© 2015 The Wired Word
www.thewiredword.com
"For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for
standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast
moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel is TIME's Person of the Year," announced TIME
magazine's managing editor Nancy Gibbs on December 9.
TIME's short list of finalists included a strange mix: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (the militant leader of ISIS or Daesh), billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump, Black Lives Matter activists, Iran's president Hassan Rouhani, Travis Kalanick (CEO of the transportation-sharing company Uber) and Caitlyn Jenner (transgender individual).
The accolade, awarded annually to a person who is deemed to have impacted world events most profoundly, whether for good or ill, went to Merkel, 61, only the fourth female recipient since TIME initiated the honor in 1927.
Born in 1954 in officially atheistic East Germany to a Lutheran pastor father and an English teacher mother who was never granted a teaching position, Merkel was 7 years old when she watched the Berlin Wall go up. She studied physics and built a career in quantum chemistry, reinventing herself as a politician when the wall fell in 1989.
She won a seat in parliament in 1990 and gained a Cabinet position within a year. Her rise to power in a party dominated by conservative male West German Catholics was no small feat for an East German divorced Protestant woman who later married her longtime live-in partner. By 2005 she had risen to become Germany's first female chancellor and leader of the world's fourth largest economy.
Merkel functions as the de facto head the European Union, steering that joint venture through three existential crises that could have meant the unraveling of its relations: 1) Greece's debt crisis which was tied to Europe's common currency, the euro, 2) Russia's annexation of the Crimea and incursion into Eastern Ukraine and 3) the dramatic influx of refugees and immigrants from the Middle East and elsewhere.
Dubbed "the Chancellor of Europe" if not of the entire Free World, Merkel has been called "Machiavellian" or "Merkelvellian" by some pundits while many Germans call her "Mutti," which means "mommy."
She has been described alternatively as "a permanent delayer," "cautious," "patient," and "a master of listening" who speaks 20 percent of the time and is silent the rest of the time.
Gibbs wrote that Merkel "proudly practiced what Willy Brandt once called Die Politik der kleinen Schritte (the politics of baby steps), or as it is sometimes called in the United States, "leading from behind."
Merkel has been accused of not having a vision beyond two weeks. Yet she said she liked to sit in the back of the room when she was a student, so she could "have the overview," the way a ship's captain positions himself so as to be able "to make course corrections as needed."
Her style is understated, analytical and methodical, not unlike a chess master who "is always a few moves ahead of her competitor," according to dissident clergyman Rainer Eppelmann. Whether it comes from her East German upbringing, her training as a scientist or something else, she displays a calm demeanor under pressure and quiet determination opponents underestimate to their peril.
"If you cross her, you end up dead," John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, said, (though we assume he didn't mean that literally). He added, "There's nothing cushy about her." A German senior official said, "If you want to sum up her philosophy, it's 'under-promise and over-deliver.'"
TIME lifted up Merkel's values of "humanity, generosity, tolerance" as alternatives to Germany's "toxically nationalist, militarist, genocidal past."
Matthias Wissmann, who served next to Merkel in former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Cabinet, said, "She has one principle … She does not want to see people surrounded by walls." Green leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt agreed, stating that Merkel's highest value is "freedom, and everything else is negotiable."
In September, she asserted that "Fear has never been a good adviser, neither in our personal lives nor in our society," adding that "Cultures and societies that are shaped by fear will not conquer their future."
Merkel acknowledges that she has struggled with doubt at times, but always returns to faith in God as the origin of "the sacred dignity of the human being." Viewing ourselves as God's creation "guides our political actions," she said in a recent interview, adding, "My faith in God makes many political decisions easier."
She has advised German Christians to go back to church to rediscover "some biblical foundations" so as to get to know "our own roots" better. "I would like to see more people who have the courage to say 'I am a Christian believer,'" she said, "and more people who have the courage to enter into a dialogue."
More on this story can be found at these links:
Angela Merkel: The Choice. TIME
Person of the Year, Chancellor of the Free World: Angela Merkel's Journey .... TIME
American Christians Could Take a Lesson From Angela Merkel. Religion News Service
The Quiet German. The New Yorker
Merkel: "Faith in God Makes Many Political Decisions Easier. Evangelical Focus
The Big Questions
1. If you had the opportunity to interview Angela Merkel, what question(s) would you ask her?
2. What other awards, prizes, honors or acknowledgements can you name that people use to recognize those who rise above the crowd for some reason? What do those honors suggest about what we humans value? Do you think those values are the same things God values? Explain your answer.
