In Jeremiah chapters 37 though 39, it records the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. In chapters 37-38, just prior to the fall, Jeremiah is imprisoned for speaking about the coming judgment and claiming God's way to avoid such destruction was to surrender to Babylon. Neither the people nor their leaders heeded Jeremiah's words and judgment came upon Judah. From the greatest to the least, Judah could no longer deny that Jeremiah's word was true. Their imprisonment and persecution of him accomplished nothing for them except to give evidence of their continued rebellion. The remarkable thing I noticed in these chapters is the repeated denial of Jeremiah's prophecies. Men like Zedekiah and other leaders operated in denial even as they saw Jeremiah's word fulfilled with their own eyes.
In the world of psychology, such denial is the result of the "normalcy bias." In short: People believe that since something is outside there normal experience, it will not happen. In extreme situations people will do the normal thing rather than the thing that would save their life. People have a really hard time preparing for and dealing with something they have never experienced. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted the normalcy bias likely explains why the residents of Pompeii watched for hours without evacuating. We think. They all died and it was before iPhones and the printing press, so can’t be sure. But we know with better accuracy, when passengers on the Titanic refused the evacuation orders, possibly because they underestimated the odds of a worst-case scenario and minimized its potential impact. The normalcy bias strikes again. In such extremes, the normalcy bias can causes smart people to underestimate the possibility of a disaster and its effects. Another great example is found in Barton Biggs' book, Wealth, War, and Wisdom:
"By the end of 1935, 100,000 Jews had left Germany, but 450,000 still [remained]. Wealthy Jewish families... kept thinking and hoping that the worst was over... Many of the German Jews, brilliant, cultured, and cosmopolitan as they were, were too complacent. They had been in Germany so long and were so well established, they simply couldn't believe there was going to be a crisis that would endanger them. They were too comfortable. They believed the Nazi's anti-Semitism was an episodic event and that Hitler's bark was worse than his bite. [They] reacted sluggishly to the rise of Hitler for completely understandable but tragically erroneous reasons. Events moved much faster than they could imagine."
This is a tragic examples of the effects of the "normalcy bias". Just think about what was going on at the time. Jews were arrested, beaten, taxed, robbed, and jailed for no reason other than the fact that they practiced a particular religion. As a result, they were shipped off to concentration camps. Their houses and businesses were seized. Yet many Jews Still didn't leave Nazi Germany, because they simply couldn't believe that things would get as bad as they did.
The normalcy bias pops up in many areas of our faith. We may have never experienced a miracle but it does not mean they never happen. We may have never heard God's voice but we should always believe he is a living speaking God. We may have never, "done it that way" but if Scripture affirms it then we can't call it “anathema” on the grounds of the normalcy bias.
When the normalcy bias pops up around spiritual matters, it is a smoking gun, undeniable evidence of hidden faithlessness in the heart. Whether you call it, "normalcy bias" or just good old fashion stick your head in the sand denial. The bottom line is such denial places ones experience over the truth of scripture. It disregards the word of God with a flippant “probably not.” In short it is nothing more than faithlessness, hiding behind personal experience. It is a dangerous thing to believe that just because you have never experienced it means it does not happen. This denial is a façade, a thin layer of pretense that can blind us from seeing reality, in the light of scripture. If it is allowed to operate unchecked in our lives both the gifts of the Spirit and/or God’s warnings of judgment are ignored.
We should want to be the type of person who hears clearly when God says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isa 43:19a). As he did in Isaiah’s day. The kind of Christian that responds rightly with obedient courage when God says, “surrender to Babylon”. As he did in Jeremiah’s day. Yet the question is how? How do we become such a people?
The opposite of the normalcy bias is situational awareness. It involves having a real perception of your environment and a comprehension of what may realistically transpire in the near future. A Christian's situational awareness is rooted in a Christian worldview. An awareness guided by the measure of wisdom in the heart and the word of God in the head. We have assurance of our long term future so we can act courageously to respond to situations in the short term. Generally, scripture requires us to be watchful, vigilant in prayer, and always open-hearted to God's leading and exercise clear thinking about the facts of a situation. So whatever comes we can respond in faith, the kind of faith that overcomes our lack of experience. The kind of faith that moves us to act courageously even if you don't like what you hear.
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Did you know the Eastern Orthodox Church has its own list of saints? Until recently, I did not. For me and maybe you, these men and women of faith are new. People who are mostly unknown in our little corner of Christianity. I would hate for their stories to pass by us unknown and never celebrated.
One such person is Elizaveta Pilenko also known as Mother Maria. A Russian noblewoman, poet, nun, and member of the French Resistance during World War II. She has been canonized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Born to a wealthy, upper-class family in 1891 in Latvia, she was given the name Elizaveta Pilenko. Her father died when she was a teenager, and she embraced atheism. In 1906 her mother took the family to St. Petersburg, where she became involved in radical intellectual circles. Yet the communism and activism of her youth did not satisfy the deep longing of her soul. She longed for transcendence and eventually tried to find it in romance.
