep with you the baggage of hatred and revenge.
Instead, you did leave behind the hate and the bitterness, the revenge and the retaliation.
How could you do that?
How i wish!
I could!
It's so difficult for me to forgive even once.
But you did!
Didn't you?
You forgave not once, may be seven times seventy times seven times, right?
You must have debated and struggled within yourself with hate and the vengeance welling up within you, right?
But finally you decided to let go and forgive your enemies!
Oh,dear Venerable Mandela,
You were not a born saint as you yourself have said many a times. You started out as a ruthless rebel.
In the initial years, you did indulge in violent retaliation and in armed rebellion.
But gradually your sufferings and your reflections on them did transform you into an apostle of reconciliation.
You did disarm your adversaries and charmed your friends with your innocent and irresistible smile, didn’t you?
What a marvelous:
model of metamorphosis!
What an exemplary:
story of transformation!
As you rightly believed,
to change oneself is one of the most difficult things to do.
Yet, you did it!
And did it splendidly!
How i wish!
I could forgive as you did!
How i wish!
I could transform myself as you did!
May you continue to be an inspiration to many women and men especially those who are badly wronged and hurt.
Dear Jesus,
I want to persevere in my endurance to face daily trials and temptations which I come across on my pilgrimage to the abundance of life you promised!
Dear Jesus,
My Lord and My God,
I want to keep forgiving those who did and do hurt me and i want grow closer to you and to them.
Dear Jesus,
I want to spend some time in silence in your presence. .and keep repeating,
My Lord and My God. ..
Amen
JoAchen
Saturday,18th July 2015
Nelson Mandela Day
Joachenmonologues@gmail.com
www.my-monologoues.blogspot.com
Dear Reader,
These Reflections are neither pure scientific exegesis nor are they any highly theological explanations. These are my devotional meditations
mainly meant for my personal renewal and spiritual growth. They are a part of the journaling of a 'Prodigal Priest' on my Pilgrimage to the Home of our Heavenly Father. You are welcome to share them with me.
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