Video transcript:
There is a war waging in the middle of Europe.
There is a war waging in the middle of Europe. Most of us probably never thought that one day we would have to utter this sentence. In Europe, cities are being bombed, people are being shelled, civilians are dying. The population is seeking shelter in sub-way stations; almost a million refugees have already made their way to find refuge in Hungary or Poland.
There is a war waging the middle of Europe. What seemed unthinkable for so long has become real. And I, like probably many, feel perplexed and absolutely helpless. I have not done military service; I did community service instead. “War is contrary to the will of God” – this is what the World Council of Churches had urgently formulated in 1948. This should also apply to me as a prospective theology student, I thought then. And now? Arms supplies and rearmament suddenly seem to be the order of the day. Can that be?
War is contrary to the will of God – What does that mean today for me, for us as Community of the Cross of Nails as we are striving for reconciliation, peace, and international understanding? Can there be peace without resolutely confronting and stopping the aggressor? I would so much like to know how this can be done. But I am perplexed. I am a conscientious objector, yet I admire all those Ukrainians who defend the independence and freedom of their country, even with weapons.
In the last weeks Coventry has been in contact with Anastasya from Saint Pauls, our Cross of Nails’ partner in Odessa. Anastasya was grateful that the Community of the Cross of Nails is showing its solidarity with Odessa. She asked that we pray for her parish and for peace in the hearts of the people. Unfortunately, we have not heard from her since the war began.
I cannot get out of my mind the Bible verse with which the Litany of Reconciliation begins: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All have sinned. We become guilty where wars leave us cold just because they are far away. And we need to reflect openly and honestly how we, the seemingly uninvolved, have contributed that war is waging in Europa again. But even though we are all not blameless in this conflict, not all sin is equal. Reconciliation and peace must go hand in hand with justice. You cannot have one without the other. Injustice and aggression must be clearly called by their names. We must confront both without hating the aggressors. That is what Provost Howard has taught us.
But I remain perplexed as to how justice and peace are to come together. Forgiveness and reconciliation are perhaps too big words for the moment. But how do we start with small steps? Where can dialogue emerge, where is the space for people to come together so that peace and reconciliation might get a chance again?
What remains for the moment? Where to put my speechlessness? It helps me to know that over the centuries people have turned to God in their helplessness. Especially in the Psalms, people have not minced their words and have bitterly complained to God about their abandonment:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (Ps 13)
But I also hear in the Psalms: Come, behold the works of the Lord; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. (Ps 46)
We bring our helplessness before God and include in our intercessions Anastasya, Pastor Alexander Gross, and the entire Saint Paul’s parish in Odessa, but also the Cross of Nails partners in Russia and Belarus: The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Kaliningrad, St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Moscow, St. Catherine’s Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Volgograd, and the International Conference Centre IBB in Minsk.
So we pray: Almighty and merciful God, you are a God of peace. You have promised us a world where swords are forged into ploughshares, where people no longer learn to wage war. In Jesus Christ you gave peace. His way is a way of gentleness, non-violence, and reconciliation, even to the cross. He is our peace. God, we lament war and terror in many countries on this earth. We lament to you the suffering and violence that people experience. We lament the senseless deaths. God, we bring before you the war in Ukraine and our fear and bewilderment. We ask you that the war-mongers find their way back to the power of dialogue and no longer rely on the language of weapons. We pray that wisdom and the will for peace is stronger than self-assertion and power. God, we think of our brothers and sisters in faith and of all the people in Ukraine who are suffering under the war. We also think of the people and Cross of Nails partners in Belarus and Russia. We know that we Christians should be one in Christ, our peace. Make us to instruments of your peace in this time. Amen.
Oliver Schuegraf, Chair of the German Community of the Cross of Nails
