Yad Vashem

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tears in my eyes...a lump in my throat...a pit in my stomach...anger...sadness...dismay...a few words to describe my physical and emotional state as I walked through the Hall of Names at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum earlier today. My heart aches for families torn apart, lives ended prematurely, the unnecessary pain, suffering and murder that occurred throughout Europe all too recently. Perhaps, what pains me the most is that as a human society we are capable of perpetrating and standing by and allowing such evil to occur then and now.

Just turn on the news or go online and you will be bombarded with reports of the current refugee crisis, 9/11 remembrances, ISIS attacks, murders throughout our city streets, the state of race relations in the US, just to name a few. We are capable of love, of mercy, of kindness, but we are also capable of terrible atrocities. It is in these moments that I MOST believe that HOPE comes from God because without God, I would feel that nothing can be done. However, in Him, with Him and through Him, I believe that we can stand up, we can make a difference, we can use our voice to be a source of love and mercy in a world that is deeply wounded. Today, I am reminded of the words, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). He wept over the death of his friend Lazarus; he walked this earth and he suffered deeply, he wept then and I believe he weeps now. May his tears be a source of much needed balm for our wounded world. May his love be a source of unity for all women and men, regardless of ethnicity, religion, and/or whatever else can be a source of division.

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Photos

Deportation Mural
Warsaw Ghetto Plaza (Yad Vashem)

Comments

[Sallie Latkovich]

Heartfelt
Oh, Michael. Your words ring so true of the horror of the Holocaust, as well as the violence humans continue to do to humans today. For those of us who love and respect the life given by the Creator, it is beyond understanding.