Reflections on the life of the Right Rev. Desmond M. Tutu

I was at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 2010 as a Fulbright Scholar, reviewing its process and progress of institutional desegregation — a vestige of the old apartheid system that once gripped all of South Africa. It was a beautiful spring day. My host invited me to lunch with a small group of the people who were to make presentations and lead an audience of South African policymakers in discussing the future of South Africa.

To my surprise and delight, the guest of honor at the luncheon was Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The mood was filled with occasional laughter and then attentive silence as we listened to Tutu express his hope for the healing from the trauma of violence experienced by South Africans

and around the world. He was a humble person. He loved people. He enjoyed dancing. His laugh was infectious. He loved justice.

I and my family met Tutu several times over the years when he visited Yale University and New Haven. It was my honor to host him as a guest speaker in Battel Chapel as chaplain of Yale University. Being with him on his home continent will remain a blessed special memory for me.

The words he wrote in support of a book I edited, “Preaching in the New Millennium,” written in observance of Yale’s 300th anniversary, reflect his character, strength, courage, faith and inspiration:

“We do not know what the ripple effects of what we say and what we do will be. We all have the capacity to be a positive influence

in the world and make it a better place. … [What we learn] can inspire and encourage [us] to be a part of that change; to make it happen, to initiate, to dare, to strive, and to believe that with God all things are possible.”

Faith in God mattered to him. Having faith in one another mattered to him. His life and witness are the “ripple effects” contributing to making life better for us all and empowering future generations.

Affectionately called “the Arch,” Tutu lived the principle of “Ubuntu.” It is a part of a Zulu phrase translated, “I am because you are.” It is about our common humanity and destiny as human beings. Ubuntu is one of the gifts that Tutu and Africa have given to the world.

As important as the practice of Ubuntu is for our survival as a human race, I also associate “the Arch” with the invaluable practice of forgiving.

In 2014, he and his daughter Mpho published “The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World.” It is one of the most powerful and impactful guides as to how we can engage the often complicated life long process of forgiving and move on toward living a flourishing life. They write in the book: We can’t create a world without pain or loss or conflict or hurt feelings, but we can create a world of forgiveness. We can create a world of forgiveness that allows us to heal from those losses and pain and repair our relationships. We can invite you on [this] journey.

As we end the year 2021, a year of, loss, conflict, hatred, death and pain, we can enter the new year with the hope that our heart can hear when we remember our common humanity, our need to forgive one another and ourselves and that we are not alone on our journey.

Contributed photo The Rev. Frederick J. Streets and Archbishop Desmond Tutu