Elizaveta married and her family found themselves falling out of favor with the communist party. The political tide was turning and in order to avoid danger, they fled Russia. They made their way to Eastern Europe and finally end up in Paris in 1923. In 1926, her daughter died of influenza—a heartbreaking event for the family. Soon after, her marriage fell apart.
In the middle of her personal pain the Lord became real to her. Elizaveta found God through the orthodox faith and gave herself wholehearted to Jesus. Soon Elizaveta was dedicating herself to theological studies and social work. She became widely known for her poetry and theological essays.
Her bishop encouraged her to take religious vows and become a nun, something she did only with the assurance that she would not have to live in a monastery. She never wanted to live a life secluded from the world. This disposition soon became a deep conviction that Jesus would never hide way from the people who needed him most.
In 1932, she took the monastic vows of the orthodox faith and chose the name Maria making a rented house in the middle of Paris her own personal convent. To be a proper monastic convent they needed a priest to be a confessor and oversee the rites of the order. The bishop found a willing priest in Father Dmitri Klepinin. Father Dmitri became the chaplain of the house.
The little "convent” was Maria, Father Dimitri, Yuri Maria’s son and Sophia Maria’s mother. The rented “convent” in the middle of Paris became a sanctuary for the weary and oppressed. It was an open door for refugees, the needy and the lonely. It was also well known as place for rousing and spirited intellectual and theological discussion. In Mother Maria these two elements—service to the poor and theology—went hand-in-hand.
When the Nazis took Paris in World War II, the little “convent” was not left unaffected.
As the injustice mounted against the Jewish people, Maria could not remain on the sidelines just out of view. The little “convent” and the nun soon became a part of the French underground. A resistance movement in occupied France made of French nationals and other noble rebels.
In July, 1942, when the Nazis’ requiring Jews to wear the yellow star, she wrote a poem entitled "Israel". In it a deep respect for a noble people can be seen. With wisdom and insight, she rightly reclaims the meaning of the Star of David from the attempt to make it into a mark of shame. Lifting it up as a sign of their sacred history and calling them to not fear the laws of men but fear God, the just lawgiver.
Two triangles, a star,
The shield of King David, our forefather.
This is election, not offense.
The great path and not an evil.
Once more in a term fulfilled,
Once more roars the trumpet of the end;
And the fate of a great people
Once more is by the prophet proclaimed.
Thou art persecuted again, O Israel,
But what can human malice mean to thee,
who have heard the thunder from Sinai?
In the same way her writing was an extension of her mind, her compassion was an extension of her faith. Soon Jews seeking help approached the house asking for certificates of baptism, which Father Dimitri would provide them. Many Jews came to stay with them. They often provided shelter and helped many escape.
She was know for being fearless in the face of injustice. For example, when the secret police would come around the “convent” looking for Jews Maria would show them the icon of the Mother of God.
When the Nazis began the mass arrests of Jews, they were all interred in a sports stadium. For three days Mother Maria used her monastic robe and social work contacts to gain access to the stadium. She provided food and comfort for many. She even smuggled out some children with the aid of garbage collectors who hid them in trash bins.
Eventually the the Gestapo closed down the house. Mother Maria, Fr. Dimitri, Yuri, and Sophia were all taken by the Gestapo. Father Dimitri and Yuri both died in the the concentration camp. Mother Maria was sent to the Nazi concentration camp called Ravensbrück in Germany.
In the midst of this unimaginable horror, it would have been easy for her to despair. Yet in that dark place, the light of wisdom was granted her. The wisdom conferred to her gave her new eyes. She gained the ability to see her situation not as misfortune, but as opportunity. She wrote a little prayer during that time:
“I am Thy message, Lord. Throw me, like a blazing torch into the night, so that all may see and understand what it means to be Thy disciple.”
Her prayer would be answered in the most dramatic of ways. Even as the sound of allied artillery informed the camp that the end was near. Mere days before Ravensbrück was liberated, Mother Maria would enter that great cloud of witnesses.
On Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, 1945, Mother Maria was taken to the gas chamber. Her fellow prisoners testified to her final moments. Even as the sound of freedom could be heard in the distance, she took the place of another who had been selected for death. She died like she lived.
“No amount of thought will ever result in any greater formulation that the three words: ‘Love one another,’ so long as it is love to the end and without exceptions.”
- Mother Maria
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Authors Note: this blog is not an endorsement of all of Mother Maria’s theology but it is a celebration of her life. She is an example of what Christ can do with one person who says “Yes” no matter the cost. Mother Maria’s love grew feet and moved her to help the hurting. May we all have courage and compassion like Mother Maria.