Nils Krausser

Dear Friends, 

During the course of my life, there were moments where I have experienced an unwillingness to speak my mind or defend my beliefs. Perhaps it is because I feel my perceptions will be received as out of step with the participating viewpoints, or perhaps I feel the company in which I am in may be hostile, uninformed, ignorant, or threatened by the unfamiliar.

These days, I have found the simple act of determining the crowd in which I find myself to be a complex, highly technical endeavor. Will my message be received and how? Is it better to keep my values to myself?

This dilemma is as old as the Bible. In John 18, we see Peter repeatedly denying his core beliefs. We also witness the mob mentality of the crowd, lashing out in anger, seeking a target for their grievance. Even Pilate was afraid of the crowd, despite the fact he was tasked with upholding the law. We see the tribalism set in: the crowd screams, “If you let this man (Jesus) go, you are no friend of Ceasar.” 

The Bible ultimately portends the failings of mankind to be its salvation. In a deeply divided world filled with so much anger and suffering, there is a message of hope around the corner. And when we find it hard to discern amongst the tendencies of mankind as a whole, we can always find hope in the scriptures, our own beliefs and, I have found, in those of my fellow congregants.

The question I find myself pondering now is, “How do I avoid mimicking the behaviors of Peter at his weakest moment?”

Faithfully,

—Nils