When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.     John 15.26

An Advocate, according to Merriam Webster, is a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc.; as an advocate of peace, justice or someone in need; an individual who pleads for or in behalf of another; an intercessor. Synonyms are champion, proponent, backer,

While doing some research on the Internet, I came across this poem, which I had heard before: but I was not familiar with the author, Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemõller.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out
    --because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out
    --because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out
    --because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
    --because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me
    --and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Born in Lippstadt, German in 1891, Niemõller was a Lutheran pastor and one of the most respected Protestant leaders in Germany . He was one of the founders of the Confessing Church, which opposed the nazification of German Protestant churches. Niemõller soon discovered that Hitler was distorting the Christian faith in order to use it in the service of political power. Hitler ordered pastors to read a proclamation of thanksgiving to their congregations, a proclamation praising the government for assuming "the load and burden of reorganizing the church." Niemõller refused. He realized that Hitler merely wanted to use the church politically. Rev. Martin Niemõller was protected until 1937 by both the foreign press and influential friends (his advocates) in the up-scale Berlin suburb where he preached. Eventually, he was arrested for treason. He was found guilty, but was initially given only a suspended sentence--perhaps due to foreign pressure. However, he was then almost immediately re-arrested on Hitler's direct orders. From then on until the end of WW II, he was held at the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. Near the end of the war, he narrowly escaped execution. After the war Niemõller continued to work on behalf of the devastated people of Germany (he was an advocate for them.) International honors were accorded him. Yet whenever asked how he wished to be introduced, he invariable replied, "I am a pastor."

There are many people today who need someone to speak up for them. Children may need someone to intervene in school, or if in a bad situation, in their own home. Those who are homeless or hungry need a champion to write to legislators to enact fair practices to enable them to become productive citizens. Older people quite often need an advocate to help them get through the red tape and confusing documents to get proper health care and benefits.

Strange as it may seem, in today's world we need to advocate for Christianity. Now is the time we must speak up for our faith. At the Wednesday evening program at our church, THE (mid) WAY, we watched a short video about following the Cross versus following the Crowd. Where do your loyalties lie? How can you be an advocate for Christ?

Jesus, my Advocate above,
My Friend before the throne of love,
If now for me prevails Thy prayer,
If now I find Thee pleading there,
If Thou the secret wish convey,
And sweetly prompt my heart to pray;
Hear, and my weak petitions join,
Almighty Advocate, to Thine. Amen.
Charles Wesley
Hymns and sacred poems, 1739

Contributed by Rosemary S.
Sunday September 24, 2006
Liturgical Year B Week 44