Across the Pastor’s Desk by Mark Boorsma

On this date in 1941, the Polish priest Maximilian Kolbe died in Auschwitz in place of a stranger.  On February 17, 1941, he had been arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned. On May 28, he was transferred to Auschwitz as prisoner  No. 16670.

At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from the concentration camp, prompting the deputy camp commander to pick ten men to be starved to death to discourage any more attempts to escape.  When one of the selected men cried out, “My wife! My children!,” Kolbe volunteered to take his place.

A few years ago Father Kolbe was remembered together with my great-uncle, a Dutch Reformed pastor who died in the concentration camp Dachau in July 1942.  Instead of despairing or quitting, he chose to interpret his lethal transfer to Dachau as a God-given call to a unique ‘congregation.’

Another concentration camp minister was Martin Niemoller, who wrote of those dark days:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out —

“Because I was not a Socialist.

“Then they came for the Trade Unionists, 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.”

These ministers are just a few examples of the kind of heroes of faith still among us — those who speak out for others, risking their own lives and liberty so that all of us may have a chance to thrive.  Their commitment — even at the cost of their lives — echo the words and sacrificial love of Jesus:  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

 

The Rev. Mark Boorsma is the pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.