3. Imagine you are on a committee to determine the "2015 Human of the Year." Without reference to the criteria used by other committees who make similar selections, how would you go about choosing your winner? What qualities, characteristics or actions of the individual would you consider, and why do you think those things are important? What would disqualify a person from being considered? Should the criteria change or remain the same over time? Explain.
4. Who would you pick as your "2015 Human of the Year" and why? Who do you think God would pick? Do you think your choice would match God's? Why or why not?
5. Do you think being a Christian makes political decisions any easier for a world leader? What role do you think Merkel's faith plays in her decision making?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
1 Samuel 16:6-7
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed is now before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (For context, read 16:1-13.)
After King Saul displeased the Lord, God commanded the prophet Samuel to go anoint one of Jesse's sons to become the next king of Israel. The problem was that Jesse had eight sons: How would Samuel determine which of them had God's approval? They all looked good to the prophet, but God's criteria for greatness went much deeper than outward appearance. It was David, the youngest, God had chosen.
Questions: What role does God have in the selection of world leaders today? How do people decide who is worthy of honor or who is ready to lead? What criteria does God use to make that determination? What is God looking for when he looks on the heart?
1 Samuel 18:5-7
David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved. As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they made merry, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands." (For context, read 18:1-9.)
The first king of Israel, Saul, came to view the young warrior David as a threat to his throne, at least in part because of his celebrity as the slayer of the giant Goliath. So David's popularity was a double-edged sword: He won the approval of all the people, but earned the wrath of the jealous ruler.
Questions: Can you recall a time when you were simultaneously the recipient of recognition or honor and also the target of hostility or resentment? How did you handle the mixed messages about your worth or accomplishments?
Judges 4:4-5
At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. (For context, read 4:1-10.)
Judges 5:7, 31
The peasantry prospered in Israel, they grew fat on plunder, because you arose, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. … And the land had rest forty years. (For context, read 5:1-31.)
At a time when judges presided over the affairs of the people, Deborah is renowned as a prophet through whom God spoke to the people, guiding them to military victory in times of war, and establishing a time of peace that lasted 40 years. Though her leadership is questioned by some, she proves to be wise and caring as a mother in Israel.
On one occasion, Deborah gives Barak instructions to prepare for battle against Sisera who commands an army of 100,000 with 900 iron chariots. With only 10,000 soldiers in his army, Barak understandably declines the commission unless Deborah accompanies him. She willingly does so, but indicates that timid Barak will not receive any glory from victory, which will come at the hands of another woman.
Questions: What similarities, if any, do you see between Angela Merkel and Deborah? What skills did Deborah need in order to be successful as a leader in times of war and peace? How did she come by those skills?
Matthew 25:21
His master said to him, ''Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'' (For context, read 25:14-30.)
In the parable of the talents, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a slave owner who gives his slaves assets to manage while he is away on a trip. When he returns, he calls them in to account for the trust they were given. The first two were commended for doubling the original investment, but a third who did nothing with the assets he deemed "wicked, lazy and worthless" and cast out.
Questions: What assets has God entrusted to you to manage for him? What do you need to do with those assets to ensure that you will hear the words, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave" when you stand in his presence to give an account of your management of what God has entrusted to you?
For Further Discussion
1. Comment on this from TIME's managing editor Nancy Gibbs: "At a moment when much of the world is once more engaged in a furious debate about the balance between safety and freedom, the Chancellor is asking a great deal of the German people, and by their example, the rest of us as well. To be welcoming. To be unafraid. To believe that great civilizations build bridges, not walls, and that wars are won both on and off the battlefield."
2. Respond to this statement, also from Nancy Gibbs: "Leaders are tested only when people don't want to follow."
3. Merkel grew up in a walled country where atheism was the norm. Do you ever feel isolated in your Christian practice? How do you handle feelings of isolation? How can you assist isolated people who want to develop their Christian faith?
4. Merkel's training as a scientist might have made her more skeptical of faith matters; however, she professes to be a Christian. What barriers have you overcome to grow your own Christian faith?
5. Critics note that the "Person of the Year" award can go to someone who is changing the world for ill. Many believe that Merkel’s policies regarding immigration fall into that category, and will result in Germany (and much of Europe) changing from relatively liberal democracies to something more representative of an authoritarian and more repressive Middle East. Commentator Jim Geraghty with ironic humor criticizes her by noting that "No German chancellor has done more to change the demographics of Europe since ...." While we obviously cannot see the future and take no position on this particular matter, it does lead to thoughts on consequences. It is said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." How should we (or should we not) examine policies and actions beyond "good intentions" to look at ensuing or long-term consequences?
Responding to the News
Take time to pray for world leaders and to ask for God's direction for nations as they select those who will guide their steps into the future.
