But what about Hitler? (Hussein)

Often even strongly nonresistant Mennonites quiver when presented with the assumption that peaceful responses sometimes work, but someone like Hitler demands a violent response. This Sunday may be the perfect opportunity to openly address that question.

Bible verses:  Daniel 3:1-30, 6:2-28
Psalm 33; Isaiah 31; Matthew 16:24-26; 26:52 Luke 21:16-19; John 12:23-26, 15:12-13; Romans 5:1-11; 8:18-39; I Corinthians 15:54-58; I Peter 4:7-19; Rev 5:9

Main points:

• I. Persecution often happens to those who follow God first rather than the government.
• II. When we try to save ourselves from enemies, we deny God.
• III. We treat a government like Hitler's, our enemy, as God treated us while we were still enemies.
• IV. God does save from national enemies, depending on what we mean by save:
  1. Avoiding prison sentence (Acts 4:21-22)
  2. Release from prison (Acts 5:18-20; 12:1-19; 16:16-40)
  3. Suffering but not dying (Acts 5:27-42)
  4. Removing the oppressor enemy (Acts 12:1-25)
  5. Death without defeat (Acts 7:1-60; 12:1-25)
  6. Enemies turned into friends (Acts 9:1-19; 10:1-48; Acts 13-15) (from Letters to American Christians By John Stoner and Lois Barrett)
• V. Some tyrants have been overthrown by masses of people who have said "No!"
  • India (Gandhi);
  • Civil rights (MLK, Jr.);
  • People Power in the Philippines;
  • The falling of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union.
• VI. While it is not always possible to make enemies into friends, here are some beginning steps:
  • Realize we have enemies.
  • See the faces of enemies. Learn their names and stories.
  • Stop being unkind.
  • Learn their language.
  • Be willing to take the first step; apologize.
  • Touch, hug.
  • Find something you both like.
  • Find something good about the other and tell someone else.
  • Eat together.
  • Sing together.
  • Pray for the other.
  • Be kind to the other.
    (Some apply better to governments than others. List compiled by Jim McGinnis, Parenting for Peace and Justice.)

Developed for Peace Sunday by Susan Mark Landis,, then Partner at Large for Intergenerational Peace Education, Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries