Martin Niemoller: a message for today

By Sister Mary Pat Lenahan, SCL

January 14, 1892 was the birth date of Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor and theologian who was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp from 1938 to 1945. Sister Mary Pat Lenahan offers a reflection on his life and the example he offers us today.

In a speech after World War II, a German, Lutheran minister, Reverend Martin Niemoller, said, “First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out, because I was not a socialist.  Then they came for the trade unions 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 for me.”

I have often referred to Niemoller’s words in my private reflection, prayer, and examination of conscience in challenging myself to my responsibility and accountability in how I am complicit in the evil happening near and far by my silence, indifference, and inaction.  Niemoller himself speaks regretfully of his early support and complicity in the 1930s and 1940s as Hitler and the Nazi regime rose in influence and power in Germany.  As he began to see the injustices inflicted on the people by the Nazi regime, he had a change of heart and became a vocal critic.

In reference to my own personal response to Niemoller’s challenge, I stay informed and continue to educate myself to local, national, and global happenings. Then, I take all of the people and the challenges facing them to God in prayer, asking God to make God’s loving presence known to them and to heal them in whatever assistance and healing they may most need.

I see Niemoller’s reflection as a serious warning and challenge for me personally and to our world as this has happened before and it can easily happen again. In order to be prepared and vigilant, I believe, listening, learning, and speaking out, when it is appropriate are key, preventable measures. Every encounter is a graced opportunity to share hope to be an active advocate to prevent injustice and to work for systemic change.

For many years, I have regularly written our federal legislators in regard to the many critical issues affecting people every day.  Even though I daily change off on the particular issues of concern, I always request immediate action on combatting climate change, providing a pathway to citizenship for our Dreamers and those enrolled in the DACA program, and immigration reform.  Another concern I daily repeat is banning assault weapons and acting on gun reform. Some of the many, other issues include: stopping voter suppression, providing affordable health care and prescription drugs as well as affordable housing.  I also name freedom of the press, putting a stop to the “dark” money influencing elections, insisting on a code of conduct for our Supreme Court Justices, protecting our most vulnerable, working against racism, and providing for our homeless and those with food insecurity.

In regard to our state issues, I have been contacting our state legislators to move on Medicaid expansion as a top priority. I continue to ask legislators to stop any censoring of libraries and school curricula and to work for legislation that supports early childhood education as well as measures to prevent domestic violence, attend to the needs of our most vulnerable, and stop repeating misleading information and seek truth.  I also urge our legislators to improve internet availability and connectivity, and to pass legislation that will provide affordable, health care services and appropriate facilities for our elderly and most vulnerable, especially in rural areas with limited resources.

On the local level, I try to be informed and rely on those who work closely with and have working relationships with our local, city departments and community leaders to address issues that arise and that need attention from those of us living in the city of Leavenworth and the surrounding area. I personally support some of our local agencies that work directly with those who are most vulnerable, such as the Leavenworth Community of Hope and Shelter, Affordable Housing, the Deeper Window, and the free Community meal.  Those who serve in these ministries live our charism and mission by direct service to those most vulnerable.

Reverend Niemoller reminds us that making our voices heard is critical. I believe the many opportunities we have received and continue to receive in our education calls us to open the door for others to be recognized and heard.  Part of my mission and ministry continues to be for me to see Christ in every encounter with each person and respond to the person’s needs as I am able, sharing peace, joy, gratitude, hope, and love in meeting individual needs and making systemic change through hope and advocacy.  I see this personal and faithful commitment to serving our most vulnerable and working toward systemic change as flowing from the Gospel, our SCL Constitution, and our focus on Integral Ecology in focusing on caring for our sisters and brothers as well as caring for the earth, our common home.  Some of my daily ministries have changed but they always have been and continue to be focused on serving others and working for systemic change for justice and peace.  This call continues to deepen my prayer, my joy, my gratitude, and my hope for today and for the future as I join with others trusting in the goodness evidenced in our world and in God’s Divine Providence.