Following Orders

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 4:21-30

This past week the world commemorated 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Its hard to wrap my mind around the fact that over six million Jews were killed in Nazi-controlled Europe at over 22 extermination and concentration camps, transit camps and killing fields. Nearly one third of all European Jews were killed, along with many, many others.

For some, this event is barely a blip on the radar, but for me, it holds a special place. In 1977, I had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, outside Jerusalem. Yad Vashem is Irael’s official Holocaust Museum. If you have been to any Holocaust Museum in the USA, you know it’s a moving experience. Yad Vashem, on the other hand, is on its own level. From the time you enter the grounds and walk up the Avenue of The Righteous, until you walk out of the last hall, it takes about three hours. When our group completed the tour, we had to sit on a piece of grass for over 30 minutes, just to be able to start breathing normally. The memory of Yad Vashem is seared onto my heart.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is having hard time with some old friends. They find him to be arrogant and a little full of himself, to say the least. In fact, they are so angry with Jesus, they decide to throw him (literally) out of town. Fortunately, nothing happened to poor Jesus, but I’m sure he felt pretty disappointed in his friends.  They could not see the possibilities of something new or different. Their way was the only way.

We have all read stories or seen movies of life in the 1930’s and 40’s Germany under Nazi control. While some tried to resist and protest the fascism, most people either embraced it wholeheartedly, or tacitly agreed with it. People became blinded to an idea that was the opposed to what their Christian upbringing had taught them. At the Nuremburg War Trials, many attempted to plead innocence by claiming they were only following orders. That did not work well for them.

Today, my heart breaks when I see people in my own country being treated unjustly because of the color of their skin or the place of their birth. This is not what Jesus taught me to do. God has always been very clear that I am to love everyone. It does not matter what race someone is. It does not matter if they have a job or not. It does not matter if they have a home or not. It does not matter if they have lots of money or not. None of those things matter to God. So, they should not matter to me.

What is truly sad is that I see other people going along with these injustices, in spite of the cruel nature of the acts. I suppose they cannot see the possibility of something different. Their way was the only way. But at some point, in the future, they will be called to account for their actions. Trying to plead innocence by claiming they were only following orders, will not work well for them. It didn’t in the past, and it won’t in the future.

I will be honest and say that I really don’t know what to do to influence the injustice that I see occurring. I pray I will know what to do when the time comes. All I know is that my eyes are open and so are my ears. I will stay aware of what is gong on around me and will do whatever I am able to do, to speak and act for God’s love and mercy.  That is my command and pledge to God. I am called to Love the Lord [my] God with all [my] heart, with all [my] soul, and with all [my] might. And… Love your neighbor… (Matthew 22:37, 40)

Every Day.

© 2025 by Timothy J. Doppel

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