President Obama finished up his brief trip to Israel with a visit to Yad Vasham, the Holocaust Museum. Those of you who have been there know it is a sobering place, a grim testament to the depths of human cruelty in the destruction of six million Jews during World War II. Mr. Obama walked along the lane of trees commemorating the Righteous Gentiles, those who somehow found the courage to defy the Nazi regime to protect Jewish friends, neighbours, even strangers.
A number of those commemorated are Christians who demonstrated not only bravery but an ability to see Jews as human beings when every attempt was made to de-humanize them. We might assume that we would stand up for the truth and protect the vulnerable if we were faced with this sort of choice, but I wonder what I what I would do to protect myself or my family.
Have you been to Yad Vashem? Do you know about the Righteous Gentiles? Do you think you would have the courage to act according to your conscience and faith if your life was at risk?
That is a VERY hard question to answer - in hindsight, we might say, "Of course I would do the right thing and protect the victims..." - but if we were faced with the reality of Nazi actions, we might also cower, turn away, and beg forgiveness later... huge amounts of respect go out to those who were brave and took the risks to be righteous in the most important way - from my vantage point, I can only imagine how incredibly difficult and dangerous this must have been.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Judy. As I have read the stories of these brave souls, including Christian Corrie Ten Boom and Oskar Schindler I have nothing but admiration for their courage.
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