The EKD opened its autumn conference with the ZDF television service in the Church of St. Stephan in Würzburg. Here you can read the corresponding sermon by the regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Christian Kopp.
Dear community!
People who live without protection and without shelter lie on dusty, dirty streets. To be afraid. Are suspicious because they don’t know security. I remember the October trip to the partner church in Brazil. I learned what daily insecurity and vulnerability mean on the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. The others live just a few meters away and protect themselves and their lives with barbed wire. I have never seen vulnerable people and highly insured residents as close as I have in Brazil. It concerns me. And I heard it from our partners there: uncertainty, distrust. The fear of being attacked. That wears people down. The heart longs for trust and protection.
Be protected inside and out. I believe everyone has this wish. I’m at a loss, but I don’t despair. I am thrown to the ground, but I do not perish. It is uncertain and fragile, but I trust in God’s strength.
Many people who are fleeing around the world are currently feeling devastated. But in Europe, hard boundaries are currently being drawn in the area of migration and flight. Also in language. It is enough. “Close the boarders.”
As in Brazil, many people think that only huge security fences will help. I wonder: How is it that people have become so hard, untrained in compassion? Where has the empathy gone? There is a lot of fear on the way. I’m declining in my lifestyle. I’m not coming with you anymore. I stay alone. Fear, fear, fear. And fearmongering. This creates fear of strangers who are not from here.
We are in the middle of heated debates about escape and asylum. About human rights and too much immigration. Very strange comparisons are being made. Prejudices against strangers are almost bred. There is a lot of fear involved. Facts help me. Germany has been a country of immigration for centuries. Germany thrives on the immigration of people. They get involved in countless jobs. We wouldn’t be able to do all of this on our own. We also need immigration for our economy. And that must be separated from the individual right to asylum. I am always aware that I could find myself in a situation where I have to flee. When I hear reports from northern Israel or southern Lebanon, where people have to flee, I imagine how I would feel then. This helps me with these questions.
The fear of strangers is at home in the brain’s primal fears. In this part of our brain, reason is just an onlooker. That’s what makes it so dangerous.
“Trust grows when strangeness disappears”
Only trust cures fear. Trust grows when strangeness disappears. Trust can be a protective space for me. I saw this at our partner church in Brazil. I have seen projects that make a difference. A church that has been giving food and spiritual nourishment to homeless people for 25 years. A mini devotional three times a week and then a small lunch. People need that. They have built trust step by step. Before my trip, some people said: Oh, Brazil, be happy, wonderful country. The others said: Just be careful that you don’t get attacked. Our delegation received a wonderful welcome there – warm, friendly, hugs. How nice that you are here. Brazilians can also laugh at themselves a lot. And we with them also about ourselves.
I think we need many such encounters. Lots of contact with each other. Listen. To be there. Perceive. First understand before we talk and do. Only contact breaks down prejudices.
There needs to be forums where opinions can be exchanged. Also controversial opinions. Church can, church must be a place for these dialogues. We have to listen. There are many misunderstandings about the Evangelical Church. Also how we as a church stand on the topic of flight and migration.
We are totally different within the church. We look different. We think differently. That’s what makes the whole thing so interesting. There is no one solution. I trust in God’s love, in his protection, in his strength that makes people human. With respect. With attention. I put my hope in that. I experience this every day. People who work for others in the name of God. Who have a heart that has mercy. Who don’t let themselves be talked out of compassion. And I find every little step valuable.
“Protection is a basic human need”
Basically we all need the same thing. A roof over your head. Something to eat on the table. A hand on the shoulder or a friendly hug: It’ll be okay. Wool socks and a heater in winter. Quiet nights and sleep without sirens. Places where we can be safe. Inside and outside.
Protection is a basic human need. Live protected. Uncertainty wears people down. More protection officers are needed.
More trustworthy people are needed.
We carry this treasure of trust in fragile vessels. Everything in life is fragile. They are earthen vessels made of earth. Our feelings. Our CVs. Our experiences and relationships. They’re fragile. They are vulnerable. People like to say vulnerable these days. People don’t have armor around them. People are in need of protection. People on the move and in foreign countries need special protection. Christians find this protection in their faith. Paul writes: This should make it clear that our great strength comes from God and not from ourselves. What greater protection can there be than the power of God?
I also see this search for protection here in the crucifixion group that the artist Helmut Ammann designed for St. Stephan in Würzburg. Mary and John stand under the cross, looking fearfully and desperately into the nave. As if they wanted to say: Help. Help us. Jesus is high up on the cross. I think it almost looks as if Jesus wanted to protect the two below from up there. Not as much as a suffering person. Just the arms. As if he wanted to bless her or give her a hug right away. Dear ones, don’t be so sad. A Christ who cares for people. A Christ for the mourning, the suffering, the abandoned.
The crucified Christ protects others. He who experiences the deepest darkness makes our hearts light up.
From this face God’s light shines into us. Into our hearts. The light must come in and drive out the darkness.
As I experienced with our partners in Brazil. Give children a space where they can play safely. Planting trees so they can see fruit for the first time because they spend their lives in otherwise dark favelas or high-rise buildings. A comforting word, a hug. A smile. A temporary room. There are so many small steps that make a big difference.
And I speak the words like a protection: I will not be crushed. I’m at a loss, but I don’t despair. In the darkness the light shines. God gives us strength. He gives great strength. It will be enough.
AMEN
More about the EKD Synod 2024 in Würzburg
