Forgiveness

A Prayer for Peace

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Let there be peace on earth… and let it begin with me!

Do you remember
this is the day
that Earth Wind and Fire
inked in red
with their unforgettable hit “September?”

And lest we forget,
let me remind you
that today is also
the International Day of Peace.

On this twisting and turning planet
where politicians are poles apart
and the magnetic pull of pride draws
unnecessary lines in the sand,
join me in praying for peace today…

“May peace prevail on earth we ask.
Help us, dear God, to own our task
admitting when we know we’re wrong
and righting what we can.

May we commit to speak the truth
refraining from what is uncouth.
And may we listen with both ears
to those whose truth we’ve shunned.

May kindness punctuate our days
as we eschew our former ways
of getting even for some pain
another might have caused.

May tolerance and compromise
cause folks to see Christ in our eyes
as we determine every day to love as Jesus loved.

And may Saint Francis‘ prayer for peace
leap from our lips and never cease
to codify what we desire:
to be God’s instruments.“


And speaking of SEPTEMBER by Earth, Wind and Fire, enjoy!

Lessons from the Fall

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Fan favorite Jim Ryun failed to qualify for his event in the Munich Olympics

Fifty years ago this week,
a runner (fouled) would fall.
And though he would appeal, he was denied.
Jim Ryun failed to qualify
to mine Olympic gold.
It was a test by which his faith was tried.

This Munich moment would define
Jim’s character and more.
Who tripped him on the track he would forgive.
So too the IOC top brass
who recognized their error.
Jim learned wounds can’t be licked to truly live.

And live he did. Jim Ryun ran
for Congress. And he won.
The “Kid from Kansas” gave his faith some feet.
Committed to a Christ-like cause,
Jim took his laps in stride
while learning from life’s setbacks and defeats.

Perhaps we, too, can learn from him
when tempted to give in
when others trip us up by their mistakes.
May we, like Jim, refuse to quit
forgiving as we go
while proving what is stretched need never break.