August 6 and 9 mark the anniversary of the only
occasion (1945) when a nation has used nuclear
weapons---the United States, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Japan. Whether one believes that action was
'necessary' or not, few of us would disagree that
as Christians we are committed to advocate for 'Never
Again'. Nuclear weaponry is too much in the news
in our time and yet the effort of the world is not yet
strong enough to eliminate this terrible threat to our
world. As President Obama pointed out in a speech
in Prague earlier this year:
"As a nuclear power--as the only nuclear power
to have used a nuclear weapon, the U.S. has a moral
responsibility to act. We cannot succeed in this
endeavor alone, but we can lead it, we can start
it."
As with so many alarming realities in our world, we
may be inclined to think this is too big an issue for
us, 'little people'. But with other people of
faith around the world, we can pray, and strengthened by
prayer, in partnership with our God who has called us to
'seek peace and pursue it' (Psalm ) we can change
the world.
There may be others, but I've heard about
one of our churches, First Congregational Long Beach,
which will have 1,000 paper cranes hung in the sanctuary
on August 9 and a service focused on remembrance,
including a Hiroshima survivor. At very least, we
can all lift up the prayer: Never again, oh God,
never again...
(For resources, check out
http://laandc.org/neveragain.htm.)
And finally, wanting to make 'full
disclosure', I confess that I have a personal reason for
interest in these dates. Perhaps it will seem silly to
you. But I was born within hours of the Hiroshima
bombing. Somehow I have always felt a special
connection to the fact of so many, too many, terrible
deaths that day. Not guilt or responsibility for
what was done--that's a useless exercise-- but
responsibility for what I do for the sake of 'never
again'. I am convicted that whatever we do
for peace, however small, matters.
With you
in prayer for peace---because with God, all things are
possible.
Jane
