contentNow put that piece of paper back together. No, I don't mean using cellotape. That's a temporary fix. That will peel off or be removed, and you can still see the tear. I feel that it is fair to say that the cellotaped piece of paper is reflective of today's world - we respond with violence (ripping the paper) and then we try a quick-fix to remedy the situation (the cellotape), but if you look at it, this so-called solution is see-through and doesn't repair the fault, it just gives the impression of doing so. The paper, despite the cellotape, is still ripped.
Love repairs the tear. Love undoes the damage of hate. However, as Bono sang, "love is hard and love is tough" - I'd like to see you restore the ripped paper to its original condition - and when we use our quick-fix cellotape, we complete Bono's line: "but love is not what you're thinking of". Love is unquestionably more powerful than hate. It is so easy to destroy, but it is immensely difficult to repair. We seem to naturally respond with hate, and love is simply discarded, left over in the corner, rejected as too difficult or forgotten for lack of trying. Hate is only more powerful in today's world because so few people are prepared to try to love.
But I've seen what love can do. I've seen it release grace, I've seen it heal, I've seen to revive and restore, and I wish the world had a little bit more of it to counter the rampant and easy hate. You can tell how far society has - or hasn't - progressed by the way it has embraced hate at the expense of the beauty and redemption of love.
I'd now like to share some lyrics with you, one of my favourite U2 songs. Yes, this really is one of my favourites and I think it's a classic and one of the most beautiful songs on All That You Can't Leave Behind. Too few appreciate its subtlety.
Grace
Written and performed by U2
Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name
Grace, it's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street, you can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything
Grace, she's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside of karma, karma
She travels outside of karma
When she goes to work, you can hear the strings
Grace finds beauty in everything
Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition
What once was hurt, what once was friction
What left a mark no longer stings
Because grace makes beauty out of ugly things
Grace finds beauty in everything
Grace finds goodness in everything
