— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
Eighty years ago, on Sept. 23, 1944, British submarine H.M.S. Trenchant torpedoed and sank the German U-boat U 859 in the approaches to Penang. Among those killed that day was my father’s 20 year-old cousin Fritz. I remember hearing about this cousin from my childhood, and as more material and reminiscences about the voyage and the end of U 859 became available in later years. Both I and my younger brother served in the navy. In a strange way, Fritz Nöhles seemed to remain present.
This is not a tale about a revenant, though. It is supposed to be a meditation on a variety of ways by which life continues, and is continued. In this week’s Die Zeit, the journalist and author Marcus Jauer voices a beautiful view of what life is: “Today, I think that even the tiniest living cell is imbued with a spirit that wants to experience itself. That wants to know what it is like to be exactly this animal, this plant, this human being. We may call this consciousness, or God, or cosmic intelligence, or we may not call it anything at all. I imagine this spirit as something that is burning with curiosity and that can’t wait to make the next experience, and the next one, and the next one, to fully savour this one-time opportunity to be alive, alive at its fullest.”
We see this force and joy of life in the eyes of our children. We see it in the gambol of lambs, only days old, in a meadow. We see it in the relentless struggle of a dandelion pushing through the concrete of the street. And we see it in the tragedy of a disruptive ending. Too soon. Unnecessary.
My father, who passed away on Sept. 5 at the age of almost 94, lived a brave, good, and long life. He was honored and respected by all who knew him. Sometimes it seemed a bit much, the many social, environmental and charitable organisations that he supported, the volunteer positions on the city council, on the city partnership committee, as chairman of the Lorsch monastery World Cultural Heritage commission. He lives on in us, of course, his sons, his grandchildren. But I wonder to which extent he tried, in his life, to also live the life of his cousin Fritz, who was denied his. And whether to call this consciousness, or God, or cosmic intelligence, or maybe just another manifestation of life.
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 