Beyond the Clouds by Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. | Page 70

no company of their brothers. Yet they are happy because they are in the
company of God’s people; God’s people who live radically different than them!
As our Father’s children, we are never alone. This is what is meant by Jesus,
the Good Shepherd, who will go to all ends of the earth to bring just one tiny
sheep back to His fold.
In fact, “both the image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an
explicit call to unity. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead
them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one
shepherd” (Jn 10:16); these are the words of Jesus at the end of his discourse
on the Good Shepherd. And the account of the 153 large fish ends with the
joyful statement: “although there were so many, the net was not torn” (Jn
21:11). Alas, beloved Lord, with sorrow we must now acknowledge that it has
been torn! But no – we must not be sad! Let us rejoice because of your promise,
which does not disappoint, and let us do all we can to pursue the path towards
the unity you have promised. Let us remember it in our prayer to the Lord, as
we plead with him: yes, Lord, remember your promise. Grant that we may be
one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be torn, help us to be
servants of unity!” (Pope Benedict XVI)
So as a whole, to the one whose mind is open and universal, it is not difficult
to find beauty everywhere. On the other hand, if one is fixated in his culture,
language, and way of living as the absolute standard for the rest of the world,
woe to him and the people who receive him. Here is what really measures the
greatness of a person: if he is a universal being who has transcended the
barriers. If he is universal, he will fly high above the clouds.
Inside the airplane, we do not have too many choices. It is a community
experience that we are forced to accept if we want to reach our destination. No
options are given to choose the nationalities with whom we wish to fly, and we
still come out of this experience unscathed.
International and intercultural experiences and communities are topics of
large discussion in today’s world. White, black, Hispanics, Asians, Africans,
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