War memorials are always hard places for me. When there are a lot of names the feeling grows; I cannot but feel for all the different families and how it would have felt as the loss linked with every name was realised. In 1953 there was a massacre on the island of Sao Tome, which is remembered by a simple but poignant memorial site. This is a short overview of what happened.
‘The Batepá massacre occurred on 3 February 1953 in colonial São Tomé when hundreds of native Creoles known as Forros were massacred by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners. Many Forros believed the government intended to force them to work as contract labourers, to which they objected.’ (Wikipedia).
Today’s reading from the Old Testament book of the prophet Jeremiah, (7:1-11) reflects on people who do things that are abusive to other people, who then think it appropriate to go to worship God and profess their love for the beauty of temple. Jeremiah’s prophetic message is that to be welcomed in by God, those who have disrespected others must first repent thoroughly of their sins, and mean it.
I could not tell anything about the faith of those responsible for the massacre of native people, but I know for certain that I was sensitive to the same feeling of shame and hopelessness that I felt at the Menin Gate when I visited it, or when I stood in the National Memorial Arboretum in Warwickshire.
My question is always the same, unanswerable one, ‘why?’. Why be like that.
A Prayer
Lord God Almighty, God of all people and all nations, you see our treatment of one another and you remind us that we cannot live as we do and face you, unrepentant. Give us the courage to turn from whatever it is that is evil in our lives, and seek your forgiveness. Give us the grace to accept your forgiveness and the wisdom to change our ways in your strength; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.