Sometimes the very first sentence of a scripture reading grabs you and doesn’t let you go again. This Sunday’s gospel was like that for me. It starts with the description of people standing by, watching, observing passively as something incredibly cruel is taking place before their eyes. To be fair, the people had little choice. Sharp Roman swords were present all around them on the hill where Jesus was crucified along with two others. It was an all too familiar scene in those days in Palestine. Resisting officers would have meant risking one’s life. So, they stood by, watching. When some of their leaders went a step further and mocked the innocent person on the cross, they stood by. When the Roman soldiers came up with a few sadistic ideas, playing games with the tortured man on the cross – just because they could, the people stood by. I don’t blame them, and I perfectly understand the vulnerable position they were in. They were bystanders.
“Bystanders” is also the title of a book, published about ten or fifteen years ago, by Victoria Barnett. I don’t personally know her, but I knew her husband who was the pastor of the German Lutheran Church in Washington back when I was involved with the German-Lutheran Conference in North America. His wife is a Holocaust researcher, not the most fun subject to study. “Bystanders” is a historical book, shedding light on the quiet majority of Germans who enabled the rise of Nazis. Some of them were just desperate for change; some of them intrigued by the promise of quick fixes and a restoration of national pride. Some bought fully into it, others just stood by as the norms of civility and humanity went down a dark path. In Barnett’s book and in other books about the Holocaust, it is pointed out repeatedly that the people’s passive attitude contributed to the rise of a very dangerous movement.
Fast-forward to the year 2016 and the situation is concerning in some respects in our own United States. I met with our former field education student Axel Kaegler this past week to talk about his work and ministry and his experiences serving a small parish in the Quakertown area. Axel sends greetings to the people of St. Peter’s. But he also told me that in his quaint neighborhood some people recently painted swastikas on a public building. It should not surprise us anymore that these despicable images keep appearing. I read in the newspaper this week that incidences of anti-Semitic slogans have been sharply on the rise. The Anti-Defamation League found that 800 Jewish journalists were attacked with anti-Semitic messages during this election cycle. Such incidences in general already had increased by 60% in 2015 over incidences in the year before. Swastikas have appeared in places like a children’s playground in Brooklyn Heights or storefronts in Philadelphia. And that doesn’t include the messages aimed at Muslims or other groups. The degree to which a minority of people feels empowered to make their prejudices and hate speech public, is concerning. So, the million-dollar question always is: can we do something about it? Or are we better off considering this a temporary rise of extremism that will be forgotten in a year or so? History teaches us that we shouldn’t be so sure. And God asks us to listen to history, to the lessons that have been taught on the stage of this world, some very powerful lessons!
So, here is what gives me hope. As much as I have been forced to see parallels between Germany in the 1930’s and the white supremacism that is raising its ugly head right now – I also see some important differences. Thank God, we have a strong democracy in our country that cannot be easily dismantled. Thank God, people have the right and ability to stand against bullies and extremists on either side of the spectrum! Thank God, we don’t need to be bystanders when we witness people making cheap jokes about vulnerable members of society. Thank God, we can be vigilant and occasionally act. As Christians and as people who owe very much especially to our Jewish brothers and sisters, we need to be vigilant and clear when basic respect for humanity is violated. We are wise not to take the values we grew up with for granted.
We are observing Remembrance Sunday today, as well as Christ the King Sunday. It is obvious that Christ’s attitude was one of great love for all people, humility, curiosity about others, compassion toward the vulnerable, gentleness. All these things, along with his willingness to die for his God, for his principles, his teachings, made him king, not some fancy crown. Human nature, human sin, so often prompts people to attack the more vulnerable members of society, especially when people feel vulnerable themselves. Then they look for others who are more vulnerable and make fun of them – to make themselves feel better.
Look at the gospels and see how Jesus treated outsiders in his place, the Jewish provinces of the early 1st century. He found faith among diverse people: a Roman military commander, a prostitute, people collaborating with Romans as tax collectors, children, women, working class fishermen and so on. He was always curious about people’s faith, no matter where they came from. This is Christ the king!
Today we also celebrate Remembrance Day. It is a time when we recall the lives of those who we lost this past year. Their names are listed in our program; they are named and uplifted here in our sanctuary. It is worth asking: what were the best qualities of some of those you are missing in your life? What can we do to honor some of the values they may have taught us? And, at this time when time-honored American values of tolerance, as well as Christian values, are being challenged, perhaps we need to remember most of all our Lord and how he lived his life, what he stood for and what he taught us. And we need to make sure we don’t put our light under a bushel, as he said, but make those values felt and known through our words and actions – and not be bystanders when it counts. I know that Jesus is praying for us, praying for our country, praying for our people, praying for Christians to be Christians, praying for Jews and Muslims and others as God’s children, praying for the kingdom of God to come rather than more violent kingdoms of this world to appear. Let us join him in this prayer!
Amen.