A hundred feet above the Apurimac River, near the remote village of Huinchiri, Peru there is a suspension bridge that connects the Limi-Cuzzo Road. It has been there since the 14th century.
Using four miles of braided coya grass, the Inca constructed the bridge in phases. First a bowman attached a fine thread to an arrow and fired it across the gorge. A man on the other side tied a cord to the thread and fired it back across the gorge. The cord was then pulled across. One by one the Inca added thicker and thicker ropes, finally hauling into place a 200 pound floor cable that was created off site.
Made of grass, this is the last remaining Inca rope bridge. It is reconstructed every June and continues to serve as an access across the gorge. It began with just a single thread.
Think about how many changes take place in life because of a single phone call, the implementation of one idea, one visit, a single letter or an email. All great bridges stem from tiny beginnings. We waste so much time and energy complaining about how bad things are in our world and how terrible some politician is.
Our time and energy can be much better spent shutting off the TV or radio and making that phone call, implementing that idea, making the visit, writing the letter or the email. That’s what it takes to build a great bridge that is so desperately needed today!
It is the same for our faith. A single act of forgiveness, a personal commitment to be more involved in the life of your parish, a gift or an invitation to a stranger. Major construction is overwhelming. But every change that is made for the betterment of humankind starts with a single act.
That is what God did with the birth of Jesus. God introduced the possibility of a total transformation of the world with the gift of a Child in a manger. In a remote place of the world and through a humble migrant couple, God set the stage for a new Kingdom on earth to emerge.
Thanks to Keith Wagner for these thoughts.
What simple thing can YOU do today to begin to build that needed bridge?
IT IS BETTER TO WALK WITH GOD THAN TO WALK WITH A CROWD THAT IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!
