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December 21, 2005
Dear Friends and Family Members,
Although it is likely that 2006 will have arrived by the time
you receive this mailing, I am writing this on December 18. Thus,
I will dare to extend a Yuletide greeting that may echo John’s
daily prayer that the voices of those who speak for peace might
be strengthened.
I first began to ponder this letter in the spring of 2004, when
the Czech Republic was preparing to join the European Union. However,
prior to that event, ambivalence was widespread in this nation,
which emerged from the strictures of communist rule a mere 16
years ago. Many Czech citizens were pleased that their country
was about to become an established participant in the European
community. Yet a number of people were also concerned lest the
right of national sovereignty, which has been so elusive throughout
the history of the Czech lands, be compromised. Thus, the letter
that John asked me to compose remained unwritten. A clear-cut
analysis of the significance of EU membership did not present
itself at that time, and in the intervening months, matters have
become even more complex, as attempts to ratify the EU constitution
were rebuffed by France and the Netherlands, as Turkey’s
bid for EU membership has raised difficult questions, and as a
host of other issues has emerged.
I was glad to overhear a conversation between a British teacher
and a Czech professor that suggested it may not be too late to
carry out this task. When asked about the impact of EU membership
on the lives of Czech citizens, the professor observed that the
EU is a work in progress. The consequences of the Czech Republic’s
entry into the EU may not be evident for several years. Although
this conclusion is virtually indisputable, the very existence
of the EU may offer a valuable alternative in our troubled time.
For instance, on May 3, 2004, I was shocked to see the first
pictures of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. While
I was struggling to grasp the implications of those disturbing
images, a “live event” interrupted the regular news
report, and an incongruous sense of hope arose within me. The
promise of accord beckoned brightly as a young boy presented an
EU official with a Czech flag that soon waved proudly among the
flags of the other new member states. As I heard greetings being
offered in Czech, Slovak, and several other Slavic languages,
I was certain that a magnificent alliance was being formed. It
appeared that John Amos Comenius’ vision of a unified Europe
characterized by cooperation rather than conflict was being realized
in ways that were the antithesis of the turmoil represented by
the photographs from Abu Ghraib. I wanted to let the whole world
know that in the 1600s, that renowned Czech theologian and pedagogue
wrote these forward-looking words: “If then we are all citizens
of a single world, what prevents us from…hoping that we
shall all become a single society, well-ordered and truly and
properly bound by the same sciences, laws, and religion?”
Several weeks later, I had a renewed sense of what participation
in the EU might mean for the citizens of the ten new member nations
when a colleague responded to the following quotation from an
AP report by William Kole that was printed in the Columbus Dispatch
on May 1, 2004. “In Hungary, Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy
hailed his country’s return to the European mainstream,”
by declaring that “‘Hungary was always at the gates
of Europe…, [but] now we are inside the gates.’”
As my Czech friend read these words aloud, her voice grew soft,
and she thoughtfully said, “That is what the EU means for
us too!” Upon seeing the profound sense of resolution and
belonging that flickered across my friend’s face, I dared
to suppose that inhabitants of strife-wracked places throughout
the world might be heartened to realize that unimaginable currents
of reconciliation sometimes do prevail.
Later, when I read former Czech President Václav Havel’s
penetrating analysis of the EU, I wanted to reflect on the complexities
of this unique attempt to link nations with diverse cultures,
economies, histories, and practicalities. As I listened to pledges
of unity offered by EU members following last summer’s bombings
in London, I knew that I eventually must compose this letter.
It is a powerful experience to hear words of solidarity being
expressed by world leaders in the face of the tragedies that reflect
the human propensity for inflicting destruction. However, it is
inherently more exhilarating to witness an enduring effort to
build unity on the positive foundations of peace. As deep wounds
inflicted by past atrocities of war and oppression are transformed
by wholesome dynamics of equity and respect, the EU may, to paraphrase
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, “be a force
that will show the world how to prevent hate from being eternal.”
In this holy time, when we turn our allegiances toward the Prince
of Peace, let us commit ourselves to fostering the eternal goodness
of love in our lives and on our earth, not because of where we
reside, but because of the promise that has claimed us.
With hopeful anticipation,
Joyce and John
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
179 |
