By Chaldean Patriarchate
August 25, 2023
August 25, 2023
Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako
The mind, awareness, and the knowledge of human being are a magnificent blessing, and a creative dynamic for growth, development, renewal, and integration, especially when the person relies on wisdom, balance, logic, creativity, and beauty. This is what differentiates humankind from other creatures.
A rational person is humble, aware of oneself, feels it, searches constantly for new sound options, behaves with responsibility, as well as spreading love, peace and joy. Such honorable, “attractive” person is the greatest miracle God has ever made: “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1: 31).
Awareness is the perception of a specific goal with a thoughtful design to do it, rather than rushing to achieve it impulsively and instinctively. Such a wonderful human being dies biologically – physically and perishes, yet remains alive in the dynamic memory of the sequential history (civilization) and also for the retrieval of stored information to meet and exchange over time, developing oneself reality and future.
Throughout history man has succeeded in a series of excellent “creations” that over time achieved and created new cultural, social, artistic, legislative, political, industrial and religious forms. So the world without memory (civilization) is without history. Moreover, memory (history) makes people and things move, as changes in nature, mankind, thoughts, society, laws, and rituals as well, work together to meet the current daily needs of people.
The possibility of human change (move) is continuous and natural. This memory has a cosmic dimension. Iraqis are influenced by Mesopotamia civilizations of, Acadian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Chaldean, Assyrian, Christian, Arab Islamic. This is our historical background. We must communicate and integrate with it harmoniously and beautifully.
We still remember the great philosophers, creative scientists, inventors, great theologians, great pontiffs and leaders in spite of being deceased physically, but their views remained immortal and their memories alive. However, thanks to modern technology, that enables society to convey their thoughts that are communicated by all means, including social media. Hence, “memory” helps us to look at our lives with a new, serious view of growth and development.
On the other hand, humanity has a harsh experience with a person who has lost his mind and consciousness, whose external features are similar to the smart and conscious human being, but differs in manner and behavior. Unfortunately, such person is more brutal than the beast – (do we not say in the spoken Chaldean dialect: Ethen Nashi Satani), means literally, that there are people who are “demons”, driven by their instincts and obsession with pride, domination, dictatorship, and “unhidden” violence.
Such an evil person is practically the dominant force on the current scene, spreading ignorance, lies, hatred and conflict, destroying the “fabric of society” with corruption, demolition and death, for the purpose of gaining money and satisfying personal “desires”, simply due to having lifeless mind and consciousness, as well as a hardened heart. Accordingly, after the physical death of such person there won’t be any memory or history worth mentioning.
The Parable of the “Weeds Among the Wheat” in the Gospel of Matthew (13/ 24-30, 36-43), provides the best description for the above comparison between the two forms of human beings, drawing the way of life and the way of demolition. “Wheat” represents the real, honest, caring and committed believer. while “weeds” represent the person who cooperates with evil. Isn’t it what mafias do? With a focus on turning wheat into weeds. The basic question that every human being should ask is: “What good should I do, in this world, and what bad thing should I avoid no matter what the price is?
Often, we may not have this option! but, there is an alternative for a person to change, known as “repentance“, that is, a new beginning to build a smart and conscious person, so that he joins the “salvation” movement, hoping that the “bad person” will take an advantage of it returning to his original good nature and join effectively the living memory that does not die.
Good people must be careful and steadfast till the end, despite the cruelty of bad ones! They must cooperate to create a better world and an appropriate environment for a safe life of liberty and dignity, rather than letting it turn into a jungle where the strong eats the weak!!