Blessed Assurance – Real Freedom – Sermon – Pastor Marlee Page

Do you know this man? Does he look familiar at all??

His name is Rev. Henry Gerecke – this is a picture taken during what was likely the most important year of his life 1945-1946… this is the time in which many of the highest-ranking members of the Nazi regime were being tried in Nuremberg, Germany. 

You see, Henry Gerecke walked with each of the ten condemned men from their cells to the gallows. 

He heard all their last words. 

Some even expressed thanks and faith. 

Others stayed defiant to the end, their belief in Hitler still unshaken, even though he was dead. 

But that is not why I’ve chosen to tell you about Henry Gerecke. The story of Henry Gerecke is little known and the events of the most important year of his life, November 1945 to November 1946, have been largely overlooked. 

As well as walking these 10 men to the gallows, in the preceding year, he acted as spiritual advisor and chaplain to all of the Nazis on trial before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. 

Can you imagine such a thing – can you imagine answering God’s call in such a way…. yet that’s exactly what Gerecke did.

Early in November 1945, Gerecke was called into the office of his commanding officer, to learn that he had been assigned to the Internal Security Detachment at Nuremberg. Why? To serve as spiritual advisor and chaplain to the top Nazi war criminals on trial there. His commanding officer offered his opinion that it was the most unpopular assignment around. He told Gerecke that he did not have to go. He encouraged him to use his age as a reason to return to the inactive reserves in America. 

Gerecke has written a lot about this time – He wrote, ‘I almost went home.’ He prayed for guidance. He also wrote this, ‘Slowly the men at Nuremberg  became to me just lost souls whom I was being asked to help.’ 

After a few days he gave the Army his decision: ‘I’ll go’ he said.

The US army had primarily selected Gerecke for three reasons: first, he spoke German; secondly, he had extensive experience in prison ministry and, lastly, he was a Lutheran Protestant. Fifteen of the twenty-one Nazis on trial identified themselves as ‘Protestant’. As Gerecke looked at the crimes of which the fifteen were accused he felt totally inadequate. He would write – ‘How can a pastor, a Missouri farm boy, make any impression on these disciples of Adolf Hitler? How can I approach them? How can I summon the true Christian spirit that this mission demands of a chaplain?” He prepared himself by praying ‘harder than I ever had in my life’, so that he could somehow learn to hate what they had done but love them anyways.

In accepting this assignment, I believe Henry Gerecke knew the message that Paul is trying to get his readers, and us, to understand in this passage of ours this morning….

You see, in some ways, our English language doesn’t portray very well the absolute vileness of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the first century – Gentiles meaning anyone not Jewish….it’s one of the reasons I’ve introduced the picture of the Nazis into the message this morning – the vile emotion many feel when thinking about them is similar to the feelings that the Jews had for the Gentiles around them and vice versa – if we had more time this morning we’d read through the book of Acts to see just how much loathing there was – you see even after Jesus was crucified, many Jesus followers still lived a very Jewish existence – looking down and often persecuting those who did not.

In these first three verses, Paul is highlighting the things that make the Gentiles and Jews so different. He made sure he didn’t beat around the bush or leave the specifics unspoken… as always with Paul, he met them head on. And Paul knew the issues personally – remember his Jewish, religious background. 

He knew that:

The Jews believed the Gentiles were literally created to fuel the fires of Hell. A common motto was, “The best of the serpents crush … the best of the Gentiles kill.” It was not lawful to aid a Gentile woman in giving birth, for that would bring another heathen into the world.

The Gentiles were no better, even apart from their animosity for Jews, they had their own hatreds for anyone not like them. The collision of Gentile/Jewish exclusiveness was absolutely monumental. The Gentiles were dogs in Jewish vocabulary, and the Jews were homicidal enemies of the human race in Gentile terms. 

What was the reason for this hatred? The answer is not social or cultural but spiritual: it was religion most of the time.

…and Paul is was calling them both out.  He wanted there to be no misunderstanding that Yes, there were differences but their common bond in Jesus was so much bigger and stronger- this belief and faith in the resurrected Jesus was their common ground!

Isn’t that still an important message for us to hear this morning. How fractured we are as a people today – no matter how you chose to define people…the people of Ontario, the people of Canada, the people of Earth…. yes, even the people of Christ and His church – we are certainly not unified, are we? – you merely have to watch the news reports to see that.

Thankfully, our translation brings us a familiar word- a hope filled word even, that helps us to see that a different truth should be noted. 

In the NIV translation, verse 13 begins with the word ‘But’ …

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

Paul is saying to both these people groups who are so very alienated from each other – because of what Jesus did, not only are you brought close to him, but you are brought close to each other.

