767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067
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767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067 |
           
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…for once we learned to see the great events of history from below, from the perspective of the outcast, the suspect, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed, the reviled-in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. These are the words of martyred Lutheran Pastor and Theologian, D. Bonhoeffer. Why quote these words? Who was this man? D. Bonhoeffer was a brilliant young theologian that openly confronted the Nazi regime of his native Germany. In typical prophetic fashion he spoke “truth to power”. He was imprisoned by the Gestapo. During that time he ministered to his fellow prisoners and eventually a SS guard began to work with Bonhoeffer’s family to help him escape. But Bonhoeffer would hear none of this for it would put his family in jeopardy. He could have fled but stayed despite his desire to be free. In the end it cost him his mortal life for his utterance of prophetic protest against one of the most sinister regimes the world has ever known. But even in his death he bore prophetic witness. He was hanged by order of Hitler himself just three weeks before the end of the war in Europe. Upon ascending to the scaffold one of the guards said to him. “Well, this is the end for you isn’t it.” Bonhoeffer, composed and quiet turned to him and said, “No, it isn’t.” Such a prophetic witness reminds us that all of the baptized are called to announce the truth and to bear witness to truth, that God is a God of love for all people. At first, such a statement may sound a bit bland-after all we have heard this so often that it is taken for granted, it is rather common place. But no so fast we might say. Love is the most revolutionary and powerful force in the world and those that offer it to others are bringing about positive change in the lives of our others, in them selves and in the world. It is the Christian call to bear prophetic witness to this truth in what we do and say each day. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet at a very young age. Like most folks he was reluctant to accept this call from the Lord. After all, who was he, so young and ordinary? But God chooses who God wills to choose and assures that person that no matter what, God will be with them, protecting them, guiding them, even if it mean the prophet’s mortal life be taken from us. For many of us such an eventuality is unlikely. However, it will always remain an intrinsic aspect of our baptismal commitment that we ratify in every liturgy and action on behalf of others. That is what prophets do. We, like they, call for a change of heart, for social justice for the poor and vulnerable, for an end to hate, and a civilization built on love. This may sound like real “pie in the sky” stuff, really naïve. But when we think about it is it not more naïve to believe that injustice, hate and callous disregard for others is the real world, or is meant to be the real world. In light of the resurrection of the Lord the future belongs to those of love, justice and peace-even if this world does not always ratify this. And our prophetic witness is carried out if even others judge us as failures. Ultimately, the prophet of Christ leaves vindication to the Lord. Our Lord had to endure the rejection of others, even those close to him because he offered a new way of seeing and being in the world, the Kingdom of God. Look what happened in his hometown of Nazareth. They were ready to kill him! But why; I think it was because he asked them to “stretch” themselves so that they could see and be something new. He asked them to embrace the reality of God’s universal love for all people. For some that was too much, over the cliff with him! But he walked right through their midst. All of us are called to be prophets in the name of Jesus Christ. Some will take a larger more vocal role in the community; others will be prophets by announcing the good news of God’s love for all by working in a soup kitchen, loving their family, opening a door for another, helping to reconcile others in broken relationships. Here at St. James so many I have seen offer the witness of love in acts of kindness to one another, concern for those in Bolivia, for the poor in Hartford, the list seems endless. Yes, we have come to see the great events from the view of those who suffer and offer the witness of God’s universal love for all summoning the world to the truth that this is the future - a future in the unending love of God. Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D.Min. Return to Saint James Home Page |