March 7-13 2015
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God. Joel 2:12-13
In March 2010 God began the initiative “Blow the trumpets” over Europe. First there were four meetings in Switzerland and just a year later we heard Joel’s word (see above) from HIM to his church in Switzerland. It seems that our Lord Jesus Christ wants to be certain that we hear HIM in this time. Therefore HE blows the trumpets as a wake-up call and at the same time invites us to seek HIM, to pray and to fast, to stand in the gap for his church and our land! We are repeatedly fascinated and surprised how and why God determines time and place for each week of fasting. Following our meeting in 2011 in Andermatt (canton Uri), we were in Aeschi (Bern) in 2013, and in Bischofszell (Thurgau) in 2014. This year God called us to Losone (Tessin). In Casa Emmaus we had good lodging in a rustic house, somewhat set “apart” for God’s purposes. A very central and important portion of such a meeting is worshipping God. He who sacrifices thank offerings and worships HIM honors HIM (Ps. 50:23). This is a ministry to which every disciple of Jesus is called: to honor HIM even now on earth! A further promise in this verse is that we prepare a way for God so that HE can show us his salvation (i.e. Jesus)! A strong and wonderful example of this is the story of Paul and Silas in prison. While they were thanking and praying, the prison doors opened and the jailer and his family received the faith. Salvation (Jesus) was shown to them. The starting point for this transformation was the grateful worship of God!
An additional emphasis was reading out loud and proclaiming God’s word over the church and the land (“Switzerland, Switzerland, Switzerland, hear the word of the Lord”). Each time, the Holy Spirit showed us what to read and then immediately turn into prayer. This time the center was the letter to the Ephesians, which we read, proclaimed and prayed several times over the church. When one reads, hears and absorbs what is promised there – for you and for me – and when we look at the actual situation, this leads inevitably to weeping and mourning, to repentance and supplication. But it leads also to “getting up” and to a renewed willingness to struggle that we as the church will want to walk in these promises – and will also do it! Accordingly, we had to set out more than once and travel to certain places in order to stand in the gap there, to repent and to pray God’s purposes into them. Here are two examples:
– It has now been 70 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp and the end of World War II. Nowadays people are sensitized (sometimes to an even greater degree than the church) through films, reports, documents and articles in the media. One such article appeared a few weeks ago in Zürich’s largest daily newspaper, which printed an excerpt from a lieutenant’s personal letter to his wife. He was stationed in Tessin in 1943 and had to turn back Jews who wanted to enter Switzerland from Italy. When we read this before our fasting week, it was clear that this was one of the reasons God called us to Tessin this year. We read Lieutenant Naef’s letter before setting out for the border. It was deeply moving and not an eye remained dry. We wept over the fate of the rejected Jews as well as over the inner conflict of many a soldier torn between the desire to help and the necessity of carrying out commands from “above”. We traveled to the place mentioned in the letter in order to repent, weep and pray. God is removing the blanket of silence which was laid over this guilt so that we will become free and learn from it. The relationship to the Jewish people will be decisive at the trial of every single nation (Matt. 25:31-46). And of course, also our relationship as a church to our Jewish brethren, with whom we are called to be “a new man”. His church. His bride. (Eph. 2:15-16)
– A further outreach was based on the history of Tessin. Before the fasting week I read that the area of today’s Tessin was for many years oppressed, misused and forcefully ruled – first from the Italian side (Milan, Como) and also from the Swiss side (canton Uri). As I was praying, a picture came to my mind: I saw this area as a child torn back and forth by the arms from both sides. Each side wanted to have the child for itself. Then I had the impression that we should liberate this child (Tessin) in and through prayer, so that it could enter its God-given purpose to live as an independent (liberated from false claims to power), but also as a wonderful, important part of Switzerland. We did this both in Como and in Andermatt (Switzerland).
We were very grateful and glad that Giovanni, a representative from Tessin, welcomed us on the first day, praying for us and blessing us. And again on our last day it was possible for him to be with us in the final hours.
Each week of fasting is a great encouragement for every participant, as well as a very personal and great blessing to be present. It is not primarily a sacrifice but a prerogative and a privilege! Actually one should make the greatest effort to participate. A final word from God to his church and our land was:
“SWITZERLAND, PREPARE TO ENCOUNTER YOUR GOD!”
W.W.