In Ephesians two, verse fifteen, “in his flesh” is a reference to the death of Jesus on the cross. By dying on the cross, Christ achieved peace between Jews and Gentiles and so removed the source of their hostility with one another. Now to be honest, this was not a message they easily accepted – but Paul persisted – look at the rest of verse fifteen and sixteen.

“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death their hostility.”

Paul is imploring them to understand that because of Jesus, they were one New Humanity! So that meant that nearness to God was achieved through Christ’s work on the Cross and each of these groups truly needed to hear this. 

Understand that the Gentiles had been distant because they didn’t know God at all and the Jews were distant because for so long they had been bound by the Law and their access was through the temple priests. 

Paul wants them to know that Jesus comes to offer them both Real Freedom: they were all free as followers of the Way of Jesus.

Now that freedom also meant something else that Paul wants them to understand – that they are now equal citizens of a new community.

Look how Paul includes the Jewish & Gentile believers both in the new status of “no longer strangers and aliens”, by doing this, he reveals equality in the spiritual status of each. 

This would be shocking for each of these groups to hear!!!

Remember that the Ephesians’ secular citizenship provided them with the responsibilities, rights, and benefits of the Roman city, and so Paul borrows some political language to describe the church as a new community formed by Christ—as a new citizenry and a new household. 

For the Jewish readers here, Paul is telling them that the previous message preached by the prophets and fulfilled in Jesus is fitted together with the message of the apostles, which is delivered to all.

Look at how Paul frames this in verse 22 – Jesus brings together all believers and fits them into a holy temple but now makes the discussion more personal by explaining that the Ephesians (this is a plural “you” meaning all of you- Yes, Jews & Gentiles) were likewise being built into the dwelling of God.

This makes me think of a question that we had in our Jesus & women bible study a couple of weeks ago…

What do you think people of two thousand years ago would have noticed the most about Jesus? What do you think would have made Jesus seem different to the people of His day?

The ladies had great answers of course! Some said it was his mannerisms of actually talking, listening and engaging with all people he came in contact with. Obviously, his teachings would have been so different that they would have been thought provoking and possibly even scary for some. We also talked about the Joy, love & understanding that must’ve just emanated from him. As I’ve thought about this, when you put it all together… what he was showing, and sharing was a new freedom!!  A REAL FREEDOM!!

He wasn’t bound by social graces- he talked to everyone- the rich & famous, the tax collectors, the fisherman, the lepers, the sick, the poor, the dregs of society, and even the children and the women!!!!oh yes, he did!! 

He wasn’t bound by the Law – He was showing everyone that things could be different – He could show them something better.

He also showed respect and care for others- yes even those who believe differently…. He spoke to the Samaritan women- that was a big one because she was Samaritan & a woman!! OH NO! 

He healed the Roman Soldier’s servant and even on the night he was betrayed, he told His disciples not to fight against the soldiers who were arresting them and healed one of the Soldier’s ears.  

He could have blown everything wide open after that too when he had to go through multiple trials, but he respected the chain of command and how things were supposed to go down. Even when He knew this was all leading to His Death.

No wonder Paul refers to Jesus as the Cornerstone. 

The cornerstone of a building was the stone ensuring a straight and stable foundation. Pauls says Jesus is the cornerstone that this New Humanity- this Oneness is built upon.  The apostles and prophets act as the foundation for the church and we all are the bricks that continue to build this unified Structure- the Temple of Holy Spirit. But Jesus is the cornerstone and because of this truth, God himself is in and with all of us and resides in the temple that we as believers and the adopted children have created for Him to dwell in; in spite of how far apart we might seem.

Now let’s go back to finish up our story of Henry Gerecke:

During the late spring of 1946 a rumor went around the war criminals in the prison at Nuremberg that Henry Gerecke, now nearing his fifty-third birthday, would be allowed to return home because of his age. One of the men on trial wrote a letter on 14 June 1946 addressed to Mrs. Gerecke. This unusual document still exists in US archives. While the court was in session, and with permission, the letter went from one prisoner to another until all read it. Amazingly it was signed, by all twenty-one prisoners. It was sent through the regular prison censorship with a translation and a note of explanation sent by Gerecke to his wife. Gerecke’s handwritten letter, also still in existence, says, ‘Here’s the most unusual letter signed on the original by the most talked about men in the world. You are, without a doubt, the only woman in the world to get such a letter containing such a request.’ He goes on to say that of the twenty-one men who signed he expects that ‘half will go to their death’.