Closing Prayer
Shepherd of our souls, lead us in the paths of righteousness, so that in all our ways we would bring honor and glory to your name. Amen.
TIME's short list of finalists included a strange mix: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (the militant leader of ISIS or Daesh), billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump, Black Lives Matter activists, Iran's president Hassan Rouhani, Travis Kalanick (CEO of the transportation-sharing company Uber) and Caitlyn Jenner (transgender individual).
The accolade, awarded annually to a person who is deemed to have impacted world events most profoundly, whether for good or ill, went to Merkel, 61, only the fourth female recipient since TIME initiated the honor in 1927.
Born in 1954 in officially atheistic East Germany to a Lutheran pastor father and an English teacher mother who was never granted a teaching position, Merkel was 7 years old when she watched the Berlin Wall go up. She studied physics and built a career in quantum chemistry, reinventing herself as a politician when the wall fell in 1989.
She won a seat in parliament in 1990 and gained a Cabinet position within a year. Her rise to power in a party dominated by conservative male West German Catholics was no small feat for an East German divorced Protestant woman who later married her longtime live-in partner. By 2005 she had risen to become Germany's first female chancellor and leader of the world's fourth largest economy.
Merkel functions as the de facto head the European Union, steering that joint venture through three existential crises that could have meant the unraveling of its relations: 1) Greece's debt crisis which was tied to Europe's common currency, the euro, 2) Russia's annexation of the Crimea and incursion into Eastern Ukraine and 3) the dramatic influx of refugees and immigrants from the Middle East and elsewhere.
Dubbed "the Chancellor of Europe" if not of the entire Free World, Merkel has been called "Machiavellian" or "Merkelvellian" by some pundits while many Germans call her "Mutti," which means "mommy."
She has been described alternatively as "a permanent delayer," "cautious," "patient," and "a master of listening" who speaks 20 percent of the time and is silent the rest of the time.
Gibbs wrote that Merkel "proudly practiced what Willy Brandt once called Die Politik der kleinen Schritte (the politics of baby steps), or as it is sometimes called in the United States, "leading from behind."
Merkel has been accused of not having a vision beyond two weeks. Yet she said she liked to sit in the back of the room when she was a student, so she could "have the overview," the way a ship's captain positions himself so as to be able "to make course corrections as needed."
Her style is understated, analytical and methodical, not unlike a chess master who "is always a few moves ahead of her competitor," according to dissident clergyman Rainer Eppelmann. Whether it comes from her East German upbringing, her training as a scientist or something else, she displays a calm demeanor under pressure and quiet determination opponents underestimate to their peril.
"If you cross her, you end up dead," John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, said, (though we assume he didn't mean that literally). He added, "There's nothing cushy about her." A German senior official said, "If you want to sum up her philosophy, it's 'under-promise and over-deliver.'"
TIME lifted up Merkel's values of "humanity, generosity, tolerance" as alternatives to Germany's "toxically nationalist, militarist, genocidal past."
Matthias Wissmann, who served next to Merkel in former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Cabinet, said, "She has one principle … She does not want to see people surrounded by walls." Green leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt agreed, stating that Merkel's highest value is "freedom, and everything else is negotiable."
In September, she asserted that "Fear has never been a good adviser, neither in our personal lives nor in our society," adding that "Cultures and societies that are shaped by fear will not conquer their future."
Merkel acknowledges that she has struggled with doubt at times, but always returns to faith in God as the origin of "the sacred dignity of the human being." Viewing ourselves as God's creation "guides our political actions," she said in a recent interview, adding, "My faith in God makes many political decisions easier."
She has advised German Christians to go back to church to rediscover "some biblical foundations" so as to get to know "our own roots" better. "I would like to see more people who have the courage to say 'I am a Christian believer,'" she said, "and more people who have the courage to enter into a dialogue."
More on this story can be found at these links:
Angela Merkel: The Choice. TIME
Person of the Year, Chancellor of the Free World: Angela Merkel's Journey .... TIME
American Christians Could Take a Lesson From Angela Merkel. Religion News Service
The Quiet German. The New Yorker
Merkel: "Faith in God Makes Many Political Decisions Easier. Evangelical Focus
The Big Questions
1. If you had the opportunity to interview Angela Merkel, what question(s) would you ask her?
2. What other awards, prizes, honors or acknowledgements can you name that people use to recognize those who rise above the crowd for some reason? What do those honors suggest about what we humans value? Do you think those values are the same things God values? Explain your answer.
3. Imagine you are on a committee to determine the "2015 Human of the Year." Without reference to the criteria used by other committees who make similar selections, how would you go about choosing your winner? What qualities, characteristics or actions of the individual would you consider, and why do you think those things are important? What would disqualify a person from being considered? Should the criteria change or remain the same over time? Explain.
