When They Come for Me

The recent Holocaust Commemoration and a new agenda in American politics brings to mind a sense of history repeating itself
Linkin Park features quite a bit on my playlist and as I listened to the words coming out of Trump’s mouth this week, the title of one of their songs came into my head “When they come for me” from their “A Thousand Suns” album. Parental advisory lyrics so I won’t be quoting them here. It did, however, remind me of another poem: First They Came. One of the most famous poems to come out of the Holocaust by Pastor Martin Niemollër:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
When individuals in society make choices to serve their own personal interests it tends to backfire.
In the US, we’re hearing anecdotes of non-whites being picked off the streets and deported or taken to detention centres if they can’t produce documentation that proves they’re US citizens. Native Americans mistaken for Mexicans and people who voted in the incumbent hiding relatives in their attic. Anne Frank anyone?
Bad things happen when good people fail to act. Last month we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We talk about the things that happened in the 30s when people were in disbelief that murder on an industrial scale could take place in a modern society. Unfortunately, when we look back at historical events, we tend to look through a lens that suggests people weren’t sophisticated, modern or on-trend back then. We assume that things have moved on and we’re the modern society so such things can’t happen again.
Look around, we are pretty much at the same place we were nearly a century ago. Right-wing sentiment is on the rise across Europe and in the States there’s a new president who thinly disguises his agenda. We even have the richest man on the planet giving Nazi salutes (allegedly).
It sends very strong signals to groups that say that they will stand down and stand by.
In Jeremiah 22:3 it says:
This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
As Christians, we in this country live a nice comfortable existence and we forget how Christianity was born. We forget the pain, the agony, and the suffering that gave birth to our faith. Where people were persecuted, stoned or thrown to the lions for what they believed in. Yet still bravely spoke truth to power. We should not keep silent when we see signs like the ones a century ago. Where the leader of the free world can say that a plane crash is a direct result of diversity hire policies; suggesting that only people with great minds should be doing such work. Making it out like minds are genetically or racially handed out by God.
So what can we do? First of all, with everything we must pray. Search the Bible and you’ll see times when the Israelites were facing annihilation, facing great danger. Things worked out for them when they truly repented and prayed. After we pray, what do we do next? We act guided by the Holy Spirit. We speak out and be discerning enough to cut out the noise that’s all around, the diversions, the dead cat thrown on the table to distract us. Focus only on the mission to call out injustice, to call out evil, to face up to it wherever it rears its ugly head.
The book of Micah says in chapter 6 verse 8:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
Practically, here in the UK, you can write to your MP and if you don’t know who your MP is then you can visit www.theyworkforyou.com. Find out who represents you at a local and national level. If your MP isn’t Farage they might feel as impassioned as you do on this subject. They might also be worried about being the only person to speak out. Being at the vanguard of fighting for justice takes some nerve so it’s good to know they have someone watching their back. That’s where you come in. Give them your support and say “Yes! Fight on my behalf, represent me in Parliament. Make sure the rhetoric we’re hearing is called out through diplomatic means or economic means to say that we don’t subscribe to this kind of talk”.
We don’t want to see another holocaust. We don’t want to see people put into camps whatever name you give them or whatever country they’re residing based on their ethnicity, or their immigration status.
The Bible says that we need to look after the widows, the fatherless, and the foreigner because the Bible recognises the groups that are always are the sharp end of injustice.
Our politics needs to be less of “What’s in it for me?” and more “What’s in it for humanity”? Don’t make choices based on the tax break you’ll get or the extra benefits that apply to just your needs. Think of the cost to others if you get what you want.
Luke 22:3 says:
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Let us all do what we can now let us not be afraid to come together. It’s easier to break a twig than it is to be a bunch of reeds.
Remember, if you don’t speak up for others, there’ll be no one left to speak for you when they come for you.