This is a week late. I have been so busy. Last Friday was Bob Marley's birthday. His religious journey is a bit more nuanced than usually noted. In any case, he would have been 64 last week. Besides, he asks the question on all our minds, "Is there a place for the hopeless sinner/Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own?" In the Lord Jesus we know the answer is Yes. Now, if we can just humbly accept it and live in gratitude. One Love is today's traditio from a Rasta brother.
You, too, can read the best biography of Bob Marley, Bob Marley: Spirit Dancer . You can also listen to this nice piece on PRI's The World. Roger Steffans, one of the co-authors of the bio, is featured.
One Love. Love is the answer to the question posed so succinctly by Heidegger, Why are there things instead of nothing? Love is also the answer to Camus' and Hamlet's query about whether life is or is not worth living. The love the Father of all creation has for us, his wayward creatures, whom he wants to make his daughters and sons, is revealed in a human face, the face of his Son and in those who follow him now, his disciples. To that end, here is an excerpt from the statement of CL in Italy on the death of Eluana, who died 72-hours after her feeding tube was removed and hydration stopped: "Benedict XVI reminded us that to hope, 'The human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: "neither death, nor life … will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:38- 39). If this absolute love exists, with its absolute certainty, then—only then—is man 'redeemed', whatever should happen to him in his particular circumstances." (Spe salvi 26). So, my sisters and brothers, give thanks and praise to the Lord and we won't just feel alright, we'll be alright. After all, isn't giving praise and thanks in all we say and do the very purpose for which we are made, our loving response to our lovely and loving God, who asks us to call him Father?
A diaconal bow to my sister, Sharon, for the quote from the CL statement.