The President’s Corner
It was a few years ago that we had a Commissions meeting in the Netherlands. With others I picked up people from the airport. We were at the evening meal when my phone rang. It was someone calling on behalf of a Commission member from Angola whose flight had been delayed. The caller relayed the message that the Angolan man was ready for his brother to pick him up.
When I arrived at the meeting point, the person who called was still there. I will never forget the surprise on his face when he realized that I was the “brother” of this African man.
We did not fit into what he imagined when he thought about brothers. My Angolan brother and I did not fit into the stereotype.
Isn’t that what being Christians and especially Anabaptists is about in the world of today?
In this world, people hate others because they look different, because they have different political ideas, because they speak a different language, because… because…. There are so many reasons.
We need courage
If we want to follow Christ, who taught us to love the other as ourselves, we need courage.
Courage to say NO to hate and yes to love, even if goes against our own interests.
Courage to love, even if others do not love us.
Courage to not fit in, but to show a different way, a way that leads to peace instead of war.
We need the courage that people showed 500 years ago in Zürich, when they defied the powers of that time because they wanted to be true followers of Christ.
I hope and pray for many more surprised faces like that man in the airport, when we as a communion of followers of Christ, show love for each other, live out our unity despite differences and so spread a message of peace.
—Henk Stenvers is president of Mennonite World Conference (2022-2028). He lives in the Netherlands.