Memory and Prayer

This morning Chip and I looked at our Journey Through Lent calendar (a copy of which you can still get at church).  We learned that today is the "Feast day of Jonani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda martyred in 1977."  We were then encouraged to "Pray today for all those who suffer for their faith."

My son likes to ask questions.  So soon we were discussing martyrdom - losing one's life due for one's faith - and then quickly found ourselves talking about the Klan, Nazis and other evil people who kill others out of hate, whether for another person's race, beliefs, or religion.  That led to a wide ranging conversation about war, leading to our family's participation in WWII.  Chip can be proud that his grandfather was an Army officer in the Pacific theater and his great uncle was part of the contingent that fought its way across Europe.  But they were not the only relatives of his who were caught up in the maelstrom -- most of my mother's father's family were shipped east from their homes in Berlin to be murdered by the Nazis in the death camps.  We didn't discuss that this morning; there will be a time for that conversation later. I don't believe that a nine year old needs to carry that weight, one that would convert the abstract into the disturbingly personal.

But the rest of us?  We do.  We do not have the luxury of averting our eyes from evil, whether it is manifest at home or the far side of the world.  We need to look, see, and act lest the forces of hate spread.

We should pray today for all those who suffer for their faith.  Hopefully, we will draw strength and courage from their example.  But let us pray too for those who suffer simply because of who they are.  And after we pray, let us ask God for the fortitude and faith to look into our hearts and see how our actions or lack thereof contribute to the ability of evil people to act on their hate.

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