Luke 21: 5-19
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ‘As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.’ ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?’
He replied: ‘Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.’
Then he said to them: ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.
I read recently of a young student who, back in the 1970s, set himself on fire protesting against Soviet rule in Lithuania. I can still remember the hunger striker Bobby Sands in Ireland in the 1980s. We have almost daily newspaper and TV reports of suicide bombings. And I’ve has asked myself on more than one occasion recently, if there is anyone or anything that I would willingly give up my life for? Had I been around during the Second World War, would I have fought with the resistance? Would I have hidden Jews and helped them to safety? If I’d been around during American Civil War, would I have spoken out against slavery? Or worked with the Underground Railroad? These are difficult questions – and while I’d very much like to think I would have done my part instead of sitting it out, unaffected, I don’t know the answers.
While the rest of the world might seem out of kilter, very often our little corner is just fine, thank you very much. And this lulls us into a false and often selfish sense of security. I can’t help being reminded of the quotation attributed to a German pastor speaking out against the inactivity of intellectuals during the Nazi rise to power. ‘They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.’ Is this what will happen if we don’t stand firm?
With thanks and with hope, until next week, take care
An interesting and today very valid question. I think that the easy answer is to glibly say that it relates to personnal courage and integrity which I would like to believe that I have. However (and I am writing this whilst listening to Aung San Suu Kyi on the radio – a woman of small stature and immense courage) I am ashamed to say that there have been situations where I should have stood up and spoken out when I was aware that matters were plainly wrong and I didn’t. I find it interesting that professionally I don’t have a problem with the standing up but on personal matters (not generally but sadly sometimes) I can find good excuses to not follow my heart (which knows the correct action to take). The excuses relate to fear of what might happen rather than what will certainly happen and afterwards the excuses that I had thought up do not help remove the guilt that I feel. I think that this ‘guilt’ becomes an ever growing baggage that we have to carry around with ourselves, it compromises the person we want to be and leaves us as someone we would normally despise. I no longer wish to live with that baggage and whilst I may not always do the ‘right’ thing, I no longer pretend, I try hard to admit to myself that I should have done better and strive to do so next time.
The pastor was right with his statement……….however from my own experience I know it is hard for an individual to stand up, particulary when he is standing alone, yet I do now believe that whatever our faith, if we deeply seek its advice and support we shall be given the confidence and courage to ‘stand firm’.
Thank you Mary your weekly writings are of great assistance.
It’s difficult to measure courage until we are tested. And until we are tested, we can blithely carry on imagining ourselves to be courageous. When it comes to action, for me it’s more about being aware of why I do what I do rather than being right or wrong. More often that I realise, I do without doing. Waking up to that is an experience.
Mary Murphy http://www.stolenchild66.wordpress.com