Not one
Came to my defence!
Monday, September 11, 2023
Martin Niemöller (1952)
Psalm 118:8
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.
2 Timothy 4:16-17
Paul wrote: At my first defence no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
…
Words of Grace For Today
As many before, as many since, as many will until the end of time, I was falsely convicted of a crime. For me it was a crime that never happened, for many others it is a crime perpetrated by others, for so many the definition of ‘crime’ is set to include whole swaths of innocent people simply for being born or living honestly, or seeking justice for all.
Fortunately for me, one did speak out for me, futile as it was, it was still a sign of God’s speaking for me, against all the lies brought to the Courts.
…
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
(Martin Niemöller)
…
There is no sure security that humans can offer each other. This only God can offer, and God gives it freely
through humans ready to fight with words and actions for all others’ rights to the basics of life.
The message Paul carried is the key to life lived well … okay we can’t live life well, and that was Paul’s message of Jesus’ Cross: We can only accept that God has paid the price for our messing up life so bad we are beyond hope or rescue (except by God’s intervention), forgiven us, renewed life in us, and sent us out to be that ‘rescue’ for others.
So we must speak out!
… well, no, it is not so that we ‘must’
for we cannot on our own and we are under no obligation.
It is that we get to speak out, and the Holy Spirit makes us able to do so.
This is also our task today:
To speak for those whose basic rights to the basics of life are denied them.
Small challenges fill our days, eh?