Personal history quest reveals lessons in faith

You know that Kathy and I recently returned from a trip to Germany that included a tour of Luther sites. I prepared a book for this tour, which was titled “A Journey of Faith.”

Surprisingly, one special moment of this journey of faith happened for me after the official tour was over. On Sunday, Nov. 11, Kathy and I worshiped at the Market Church in Hannover, Germany. Hannover is the major city nearest the place from which my ancestors on my dad’s side immigrated to the United States in the mid-1800s. We were in Hannover looking for my ancestral roots.

While searching Hannover for information on my family, we first visited the city hall, or rathaus. There we saw a sobering model of the results of bombing in World War II. From 80 percent to 90 percent of the roofs in Hannover were destroyed by the bombing. After visiting the town hall, I was sent to the city archives. On the way to the archives I saw a bookstore that included the name of my dad’s family on his mom’s side, Stender. I visited the bookstore and talked to the owner, an elderly, white-haired lady who spoke no English. From what little my poor German could understand, she had ancestors with the same names as my ancestors. They weren’t the same people, but it is very possible this lady and I were family in some distant way.

Then on Sunday, Kathy and I sat worshiping in this old church listening to beautiful music and to the preaching in German, which I did not totally understand. What I did understand, however, was what I saw. The bricks in the enormous pillars were of many different kinds. The bricks were of different color and texture. Some bricks were new and some were old. In addition, where many other churches we visited had beautiful stained glass windows, only some of the bottom windows in the very front of this church were of stained glass. The rest of the windows were clear. It was obvious from the bricks in the pillars and the glass in the windows that this church had been seriously damaged in the bombing of World War II.

This has been quite a year for learning about my family and our roots. This past May when my dad’s brother died, I also learned that he had been administrative aid to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower in the march into and through Germany. Now I was learning about my relatives and ancestors in Germany. I have great respect and admiration for all my relatives I have met on my dad’s side. I especially am thankful for their faith, their wisdom and their ability to deal with problems in a calm and reasonable manner.

In liturgical churches, the Sundays of the church year are often named. The name for this Sunday as we worshiped at the Market Church in Hannover was Fried Sonntag, or Peace Sunday.

So, as I worshiped in this church on Peace Sunday, having met this elderly distant relative in the bookstore and having learned about my uncle’s war history, I realized that my faithful, wise, reasonable ancestors were very likely on different sides in a conflict that greatly damaged this house of God.

Even relatives of Christian faith and wisdom can be led to horrible acts of war. What also became very clear to me as I sat in this church was the depths of man’s corruption by pride and self-righteousness, and through sinful rebellion against God.

In Romans 3:23-24 God moved Paul to write, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” We are all sinful, even those you respect. We all need forgiveness. We all need the Savior, Jesus Christ.

On Thanksgiving weekend as I count my blessings, I am very thankful for my family. What a blessing and Christian heritage I have been given. But, I am even more thankful for the grace of God that comes to a sinner like me, and sinners like my family, through faith in Jesus Christ. God is good and merciful. Thanks and praise be to God!

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

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