Friday, July 10, 2020

Day 125: A WEEK OF PRAYER FOR OUR WORLD IN CRISIS - Authoritarian Regimes



DAY 125
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
Week Eighteen – Friday 17 July 2020

A WEEK OF PRAYER FOR OUR WORLD IN CRISIS

Authoritarian Regimes

O God our Father, whose Son forgave his enemies while he was suffering shame and death: Strengthen those who suffer for the sake of conscience; when they are accused, save them from speaking in hate; when they are rejected, save them from bitterness; when they are imprisoned, save them from despair; and to us your servants, give grace to respect their witness and to discern the truth, that our society may be cleansed and strengthened. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our merciful and righteous judge, Amen. - The Book of Common Prayer: For Those Who Suffer for Sake of Conscience

“In January 1933, after frustrating years in which no government in Germany was able to solve problems of economic depression and mass unemployment, Adolph Hitler was named chancellor. By playing on people’s fear of communism and Bolshevism, he was able to persuade parliament to allow him to rule by edict… . Most Germans took the union of Christianity, nationalism, and militarism for granted, and patriotic sentiments were equated with Christian truth.” - Introduction to The Theological Declaration of Barmen, Germany 1938. The Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church USA

Today we pray for “those who suffer for the sake of conscience.” One of those in Nazi Germany was Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who, along with other pastors, could not as a matter of conscience embrace the unholy mixture of Christianity and the authoritarian administration of Hitler, who in pubic feigned an embracing of traditional Christian beliefs but who in private disdained them. They eventually paid for following their consciences with their lives.  And today?

“Authoritarian leaders may use the COVID-19 crisis to tighten their grip. … In Hungary, … it is now a criminal offense to spread misinformation about coronavirus … and criticism of the regime is dismissed as ‘fake news.’” - Recent article in an international news report

Ancient Israel had two types of rulers: those who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and those who didn’t. Times haven’t changed, and people of conscience who speak up find it costly.

Reflective question: From your conscience, will you pray “that our society may be cleansed and strengthened?”

Reflective Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:19 – “Holding faith and a good conscience.”

Reflective hymn:
“Once to Every Man and Nation” – Jams Russell Lowell (1819-1891)
Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth and falsehood, for the good or evil side.

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