Dear Friends
I agree that some pictures are worth a
thousand words. Of course, some pictures leave us
speechless, (not to mention our emotions which have been so disturbed and
drained by pictures coming from Ukraine over the last few weeks).
But words can be powerful too. The quote “The pen
is mightier than the sword”, according to Wikipedia, was spoken by English
author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, indicating that “the written
word is more effective than violence as a tool for communicating a point.”
The world has been moved by the powerful
words which have and continue to be spoken by President Zelensky. I
would simply like to share some other words, written about a madman
named Hitler, words which also speak to a current madman named Putin, words
which are currently making the rounds on social media.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the martyred pastor and theologian
who stood up to Hitler wrote,
“If I sit next to a madman as he drives a
car into a group of innocent bystanders, I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait
for the catastrophe, then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to
wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.”
Along with prayers for all who are suffering, and all
those negotiating for some kind of peace, I pray for those in a position to
wrestle the steering wheel out of the current madman’s hands.
John
