Reflections on Reconciliation/Taizé
A year ago my telecommunications research led me to Europe; I was interviewing individuals about collaborative structures in the European Union economy. I found myself standing at the Brandenburg Gate, where the Berlin Wall tumbled down.
But I found the real meaning of the fall of this Wall in Southern France.
In the hills of Burgundy, where Caesar fought the Gauls and the famed wine flows, lies a miracle of reconciliation -- the ecumenical monastic community of Taizé. As I stepped off the bus in this small village, I met a retired businessman from the Netherlands; he and his wife have been going to Taizé annually for a decade, connecting to the spirit of solidarity there.
In two days I experienced the utter simplicity of this place; at the same time I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of its meaning -- the sheer challenge of reaching across divisions (and walls) to be reconciled.
Taizé is a concept, an ideal, but it is also very, very reality-bound. The community began in the forties, when a young man named Roger dared to welcome Jewish refugees into his home, realizing the world's need to be reconciled. Later some Germans went to Taizé' and helped build a simple church as a sign of their own desire for reconciliation. Over the years, the community of Catholic and Protestant monks grew and developed a simple monastic lifestyle with its focus on work and prayer. Roger and these monks remain a model for a unified global community.
The Taizé music is easily recognizable -- simple chants repeated over and over so that people of all races can easily learn them, no matter what language is used. There is a sense of contemplative waiting-together, during the moments of common prayer. Pilgrims come from all over the world to taste this simplicity and silence -- and to share conversations.
The monks accept no gifts and do not encourage visitors to build other Taizé's around the world. The idea is simply to institutionalize reconciliation back home when you return.
Weekly this powerful concept draws as many as 6,000 young people to Taizé. As weekends approach you can see them coming up the country road with their backpacks. They will sleep in rustic accommodations, some in tents, and connect with each other and with the spirit of the place. The idea developed to arrange Taizé young adult meetings elsewhere.
Fourteen gatherings have been held -- in Rome, Manila, Poland, Prague, Budapest, among others. The 1991 Prague meeting attracted 80,000 youth! And now the Taizé spirit is coming to America. Don't miss the chance to break down some walls...