18/05/2015

The Beatles’ song Revolution tells us that we all want to change the world, but when it comes to destruction, the song says, ‘you can count me out’. It was released in 1968, the year when revolution seemed a real possibility. In Paris and other parts of Europe students rioted and took over their universities. In the United States the counter-culture of the 1960s was at its height, with civil rights and anti-Vietnam protests gathering huge momentum after the death of Martin Luther King. Social and economic revolution was in the air, often led by people who weren’t afraid to use violence to achieve the changes they demanded. Some of these protest movements did bring lasting change in social attitudes and political structures. Others petered out or became compromised by violence. But much of what drove the unjust structures against which the revolutionaries fought remains in place, because it’s embedded more deeply in the human heart than mere political plans.In his writing Pope Francis calls repeatedly for ‘a revolution of tenderness’. He doesn’t do much explaining of what he means, but he’s given some famous demonstrations. In kissing the deformed face of a man with a hideous skin disease, or washing the feet of people suffering from HIV/AIDS, he’s showing the power of human tenderness and its capacity to overturn the way we place people into categories of value. Tenderness is far from being soppy. In facing ugly realities with love it can revolutionize the way we construct our whole society. God of infinite love, lead us in a revolution of tenderness and teach us how change the world through love, Amen.