Sunday, April 27, 2008

Sun. April 27, 2008 (Jon Nofziger)

Jon Nofziger (MCC-BC, Peace and Development Desk) spoke on MCC's Day of Prayer and Action for Colombia, a day when we can pray for sustainable peace in that war-torn country in which some 4 million people have been displaced. MCC is interested in helping individuals to achieve reconciliation and understanding on all sides of the various conflicts and in praying for the victims of conflict. King Pilate washed his hands when confronted with a situation he found impossible to solve (Matthew 27.15-26), but Jon asked that we not wash (or wring) our hands, imagining there is nothing we can do. We hear our own inherited stories of our ancestors being persecuted and retell them from the safety of the distance of time and geography, but today's stories of Christians suffering make us uneasy, so, like Pilate, we helplessly wash our hand (at least mentally). Jon then paused to wash his hands on our behalf-the sanctuary was very quiet indeed. After a prayer of forgiveness, we watched a video on Christians attempting to live in Colombia, despite being surrounded by a culture of organized violence. During discussion, we asked whether we, as Mennonites, hold investments in companies which devote even as little as 2% in armaments or support oppressive regimes, or do we look the other way and wash our hands? As we left the sanctuary, we were invited by Jon to approach the front, in twos, to wash each others' hands as a symbol of servant hood and repentance. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday April 27th using your browser's preferred media player.

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