— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
35.000 in Frankfurt. 30.000 in Hamburg. 50.000 in Munich. 20.000 in Cologne. Christian Democrats alongside Greens, Leftists and Liberals, Social Democrats. All united by their professed adherence to democratic principles, and admonishing each other to mind the main chance of parliamentary democracy. There is something oddly touching about these demonstrations, something mildly romantic. Walking along feels good, almost like actually having done something already.
And like with most mass movements, notably the representatives of the various parties have singled out one group of ‘others’ to be the bad guys. Who dare to call themselves an ‘alternative’ and occupy the reactionary far end of the political spectrum. The enemy has been identified, and it is them.
So who are these enemy aliens? Upon closer inspection, most of them are at best quite domestic figures, while some clearly are fascist types. Xenophobiac. Anti-semitic. Stupid to the point of being a danger for themselves and others. But are they responsible for the condition this country and their as well as our lives are in? Many of these people seem mainly dissatisfied with being, at least in their own idea of themselves, relegated to the sidelines. Not heard. Not seen. Not being taken seriously. Not taken into consideration. Whatever they do, or ever did, does not seem to have made a difference, did not earn them recognition, appreciation, or simply money. So they learned that in so many ways the promises of equality in a democracy are not fulfilled for everybody. Because these promises are linked to economic status, or simply money, and won’t allow for failure.
“You can do it if you really want” is not so much a promise as it is a threat, because if you are not successful, it is obviously your own fault since you did not really want it badly enough. Calvinist Protestantism operates on the similar basis, as already Huckleberry Finn knew. “Miss Watson … told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warn’t so. I tried it. Once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. It warn’t any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn’t make it work.”
A lot of these dissatisfied people prayed for more than fish-hooks, and could not make it work either. They also voted for all of the other parties, and nothing happened, except more of the same. Less economic security, more fear of sliding down the economic ladder, loss of status. And a lot of blabla from the politicians.
Recognising that there are flaws in the system is not that difficult. Finding remedies is. Chances are it won’t be much use raining down shame and insults on these people. Too easy, too simple. Worse: we know from political science that a lot of people are ready to act against their own better interest as long as there will be a change, and especially if by doing so they can do damage to those they hold responsible for their own miserable situation.
Now we won’t be able to change the gross inequalities in this country any time soon; the ridiculously unfair distribution of wealth, the uneven access to education, the problems getting adequate housing. But we can reach out to people whom we see struggling, who can not do it even if they really want. We can lend a helping hand. We can show appreciation, and solidarity. And maybe we can convince some of them to come back to our side. It is worth trying, and while we are at it, praying will likely not get us fish-hooks either, but it will bolster our spirits and help us facing the ‘enemy’. Deplorables, Hillary Clinton called them, so they elected her opponent. Will likely elect him again in the fall. And if that happens, there will be the devil to pay.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 