In his book "It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, Robert 

Fulghum tells about Alexander Papaderos, who grew up in a tiny Greek 

village on the island of Crete.  When Papaderos was a young boy, the Nazis 

invaded his island, and hundreds of his fellow villagers were killed for daring to

resist.  Needless to say, the people of Crete held a special hatred in

their hearts against the Germans. 

Following the war, Alexander Papaderos had a vision of building an

institute on the site of that massacre where the people of Crete and the

people of Germany could come together in peace.  He figured 

that if THEY could come together and resolve their differences and begin 

to construct a new and creative relationship, then there was hope that 

all people in the world could learn to resolve differences and find 

peace.  

Papaderos succeeded. The institute became a reality and 

Papaderos himself has become a living legend. 

Where did Papaderos get his inspiration?  

What kept him from growing up filled with hate and revenge.

His passion for peace began when he was a child.  One day 

he found a little piece of a mirror on the road where a German 

motorcycle had been wrecked.  He took the mirror he found and smoothed down the 

jagged edges by rubbing it on rocks. 

As a child he was fascinated by the fact that he could 

reflect LIGHT into dark places where the sun would never shine - like 

under a ledge, down in a well, inside a hole.  It became a game for him to get LIGHT into the most inaccessible places

he could find. 

As Papaderos became a man, he says he grew to understand that this was

not just a child's game but a metaphor for what he might do with his life. 

He says "I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of

light.  But light - truth, understanding, knowledge and most of all, love- is 

there,and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.  I am 

a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know.  

Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of 

this world and change some things in some of them.  Perhaps others may see 

and do likewise.  This is what I am about.  This is the meaning of 

my life."

I hope you were as moved by the story of Papaderos as I was.  It is so easy to take offense at something someone does to us – something far less cruel or devastating than happened to him – and let irritation become resentment which over time can become bitterness.  But here was a man who had every right to be bitter and vengeful, and by the grace of God turned truly horrible experiences into a foundation of good. 

 In James we read, “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”  Now, what is that word?  That word written, illustrated and lived out from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation is LOVE.  God was so full of love He created the world, including humanity.  He then gave humans everything they could possibly need.  Even when they repeatedly reject God, He continues to love them and give them every good gift.  As undeserving as humans are, God gives them His best gift of all, His own Son and
 through Him forgiveness and new/eternal life.

 There Jesus hung on the cross, enduring far greater suffering than even the Nazi’s could cause, and what does He do?  Does He curse His enemies?  Does He call down God’s wrath on the soldiers who nailed to the cross?  Does He consign the religious leaders – priests, scribes and Pharisees – to hell?  Does He threaten to get even with
 the people who turn their backs on Him when He no longer measures up to their expectations?  Does He reject the disciples who fail Him so miserably in His darkest hour?  Does He give up on us when we take God’s grace for granted?

No, Jesus does none of these things.  Instead, out of His immeasurable love for His creation, God in Jesus forgives us.  It is this love, this
forgiveness, this grace that we are called in James to reflect to others.

We are to take the wonderful privilege of hearing God’s word to the next step.  We are to be doers who live out love, forgiveness and grace in our lives.  We are to be doers first by giving love, forgiveness and grace to those close to us – our family, friends and fellow members in the church.

Our “doing” does not stop there though.  As receivers of God’s love we are to reflect the light of that love out into the world around us.  By being a loving, healing presence and by doing acts of kindness at our jobs, among acquaintances and in our community, we reflect the light of God’s love into the dark, hurting places of people’s lives.  Finally, through support of church and social institutions – giving to, working with, talking about and praying for them – we reflect the light of God’s love throughout the
 world.  And as we see with Papaderos this reflecting the light of God’s love is to extend even to our enemies.

It may not seem like an making an effort to forgive and speak well of a sister or brother in Christ matters.  It may not seem that lending an ear to a troubled co-worker or neighbor will change anything.  It may not seem that a couple dollars given to help build a girls’ school in Tanzania or signing a petition
for peace in the Middle East will have any effect.  It may not even seem right or just to pray for an enemy who caused us great suffering.  But, it really doesn’t matter whether we see what the light does or even feel the light should shine in some dark places.  All that matters is that we be doers and reflect that light of God at every opportunity God gives us.  God will use all the little fragments of reflected light to carry forward His divine plan.  And He will bless us in the process.

We don’t know how many lives Papaderos changed or what effect He may have on generations yet to come.  What we do know is that Papaderos was a doer of the Word and God worked through him.  So be a doer and reflect God’s light of love, forgiveness and grace wherever you are or go.  Amen.