Days of Awe

This week our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate the “high holy days,” the most solemn feasts of the religious year. I join with everyone in wishing them strength and refreshment as they celebrate these important rituals. Last week was Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the new year, and tomorrow is Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. In between are the days of repentance, a concept which is often understood to mean admitting guilt and making amends. But repentance more simply means to have a change of heart. I love the reference to these days as “Days of Awe”—as days when believers are invited to change their hearts, to heal wounds, to awaken to awe.

That’s a good prescription for all of us. Psychologists define awe as “that sense of wonder we feel in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world.” When we look at the stars or marvel at oceans, awe comes easily, but sometimes that sense of wonder can be awakened by events very close to us. This week I am in awe of the launch of Welcome.Us, a new effort led by Presidents Obama and Bush, and Secretary Hillary Clinton to bring together organizations, individuals, and communities across all our divides for one simple purpose: to welcome Afghan refugees to our country. We are living in tough times but our resolve to be a beacon of welcome and decency for those who risk their lives for freedom has sustained us in the past and it will define us now for future generations. Now is our time as a nation to heal the wounds of refugees and heal our own, too. That gives me a sense of awe.

Some people say our division is hopeless, but I refuse to accept that. And Welcome.Us is proof that none of us need give up on all of us. In this effort, organized by my friends and colleagues Cecilia Munoz and John Bridgeland, Catholics, Lutherans, and Baptists are working together. So are Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus. In this effort, each one of us can contribute with time and treasure and simple gifts of welcome. In this effort, veterans are pouring out their hearts, as are teachers, law enforcement officials, and mental health professionals. Welcome isn’t exclusive for a political party or a religion or a part of the country. Welcome is who we are—all of us. And that gives me awe.

Last week’s celebration of September 11, 2001, brought fresh reminders of the pain and unimaginable suffering brought on by senseless violence. Like so many others, I watched the commemorations and felt the fear again, the indescribable shock at watching the planes destroy lives, the momentous pictures of President Bush being informed and rushed to the sky for safety. I remember just days later, attending the funeral of Bronko Pearsall, a 34-year-old New York City firefighter who completed his shift on that fateful morning but returned when he heard the call and rushed to the World Trade Center. I remember seeing his fellow firefighters playing his beloved Irish bagpipes outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral to “pipe him to heaven.” I am in awe of Bronko Pearsall.

And on September 11, the US Open Women’s final left me in awe of two young champions, Leylah Fernandez, 19, of Canada and the winner, Emma Raducanu, 18, of Great Britain. They were both embodiments of such vast skill, such steely concentration, such youthful exuberance, such unstoppable discipline. Their backgrounds were a beautiful kaleidoscope of human diversity—Leylah is part Filipino, part Ecuadorian; Emma is part Chinese, part Romanian. And when the match was over with tears and triumph, Leylah stunned the audience when she addressed the crowd in the stadium saying, "I know on this day it was especially hard for New York and everyone around the United States. I just want to say that I hope I can be as strong and as resilient as New York has been the past 20 years.” Wow. Awesome.

So happy new year to all our Jewish brothers and sisters. And welcome to our new Afghan brothers and sisters, good people who risked their lives for freedom and who are now giving us the chance to share our freedom with them. And thank you to all those who gave their lives to try to save others on 9/11. You will never be forgotten. And together as uniters, let’s be as strong and resilient as New York, as tough as Leylah and Emma, as brave as Bronko, and as open to a change of heart as are people of great faith everywhere.