2023-12-24 14:59:00
This year, too, there were many crises that can rob us of our faith in a better future. Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, the refugee crisis, the Hamas terrorist attack and the climate crisis are just a few examples. In this context, the question arises as to whether prayer still helps.
Another year in which you could lose your faith. Anyone who looks to the east sees nothing good in Ukraine; and in the West, the outlook for the upcoming presidential elections in the United States is already causing concern for some Europeans. The situation created by the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and the Gaza Strip is also depressing. The result is anti-Semitism on the streets of Hesse too. Added to this is the refugee crisis, but also the fact that there is still a lack of convincing responses from the global community to climate change. And the list is not exhaustive.
“Because there is evil, there must be God.”
In everyday municipal life between Hanau and Wiesbaden, a lot of things seem to be trying, especially with a view to the last point: municipal heat planning will lead to expensive construction sites, transport policy measures are already causing endless discussions, not only on Oeder Weg in Frankfurt. These are small worries compared to what people in the real crisis regions have to endure.
But ultimately what counts for everyone is everyday life, mixed with the minor world news that many people have long preferred to ignore rather than deal with. Who wants to know what will be decided in Berlin if much of it will no longer apply tomorrow? “News avoidance” or “News fatigue” are the Anglo-Saxon terms for this – just don’t read any more news, you’re tired.
Symbol of hope: And prayer is anchored in the Christian faith tradition. : Image: dpa
An adventure worth diving into
Praying doesn’t help anymore, many say – perhaps not just those who have long since left the church in large numbers, and not just because of the church tax. But what reason do we still have to call on God? It can be a weariness of despair, sometimes an exuberance of happiness. But is there one? “The only adventure worth plunging into,” wrote the Colombian philosopher Nicolás Gómez Dávila. And the desire for God is still there, especially in view of the evil in the world, even among those who have distanced themselves from the church: “Because evil exists, God must exist,” said the philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas . There could be something to it, otherwise we would die of fear.
This is of little benefit to the churches: the two large Christian churches in Germany only have a little more than 40 million members. Of these, around 20.9 million are from the Catholic Church and 19.2 million from the Protestant Church. More than 34 million Germans have no religion. The decline is dramatic and has been going on for a long time. In 1990, a good 17 million more Germans belonged to a Christian church.
Against this background, the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) sent an “impulse mail” this year, i.e. a physical letter into the real mailboxes of its members, which is worth a second look, or even a first look, at Christmas. if the letter is still lying around at home.
A comment from Carsten Knop Published/Updated: Recommendations: 17 Jacqueline Vogt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 85 Daniel Meuren Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2 Daniel Meuren Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3
Under the motto “Nevertheless”, i.e. despite these developments and influences, the aim was to give an impetus to pray the Lord’s Prayer and to think about its content for a moment. The team around EKHN Church President Volker Jung therefore inserted the word “nevertheless” into the Lord’s Prayer in the letter. The aim was to incorporate current concerns in wars and crises, but also the personal storms of life, into the prayer that is hopefully still familiar to people. Will that succeed? It’s a long way. Because you can also give the church membership figures this perspective: In 2021, the number of church members fell below the 50 percent mark of the total population for the first time.
Prayer as a “guide for human proportions”
“Praying,” wrote Novalis, “is the expression of the infinite longing of finite man for his infinite origin.” Perhaps all the meanness that people experience are short-circuits of longing, as the former pastor of the Protestant parish of Keitum on Sylt once put it. Traugott Giesen, who also made the references to the philosophers quoted here: All worship of people or things is presumptuous, perverse praying, just as shouting in the streets is a plea to be heard.
But Jesus’ prayer, the “Our Father”, is the guideline for human proportions, for the dignity that people are entitled to. We are addressed, wanted. So not people dominated by fear, but people who pray the Lord’s Prayer, sons and daughters. With this, Jesus puts us on a straight line: we belong together. And prayer is an intensive communication: “Communio”, “cum” and “unio”, with this oneness.
“Despite this becomes a stumbling block for anyone who wants to rediscover the content of prayer in this way and takes fears and doubts seriously,” said the EKHN in justifying the Impulspost campaign this year: “That is offensive And it should be, because it should encourage you to think about God and God’s encouragement.” Christmas offers a good opportunity for this.
And the Lord’s Prayer is at the core of the Christian faith tradition: not only is it the best-known prayer and the only one attributed to Jesus himself, but it is also prayed by all Christian denominations around the world. In church services as well as at liturgical life transitions, at almost every funeral. It is the prayer that is used when one’s own words are missing: support and comfort through what is familiar. Confronted with the crises of this world and in your private everyday life? You can feel your way home with the Lord’s Prayer.
#good #prayer #Christmas