Most of us know that God is not a Republican or a Democrat.

So I was thinking what if Jesus ran for office would we vote for him?

First, he is suspect because he comes from a small town. There is a proverb about his town: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (And they didn't mean Nazareth, PA - the home town of the Andretti family!)

Second, his birth is suspect. He was born to a woman who claimed she 'knew no man'. What gives with this? And the man she claimed as her husband was a radical who hated Romans.

Third, his lifestyle is suspect. "Come and see where I live." "The foxes have lairs, but I don't have a place to lay down my head." Who votes for a homeless man!

Fourth, his choice of friends makes him suspect. He was hanging out with prostitues, tax collectors, thieves, assorted social outcasts. And he chose some of these to be his closest followers. Can you imagine who he would choose to be his cabinet if he was elected governor!

Fifth, his message is suspect. He tells the rich young ruler to give all he has to the poor if he is going to vote for him. Doesn't he know we don't believe in forced redistribution of wealth! He tells the man who is hit in the face to give the attacker his other cheek. What kind of justice is that! He tells the man who is forced to carry the oppressor's backpack one mile to carry it two miles. Doesn't he know that you should beat up any body to tries to make a chattel out of you? He tells those who vote for him to seek his kingdom first. Doesn't he know that's unpatriotic and treasonness to support his kingdom instead of the earthly kingdom!

Sixth, his reaction to disrespect and disagreement is suspect. When people do you dirt, don't you hire the best defense attorneys? When people come after you and assail your character, doesn't he know that you have to hire the best ad companies to create ads to defend yourselves? What does he do? He speaks nicely to them if he speaks at all. Most of the time he says nothing in his defense! What kind of a candidate is that!

So if Jesus were running this fall would you go and vote for him next Tuesday?

(Here is a secret - actually he did run and he won - check out the Bible - Philippians 2:5-11)

One of my experiences on my trip to Germany a few weeks ago was to visit Buchanwald, a concentration camp built the Nazis prior to WWII.

There were several impressions I had from my visit.

First, the first impression I had was that the place is sanitized. While the pall of the horrors of what happened there still hangs over the air, it is hard to grasp the hardships, torture and deaths that were endured by those forceably taken there. The ground is clean, the barracks that housed the people are gone. There remains only some cell blocks which housed people before they were taken to other places to be murdered. And a large building which originally served as a warehouse in WWII is now a museum which tells the story of what happened at the camp. There is also the crematorium where people who died at Buchanwald were cremated, however, you don't reach this place until later in the tour.

Second, my second impression was about who actually made up the inmates of Buchanwald. One of the untold stories of WWII is that Hitler did not only target Jews but all 'socially unacceptable people'. Among such socially unacceptable people were communists, Blacks, the homeless, physically and mentally handicapped, homosexuals and gypsies. People who disagreed with Hitler were also on that list, however,gypsies and homosexuals were especially targeted. While 6 million Jews died in German concentration camps, well over 2 million gypsies were also exterminated. The number of homosexuals who died at the hand of Hitler's torturers are estimated around 10,000. The other groups have no active spokepersons so records are unclear about how many from those groups also suffered and died at Buchanwald and other concentration camps.

While I was walking around Buchanwald I was reminded by this quote from a German pastor who lived during WWII:

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.

- Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

This was the most profound lesson for me - how do I treat those who are 'outside' of my circle - for whatever reason. And further, how do I respond when I see injustice and ill-treatment of the 'socially unacceptable' in my community? When is the last time I advocated for a handicapped person? When is the last time I defended the right 'for the pursuit of happiness' of a homosexual? What is the last time I defended the lifestyle of someone who chose to live outside of the confines of 'normal' society as the gypsies chose to do? When was the last time I defended the rights of those whose only 'handicap' was the color of their skin - a color they had no choice about?

This is the important lesson I brought home from Buchanwald!

I recently visited Germany. One of the most meaningful parts of the visit was to talk with followers of Jesus in what was the former East Germany.

One of the people we met was Renita, Renita grew up in the Communist-controlled East Germany after WWII. When she entered her teen years she knew that she would be faced with a decision that would determine her entire adult life. At the tender age of 14 she had to make a lifetime decision. She had to decide if she would join the Communist Youth Party or if she would choose to remain faithful to her faith in Jesus. If she chose the Communist Youth party she would be able to get a university or technical education which would allow her to provide for her family. If she choose the faith she had grown up in she would be saying 'No' to any hope of education. She would be relegated to the edge of society and, forever, be a social and political outcast. She choose to follow Jesus instead of join the Communist Youth Party. She married a follower of Jesus and remained faithful to her faith.

The day came, as she knew it would, that her daughter would come to her and talk to her about the choice that was before her: join the Communist Youth Party and get an education or follow Jesus. Her 14 year old daughter is very bright - she was 'doctor material' her teachers said. The daughter should choose the education even if it meant denying her faith. Renita and her daughter agonized over this choice. Throughout this time there was an active prayer movement in Germany praying for the reunification of Germany and dismantling of the Berlin wall.

And then it came, in the middle of this agonizing decision, the fall of communism. The fall of the Berlin wall. Freedom for all Germans! Suddenly Renita's daughter didn't have to make a decision as her mother had to make years before. The entire of her future lay before her. Renita's daughter continues to live in faith and is now completing her studies to become a doctor!

So how about you and me? What choice would we have made? Even if we made the choice for faith, would we have encouraged our child to make the same decision knowing the cost?

"We're a small group tonight - so sing loud!"

"There are only a few of us this morning...."

How often have you been to a religious gathering and heard those words?

Some people make a big deal about the size of the crowd - have you notice that?

I don't know if it is part of our American psyche that suggests that more is better. Or if it is the feeling that there is power in numbers. At any rate in church circles, especially, we get hung up on how big the crowd is.

Now, I have to let you into a secret. Real followers of Jesus never count the size of the crowd!

Why?

Because Jesus said it wasn't about the size of the crowd!

Here is what Jesus said about how many people it takes to have an impact on an issue, problem, a community or a nation:

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:19-21 (New International Version))

There are only two requirements: finding one other person and having that person agree with you about a concern you have and you will experience the presence of Christ!

So today - practice this habit of Christ - find a person to agree with you and talk to God about your concern.

One of the forgotten stories is the story of the fall of the communist power in Eastern Europe. As you may remember, the communists, or more specifically, the Russians ended up with Eastern Europe and half of Germany after WWII.

For years people lived in oppression and fear behind the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. In the early 80s people in Germany especially began to pray for the reconciliation of their country - that West and East Germany would be one country again. The prayer meetings were quite small and insignificant at first. The people in the two countries, but specially in East Germany, began to meet in their churches at 5 PM on Mondays to pray for the reunification of their country. These prayer meetings grew and grew - and spread to each night of the week and to almost every church building. By 1989 thousands of people were praying in churches seeking God's power to do what the power of men and women had not been able to do - bring the downfall of communism and reunification of their country. People didn't care if they were Catholic and they prayed in a Lutheran Church, or if they were Lutheran and prayed in a Catholic church. The focus of the prayers were for a peaceful revolution that would bring about democracy and reunification. In November 9, 1989 thousands of people gathered to pray in the churches as was their custom at 5 PM. They came out of the churches their hearts filled with prayer and their hands filled with flowers. They confronted the police and army - they handed out flowers. The soldiers and police accepted them. Not a shot was fired. Within days, the plan for peaceful reunification of Germany was released.

What needs to be reconciled in our lives? Where do walls of our own making need to come down?

Make an agreement with one other person to pray for the power of God to bring about what you have not been able to do in your wisdom or power. And watch God work his miracles!