December 21, 2009: Where do we seek for peace in our personal lives and in our world?
Posted on : Dec 22nd, 2009 | By office | Category: Bread for the Journey
I will write ‘peace’ on your wings and you will fly all over the world.
~ Sadako Sasaki
The theme for our church’s Christmas Eve Service this year is the message of the angel at the birth of Jesus: “Peace on Earth: God’s Love for All.” We will explore the places where we seek peace in our personal lives and in our world.
We do not only seek peace and justice in our world but also in our personal lives. We yearn for healing in our own lives, for abundant joy, to thrive, to experience personal justice, and peace. To love and be loved.
On August 6, 1945, at 8:15am, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Nearly all the buildings within 1.5 miles were flattened. About 80,000 people died instantly – another 70,000 died within a year, from injuries and nuclear radiation. It did not stop there. In the years to come, many more died because of illnesses brought about from the high levels of nuclear radiation to which they were exposed from living in and around Hiroshima. Some of those who died due to the bomb were not even born when it was dropped.
Amidst the faceless suffering of a multitude of people, amidst the yearning for peace by a whole nation of people, it is the story of one girl’s yearning for peace and healing in her own life which spoke to the hearts of millions around the world.
Sadako Sasaki was born in 1943. She was only two years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Although she was too young to remember the war, every year she took part in the Peace Celebrations in Hiroshima in honor of her grandmother who died during the war. She was an exuberant girl, full of life, and a talented athlete. On an ordinary day, one like many others, while preparing for an upcoming race, she suddenly became dizzy and fell down. In 1955 she was diagnosed with leukemia, a common cancer among children exposed to atomic radiation, better known as the ‘atom bomb disease’. She was only 11 years old.
While in the hospital, Sadako was visited by her best friend who told her the story about the crane which was supposed to live for 1,000 years. She explained to her that according to an old Japanese legend anyone who could fold a thousand cranes would be granted a wish. In Japan the crane is symbol of long life, health, and peace. So Sadako started to fold origami cranes. She used any piece of paper she could lay her hands on – even candy wrappers. Those who came to visit her in the hospital brought her brightly colored pieces of paper for her to fold the cranes with and her brother hung the finished ones from the ceiling of her hospital room. Sadako’s wish was not only for herself to be healed but also for all the other children who innocently suffer from the radiation fallout and that in the future no children would suffer.
Sadako managed to fold 644 cranes before this horrible disease claimed her life. She was 12 years old. Deeply impacted by her loss and inspired by her courage, Sadako’s classmates decided to fold the remaining 356 cranes so that Sadako could be buried with all 1000 origami cranes. The story of Sadako’s quest and courage spread all over Japan and children throughout the country folded “Peace Cranes” and raised money to build a Children’s Peace Memorial in the Hiroshima Peace Park. In 1958, three years after her death, the monument became a reality. It shows Sadako standing on the mountain of paradise holding a giant origami crane overhead in her outstretched arms. An eternal prayer for a peaceful future world is inscribed at the base of the monument. It reads: “This is our cry, this is our prayer, Peace in the World.”
Every year on Peace Day people from all over the world fold paper cranes and send them to Sadako’s statue in Hiroshima as a concrete expression of their own personal or collective prayers for peace.
The angel said to them (the shepherds), “Do not be afraid! I come to proclaim good news to you – news of great joy to be shared by all people. Today in David’s city, a savior -the Messiah – has been born to you. Let this be a sign to you: you’ll find an infant wrapped in a simple cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was a multitude of heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in high heaven! Peace on Earth: God’s love for all.” (Luke 2)
Where are you seeking for peace in your own life and in our world this Christmas season?
May you know the Peace of Christ in your life this Christmas season,
Kobie
PS: “Bread for the Journey” will take a two week hiatus over the Christmas break. Thus you will not receive any reflections via email the next two Mondays. Be on the look out for the next “Bread for the Journey” reflection on Monday, January 11, 2010.