Nasim had prepared a special Eid breakfast in the JNRC to mark the end of Ramadan. Helping to serve the expected large number of guests was a group from Youth with a Mission, a worldwide ecumenical missionary network. These people from
around the world, most between high school and college, were spending three months exploring “what God was up to” (their language!) in various places across Europe.
I was heartened by the energy and commitment of these young people, and their openness to growing deeper in Christ by learning from the sacred other, including today from our predominantly Muslim breakfast guests. As I listened to their experiences, the familial tensions inherent in exploring their adulthood, the excitement of living in an intentional, international community, I placed their stories alongside those of my collegio flatmates and the youth I have come to know at St Paul’s. And I realized that God has placed the world in excellent hands.
I thought too of the college student who was my B&B host in Napoli last weekend. Despite the religious shrines on nearly ever street corner in this old, beautiful and troubled city, she had never heard a pastor tell her how deeply loved she was as a child of God. This information brought delight to her face, which made my day to be sure. Imagine what such simple yet powerful Good News can do for a suffering world!
In the last days, says the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your youth shall see visions
And your old men shall dream dreams. (Acts 2:17)
Among the Saints in Rome 