Not By Might

1 Samuel 2:1-10

As I mentioned yesterday my wife and I went to the Lantern Floating Ceremony last night. This was the 15th annual event, and we've been to each one. Every year we've marveled at just how big it's become. The first Lantern Floating was at Keehi lagoon and maybe had 200 people in attendance. Last night, on the shores of Ala Moana Beach, there must have been close to 50,000 people. It was so crowded on the beach that seeing anything on stage was near impossible, but as I''m going to explain, the action this year wasn't on the stage.

My wife and I have been to so many of these Lantern Floating Ceremonies that we know by the sounds of the event precisely what's going on. It starts with an 'oli, or a Hawaiian chant, inviting everyone gathered to be of one spirit. The welcoming speech from the High Priestess of the Shinnyo-en temple, Shinso Ito, is next which is followed by the Shinto chant gathering all spirits into one place. During the chant the lanterns are released, and it's over.

We couldn't see any of that, so we listened to it instead, and watched the reactions within the crowd. We watched as people made their way towards the shore to release their lanterns. We watched as people cried, laughed, smiled, hugged, and moved in silence to place the messages they wrote for their loved ones into the water. We watched as people from all walks of life came together for one purpose - peace.

In a conversation we struck up with a family sitting next to us we talked about how the gathering of all those people hadn't yet elicited one single negative action. Not one fight, not one argument, not one thing which would require the presence of security forces or extra police presence. Then, as I read this morning's passage it hits me; it's not through might that peace is achieved, it's through unity. All of the people there were there out of respect for passed loved ones, and so all people found a way to respect one another.

It's not in the fights and arguments we find peace, it's in mutual respect for one another. We don't all think the same, feel the same, or act the same in any given situation. But if we can find a way to just respect people for who they are, maybe we'll find a way to live in peace.