“Going to walk with the Prince of Peace, down by the riverside,” they sang in the Tenney Park Shelter this evening at the 16th annual Lanterns for Peace observance, which marks the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
For no better reason than that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, it was a good evening to be present. The event is sponsored by a number of left-leaning peace organizations, such as Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pax Christi Madison, and the Madison Area Peace Coalition.
As one who leans more in a conservative direction I let differences rest for one night to “err on the side of peace,” as one T-shirt said. I was reminded of author George Sanders convocation advice to the class of 2013 at Syracuse University to “err in in the direction of kindness.” Sanders said that if he had one regret in life, it was “failures of kindness.”
In the realm of peace and war there are many regrets, often at the cost of many lives. What’s right and what’s wrong is often hard to discern in the spin-zone of politics. The Psalmist advised, “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.” And just this morning I read, “For too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace.” From Jerusalem to Hiroshima there is plenty of need for prayer and for peace, and I confess that I have prayed too little. Even in the realm of politics today there is too much fighting and too little peace.
World War II was an event in my father’s generation, fading in memory. But now the observance has a new meeting as I attend with my half-Japanese granddaughter and her parents. The perspective looks different from the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
On this summer evening with the mosquitos scarce for a change, with the beauty of the Japanese lanterns floating in the Tenney Park Lagoon, and the choruses of classic peace songs wafting over the water, it was almost a perfect evening. As one of the refrains reminded, “Peace will come, and let it begin with me.” Amen.