A Place to Live

This arrived in my email today. I've read it before; I've co-taught a class based on the book. Even so, it struck me today as a great passage:

Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers. He moved to Kalawao, a village on the island of Molokai in Hawaii that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony. For sixteen years he live in their midst. He learned to speak their language. He bandaged their wounds, embraced the bodies no one else would touch, preached to hearts that would otherwise have been left alone. He organized schools, bands, and choirs. He built homes so that the lepers could have shelter. He build two thousand coffins by hand so that when they died, they could be buried with dignity. Slowly, it was said, Kalawao became a place to live rather than a place to die, for Father Damien offered hope.

--John Ortberg, God is Closer Than You Think

In a world where we see death, violence, destruction, illness and sadness, the coming of Christ has transformed it as a place of hope. Our world is no longer a place to die; it is a place to live.

Because of Christmas, we do not move from day to day in a world in which we are dying. We move day to day in a world where we live -- living until we live with God.

The world is changed. We are changed. Alleluia.