"to the ends of the earth"
Acts 1:8
I was one of the lucky few to be able to see U2 in concert last weekend. Well, one of the lucky 55,000 + in that particular stadium... And one of the lucky hundreds of thousands to see them on this tour... But still ~ not everyone got to go, so I was blessed to have the chance.
And I'm pleased to be able to give a shout-out to the two very nice gentlemen sitting next to me. Guys, it was a pleasure meeting you, and congratulations, Guy On The Far Left, on your new baby boy!
I've seen U2 in concert before, but it has been many years. Amazing Boy and Awesome Girl wanted to know what was so special about this band that makes them so popular after so many years, so I got to thinking about it.
One of the reasons they've been so successful for so long is ~ obviously ~ their music. They are very talented musicians and songwriters. They play music that people want to listen to. That's the key to success in that business.
Another reason they are still drawing huge crowds, is Bono's business savvy. He rides the fine line of staying in the public eye enough to pique people's interest, but not so much that the public gets sick of him. A lot of celebrities cross way over that line.
But I think the main reason for their success ~ maybe even more than their music ~ is their message. Songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride" were written speaking to specific events in history, but their messages continue to speak to the condition of the world today.
If you're a faithful ~ or even occasional ~ reader of this humble blogger, you'll know that my goal every day is to find some lesson, point, or reminder that God has for me, in everyday experiences. My lesson during that wonderful concert probably will not surprise you ~ global awareness.
I'm a pretty currents-savvy kind of gal. I'm not very much interested in local news, but I'm very interested in national and international happenings, and you can't spend very much time listening to Bono, whether in concert or in an interview, without being reminded of things going on in the world that one would rather deny. Over the course of two hours, we were made aware of political prisoners in Burma, AIDS victims, U.S. Congresswoman and gunshot-victim Gabrielle Giffords, as well as her husband Mark Kelly, Astronaut and Shuttle Commander. Bono spoke and sang, and there were video reminders, of the treatment of the women in the middle-east, the earth's rapidly-disappearing natural resources, and the growing problem of obesity (probably mostly in the U.S., if I had to guess...)
But my lesson went deeper than that. I'm aware of civil wars, natural disasters, terrorists and genocidal dictators. But those truths rarely make the transition from head knowledge to heart knowledge for me. I think that's because a lot of what's happening in the world is simply too painful to know. Does that happen to you? Sometimes if we know details of the pain that someone is going through, it hurts us, too. So we choose to simply deny, or refuse to think about it. I pray for people in faraway countries when I hear stories about them, but then I think I've done my duty. This weekend, I felt that God wants me to hurt more for them.
After all, He does.
Until the other night, I had never heard of Aung San Suu Kyi. She was elected President of Burma, in the Nation League for Democracy Party, in 1990, but has been under house arrest since 1989. She was just released in November of 2010. In that time, I got married to the love of my life, had two amazing and awesome children, bought two houses (one at a time), and a couple of cars. I went on wonderful and memorable vacations, attended weddings and parties and graduations.
All that time, I didn't know about Mrs Suu Kyi, and I didn't know about the other 2300 + political prisoners in Burma. And that means that I didn't pray for them, and I didn't hurt for them.
But this weekend, I cried for them. I cry right now for them, and I cry for people I don't even know that I don't know.
Every day, when I learn a lesson from God, I hope to hang on to it. I hope it sticks with me for longer than it takes me to blog about it. But this time, I am not just hoping I'll remember, I'm praying I'll hurt.
Because if I'm crying, then I'll know that I'm caring. So I hope you cry, too.
~ "You will be My witnesses...
to the ends of the earth " ~
Acts 1:8
Well put, Laura.
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