This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’
Years ago my wife, Anna, and I went on an Eastern European Tour with one of my former pastors. We enjoyed the vacation and the people we met and tour guides and staff that made our trip enjoyable. We visited many countries including Poland. My favorite city was Krakow. It had a beautiful Cathedral where Pope John Paul II prayed when he was Bishop of Krakow. It was humbling to see the pew where he prayed daily. It was in the back of the Church and not the front. There is a silver plaque where he would pray and meditate.
We also visited Warsaw, the UNESCO salt mines and also Auschwitz. It was eerie. We heard train whistles in the distance, it had an oder, birds didn’t sing and it had a deadly silence. There are some people that say that the stories of Auschwitz are a made-up story. This despite eyewitnesses including soldiers that liberated the camp and inmates that survived who are all dying because of age and the films preserved that document the evidence.
If you go to Rick Steves website, you can pull up the program on Poland, and it gives a good tour of the facility. It includes the artificial limbs of those that died. It also included baby clothes, glasses and crutches. Nonetheless, the thing that took my breath away was all the human hair. Two tons of human hair. I had to lean up to a wall to keep my legs from collapsing.
With all the evidence there are those people that deny it happened. There are also people who argue that man did not land on the moon. Why?
Why are there people who deny something despite the evidence.?
My point this morning is that when Jesus was alive and preaching only some people believed him. Jesus fed the 5000, cured the sick rose from the dead and there are still people at the time that tried to say it was “Fake News”. If Jesus did it was done by actors but not in the case of the man born blind. There are some who always doubt, because of the sin in their own lives that blinds them to the truth.
How do we clear our own eyes to the truth?
Just like Pope John Paul II it takes prayer and meditation. We are not judging others, but we do need to pray for the truth in their lives and truth in our own lives. Saint Maximilian Kolbe knew the truth. He changed places with a married man who was condemned. Greater love. Yes! Fr Kolbe also knew that the wife would also be a victim and partially die if her husband died. It was not a pretty death. He was cramped in miniscule container and starved to death. The beautiful thing is he did it for the truth. He preached the truth in his church about the Nazi occupation. He couldn’t be silent to the truth.
I am proud of my 60 % Polish heritage. Still, according to my DNA I am 1% Ashkenazi Jew. and less than 1% Cherokee Indian. The DNA is evidence. Prayer is what makes me human. The truth is why I believe.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for Pope Leo XIV. Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for those in Hospice. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for the Holy Land. The impossible could and can happen. (Saint Rita) Never deny God! Pray for justice for all victims of human trafficking and immigrants! Pray for justice for our President and all government officials! Pray for Peace!
