Station 9: With force!

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help

(Psalm 22).

---

During the siege of present-day Hamburg in 845, Danish Vikings destroyed almost all of Ansgar's work. He was left with nothing and fell into "great distress and gloom", as it is noted by his biographer Rimbert. In the course of his life, Ansgar suffered so many blows that Rimbert thinks that although Ansgar did not have to suffer a violent end, his life was nevertheless one of martyrdom.

„I've been hit" – what now...?

The bridge railing took quite a beating – and so did the tree that the storm threw on it... There was a lot of force in there...

When have you ever been hit with force and knocked down? Do you still carry traces of it with you? A wound? What or who has lifted you up again? With what feeling did you take new steps?

"God, to you I cry – help me pray and gather my thoughts; I cannot do it alone. It is dark within me, but with you there is light. I am lonely, but you do not leave me. I am fainthearted, but with you there is help. I am restless, but with you there is peace. There is bitterness in me, but with you there is patience. I do not understand your ways, but you know the right way for me. You have done me much good, now let me also accept the heavy from your hand. You will not burden me with more than I can bear" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).