4. Who would you pick as your "2015 Human of the Year" and why? Who do you think God would pick? Do you think your choice would match God's? Why or why not?
5. Do you think being a Christian makes political decisions any easier for a world leader? What role do you think Merkel's faith plays in her decision making?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
1 Samuel 16:6-7
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed is now before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (For context, read 16:1-13.)
After King Saul displeased the Lord, God commanded the prophet Samuel to go anoint one of Jesse's sons to become the next king of Israel. The problem was that Jesse had eight sons: How would Samuel determine which of them had God's approval? They all looked good to the prophet, but God's criteria for greatness went much deeper than outward appearance. It was David, the youngest, God had chosen.
Questions: What role does God have in the selection of world leaders today? How do people decide who is worthy of honor or who is ready to lead? What criteria does God use to make that determination? What is God looking for when he looks on the heart?
1 Samuel 18:5-7
David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved. As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they made merry, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands." (For context, read 18:1-9.)
The first king of Israel, Saul, came to view the young warrior David as a threat to his throne, at least in part because of his celebrity as the slayer of the giant Goliath. So David's popularity was a double-edged sword: He won the approval of all the people, but earned the wrath of the jealous ruler.
Questions: Can you recall a time when you were simultaneously the recipient of recognition or honor and also the target of hostility or resentment? How did you handle the mixed messages about your worth or accomplishments?
Judges 4:4-5
At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. (For context, read 4:1-10.)
Judges 5:7, 31
The peasantry prospered in Israel, they grew fat on plunder, because you arose, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. … And the land had rest forty years. (For context, read 5:1-31.)
At a time when judges presided over the affairs of the people, Deborah is renowned as a prophet through whom God spoke to the people, guiding them to military victory in times of war, and establishing a time of peace that lasted 40 years. Though her leadership is questioned by some, she proves to be wise and caring as a mother in Israel.
On one occasion, Deborah gives Barak instructions to prepare for battle against Sisera who commands an army of 100,000 with 900 iron chariots. With only 10,000 soldiers in his army, Barak understandably declines the commission unless Deborah accompanies him. She willingly does so, but indicates that timid Barak will not receive any glory from victory, which will come at the hands of another woman.
Questions: What similarities, if any, do you see between Angela Merkel and Deborah? What skills did Deborah need in order to be successful as a leader in times of war and peace? How did she come by those skills?
Matthew 25:21
His master said to him, ''Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'' (For context, read 25:14-30.)
In the parable of the talents, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a slave owner who gives his slaves assets to manage while he is away on a trip. When he returns, he calls them in to account for the trust they were given. The first two were commended for doubling the original investment, but a third who did nothing with the assets he deemed "wicked, lazy and worthless" and cast out.
Questions: What assets has God entrusted to you to manage for him? What do you need to do with those assets to ensure that you will hear the words, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave" when you stand in his presence to give an account of your management of what God has entrusted to you?
For Further Discussion
1. Comment on this from TIME's managing editor Nancy Gibbs: "At a moment when much of the world is once more engaged in a furious debate about the balance between safety and freedom, the Chancellor is asking a great deal of the German people, and by their example, the rest of us as well. To be welcoming. To be unafraid. To believe that great civilizations build bridges, not walls, and that wars are won both on and off the battlefield."
2. Respond to this statement, also from Nancy Gibbs: "Leaders are tested only when people don't want to follow."
3. Merkel grew up in a walled country where atheism was the norm. Do you ever feel isolated in your Christian practice? How do you handle feelings of isolation? How can you assist isolated people who want to develop their Christian faith?
4. Merkel's training as a scientist might have made her more skeptical of faith matters; however, she professes to be a Christian. What barriers have you overcome to grow your own Christian faith?
5. Critics note that the "Person of the Year" award can go to someone who is changing the world for ill. Many believe that Merkel’s policies regarding immigration fall into that category, and will result in Germany (and much of Europe) changing from relatively liberal democracies to something more representative of an authoritarian and more repressive Middle East. Commentator Jim Geraghty with ironic humor criticizes her by noting that "No German chancellor has done more to change the demographics of Europe since ...." While we obviously cannot see the future and take no position on this particular matter, it does lead to thoughts on consequences. It is said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." How should we (or should we not) examine policies and actions beyond "good intentions" to look at ensuing or long-term consequences?
Responding to the News
Take time to pray for world leaders and to ask for God's direction for nations as they select those who will guide their steps into the future.
Closing Prayer
Shepherd of our souls, lead us in the paths of righteousness, so that in all our ways we would bring honor and glory to your name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment