| THE GREATEST OF THESE
IS LOVE |
|---|
 Hard to believe but just 50 years after the Shoah, Carmelite
nuns moved into a building at Auschwitz, converting it into a convent, to,
as they stated, offer prayers for the dead. The building housed Zyklon B
containers during the war. From the end of the war, there was talk about
making Auschwitz into a museum. A few governments mad token contributions;
and there was support in the Jewish community as well. There was also
serious opposition, as many felt that to see Auschwitz restored with
trimmed grassy lawns was a mockery. Some felt it should be left to decay
naturally.
When the Carmelite order of nuns moved into Auschwitz, the Jewish community was nothing short of outraged. Many of Hitler's henchmen were nominally Catholics and the thought of those who had devastated their careers, homes, finances children and loved ones moving into the place where it was done was outrageous. The nuns of course reported that they were there to pray for the souls of all who had died at Auschwitz, Jew and Gentile alike. A seemingly noble cause. And yet here is the paradox: while there were 'righteous gentiles' of many faiths, and while 5 million non Jewish persons died also in the Shoah, the effort to rid Europe of the Jewish nation was unmistakably the focus of the Third Reich. Ultimately, there were altercations between the nuns representing the Catholic church and the Jewish community. Things became ugly at points and there was a resolution in the end to move the convent eventually. Herein lies the problem of hardheartedness in the Shoah. In Proverbs,
there is a scripture: " The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel". Only
things done from a changed heart speak love. The female author of a book
for Jewish women called SOULS ON FIRE noted that despite all the cruelty
of the Nazis, with their fine dress and fine living, that she, in rags in
a death camp would still rather be in that condition than in thiers. The new Testament ardently states that Love is the Greatest spiritual
gift of all: above power and talent and all else G-d affords the believer.
The prayers could be offered elsewhere, and not made as a final spear. The
nuns said they were there to offer up prayers for the souls of all who had
died. Seemingly a noble gesture. But the Jewish community protested, and
asked for the removal of the convent and the nuns. Things degenerated. A
protest of Jewish worshippers moved inside the gate of the convent and
began to pray. They were poorly treated and even refuse was discarded in
their direction.(1) It has gone this way since the beginning, that what
seems to be our rights often supercedes any real love of humanity.
Much of what is our "right" is not necessarily the best or highest
level of morality that can be accomplished. Christ taught Love above all,
above resisting evil, above good works. The Carmelites and Catholics are
not alone in falling short: so do Baptists, Pentecostals and Jews as well.
We are all indebted to those who did not insist upon their rights to be
somewhere doing good deeds: e.g. Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul to name a
few. And poor Joseph: the choices were made for him. A good deed outside
of love and God's will, is a filthy rag. What we decide is love without
thinking about the Other, often turns to just the opposite.
The comparison is simple: Sixty years later, the wounds are still real;
there are still a significant number of survivors, there are more children
of survivors, and the whole world has segregated Auschwitz into the
category of Hell on Earth. It was also a particularly Jewish phenomena
although many were shadowed by it. None of us at the graveside of a parent
or child want someone of a different faith even offering prayers which we
may not agree with on our sacred ground. Love and genuine Human concern
has to take precedence, otherwise we begin to choose sides at Auschwitz,
instead of learning its lessons. Prayers are not love when they are
cruelty. Prayers are not love when they are forced. Prayers are not heard
when winning is more important than charity. Auschwitz is a reason for
constant prayer, not convents. |