February 10, 1990 Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa. Do you remember where you were when you heard he’d been released? Do you remember how you felt? And that was just 3 short months after the Berlin Wall fell. What an amazing time of liberation! It felt like the whole world was getting free!

…and yet…we cntinue to pray for people in Egypt, North Korea, Tibet, the list of un-free places is long. Too long.

On this anniversary of Mandela’s release, it is good to remember all the places in the world where relative peace has been attained. At the same time, we will do well to remember Mandela’s words: “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” (Quoted in “Common Prayer”, 140.)

May the freedom we seek and celebrate be freedom for all people.

Peace for your journey…