This last April, 2018, my husband and I visited Wittenberg, Germany, part of the history of my Lutheran heritage. Wittenberg is a famous city to fans of Martin Luther, who posted his 95 theses on the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg 501 years ago, on October 31, 1517. But as the news comes to us today telling us of a vicious killing of Jews in Pittsburg, PA, while they gathered for that most life-giving moment, the dedication of a child at his bris, my thoughts go to this piece of art, a memorial to the Jews which is erected at the base of the The Stadtkirche Sankt Marien or St. Mary’s Town and Parish Church . 
The memorial depicts something oozing in through the cracks. This picture I took also features the shadows my husband and I threw on the memorial as I took the picture. We are all affected by antisemitism in the world, wherever we find it. But, we Lutherans have it staring us in the face. That stuff oozing in the cracks? – it must be hate. It must be racial or ethnic disdain, disgust and eventually destruction. Because we Lutherans are proud of Martin Luther, who stood up to an interpretation of scripture which permeated the world of the Dark Ages – an interpretation which forced believers into a hollow life of fear of damnation at the hands of an angry God. Luther released believers to cling to grace – The Just Shall live by Faith. I am proud to be Lutheran, and to commemorate the day of Luther’s taking a stand.
But Luther was an anti-semite from an anti-semitic time. And those writings of his which espouse that point of view were used by Nazis to further their final solution – extermination of a race – the Jews. And so if I am proud to be a Lutheran I must also be bent low in shame as well. At Wittenberg, they erected this sculpture showing the oozing of hatred, and dedicated it to the Jews. Because you see this sculpture lies at the foot of the church that features another piece of art.This scupture is called the Judensau. It is a racial slur, and a warning, both. Because many churches erected this visual of individuals suckling at the teats of a large pig. Erected in many German towns during the 14h century, this was designed to keep the Jews away from their town. But, there were no Jews in the town at this time, the entire community was destroyed in a pogrom (or ethnic cleansing) in 1359. The synagogue of that time was discovered in a construction project. No Jews were any where near this statue. It seems to have been erected merely to reinforce the ethnic hatred of the community of the day.
Today’s shootings reminds me that ethnic hatred is only a generation or so behind us, since the days of the Nazis. But, the roots of that hatred are deep. And a man I admire was part of the problem.
My prayer for us all today is this: Dear God, who gives us inspiration from the Holy Spirit to change the world, inspire us today to confront where ethnic hatred seeps in through the cracks of our lives. Help us purge the egotism and privilege that still exists within us and our communities. Make us inheritors of your righteousness, and your compassion, and move us to stand for the weaker among us, the persecuted, or the wronged. Give us your vision, Lord of a community founded on love, and then equip us to do the hard work to construct such a world. Amen.
(at our 9:30 am worship at Holy Cross Lutheran, in Salem, Oregon, on Sunday, October 28, we will commemorate the Reformation, and meet following worship, at 10:45 for a bible study featuring pictures from our trip to Germany, including the pictures in this blog. All are welcome)