Guarding Self-Respect – Part 14: Readings – 5
Prague, Czechoslovakia
November 26, 1989
“I was ordained a priest,” [Maly] said. “But because I signed Charter 77, I had to clean toilets: that’s why I’m asking you now for one minute of silence for all the oppressed.”
A hush suddenly fell on the boisterous crowd. There was a long silence, and the cold air was so still that those who shut their eyes could hardly believe they were standing in a field filled with half a million people.
After the moment of silence, Vaclav Benda, the political activist imprisoned with Havel, took the stage to read out a list of names of political prisoners just released on orders of the new government. Among the names on the list, Jan Carnogursky, a leading Slovak Catholic and human rights activist, and Father Stefan Javorsky, a sixty-four-year-old Slovak priest. The crowd let out a cheer for every name Benda read. After the last name on the list, they took out their keys and shook them in that CHINK CHINK CHINK CHINK peal that had come to symbolize their clamor for freedom.
The parade of speakers continued, and the protestors responded with the same enthusiasm. As folk singer Jaroslaw Chudka performed, they sang along lustily, swaying, their hands held high in the victory sign. He had just returned to his homeland from a twenty year exile. The crowd knew every word of his songs, despite the regime’s ban on his music. The authorities’ attempt to enforce “forgetting” had obviously failed.
The crowd was exuberant. They laughed, then cried, for joy. But then a serious note.
Havel led two people forward and Maly introduced them as high-ranking members of the security police responsible for the brutality against the student demonstration the week before. The crowd started jeering.
“They have come to apologize,” Maly shouted over the loudspeaker. The crowd fell silent. He could almost sense their desire for revenge.
A tall, good-looking man wearing a fatigue-colored parka stepped forward and looked at the stony faces.
“My name is Ludwig Pine,” he told the crowd. “I’m a lieutenant in the Prague police department. We see that it’s a tragedy that we were enlisted to stop the democratic changes now taking place. Most of us joined the public security with the understanding that we would use our power to fight against the criminal element, not to oppress regular working citizens.”
The statement elicited cheers from the crowd.
“We share some of the blame for what happened during the last days,” he said. “After the unpleasant events on November 17, there’s a groWing animosity of citizens toward the police. We want to tell you that none of our members had the legal right to use force to suppress the people. But this order didn’t come from the police. This was a decision made by the higher-ups in the government.”
He was interrupted by jeers. “What lies!” the crowd shouted together.
Maly put up his hands to hush the crowd. The young officer continued facing them, standing stiff and formal. He raised his voice to be heard over the angry chants. “We want to give you our support for the new democratic changes in our country. I want to express our profound apology that our leaders set us against the people of our own country. Last week, the striking students offered their hands to us in friendship. We want to reach out and accept their outstretched hands now.”
It was an emotional moment. A few in the audience wiped away tears with their sleeves. One of the other junior officers standing to the side joined his colleague at the podium. He was wearing the red-banded green cap of the security police.
“I just want to add that I hope I never see the day when the people of this country stand against one another.”
When the two finished speaking, Maly took the microphone. His face was solemn. The crowd was still.
“We have to be proud of these members of the security police who came forward to apologize,” he said. “They could be risking jail for their actions, and we have to protect them. Thank you for your understanding. Whenever there’s political change, there’s always the danger of the powerless seeking retribution against the powerful. Now, I’m not asking you to forget what those in power have done. But I am asking you to show forgiveness. Forgiveness is more than a word. There’s power in forgiveness. There’s hope in forgiveness. Now, will you accept their apology?”
There was an ominous silence. Then, a chant commenced, faint at first, but growing louder and louder, until the voice of half a million became one voice.
“We forgive you! We forgive you!”
Maly stood there, tears in his eyes. When the chanting subsided, he said, “I would like to end this special moment with a prayer. Those of you who know the words, I invite you to say them aloud with me. Those of you who don’t know the words, pray with me in your hearts.”
He began reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Some in the audience prayed along, others fumbled for the words, until Letna field rang with the sound of a prayer that no one had dared to utter in public in more than forty years.
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Revolution by Candlelight, Bud Bultman, Multnomah, pages 211-213.
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
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For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
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