Tomorrow is Yom HaShoah. For those who are not familiar with the phrase it simply means "day of remembrance of the Holocaust."
The day is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximate 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its accessories. Yet it is a day that goes beyond Jews and Israel and is a reminder for all of us, all children of God, that horrible things have happened in the past and we must do whatever we can to make sure they never happen again.
As this is an article directed toward all people of faith, I would like us to set aside such a day not only to remember those who have no one left to remember them - when entire towns were destroyed - populations within various countries completely killed - it is all too easy to simply say, "Well, that wasn't my family" and go on with our lives. This is something that people of faith must never do. So spend a moment tomorrow in silent prayer and remember those who died in such a horrible way.
Then, go forth from that moment of silence to live your life in a new way, a way that will assure all peoples that such an event will never be allowed to happen again. While most of us can't control governments or armies, we actually have the very powers that would have prevented such a thing from ever happening.
Hitler could only achieve what he did when the common persons turned their faces away and were just glad it was not them. The saying by Pastor Martin Niemoller in Germany in the 1940s - "First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."
This day should serve as a motivator to each of us to speak out when we see any injustice, to act in defense of anyone without a voice or without power, to love instead of hate, to accept instead of reject, and to stand up and be heard even when it is not popular. We, as God's People, need to be the voice of sanity and reason and not mass hysteria. We, as God's People, need to share the Good News of God's love for all people of this world, not the bad news of making any group of people less than any other. We, as God's People, need to encourage governments toward policies of justice, freedom, acceptance and equality.
This is the calling of this day of remembrance. Do it because God tells you that it is the right thing to do. Do it because our children deserve a better world in the future and a safer world for all people. Do it as someone who cares for others, especially those whom you do not know. And do it for those who hid in attics and basements, who had to wear horrible yellow stars, who lost all their possessions and could not work, died in concentration camps, in gas chambers, in mass graves and never would see their families again. Do it before you are the only ones left and there is no one left to speak for you.
Weiss is the pastor at First Church of Christ (Disciples), 1250 Almond St.
