His name was Willem.  A watchmaker by trade and a Christian by faith, he proved to be more than just a father to his children.  How he lived out his faith would echo for generations.

One day, his pastor made an unusual request of Willem — to start a prayer group for the Jewish people. The pastor reasoned that the Scriptures “tell us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the blessing of the Jews.”  The year was 1844.  Willem agreed and the weekly prayer meeting he started  would continue in his family for the next 100 years.

Willem is quoted as saying, “I have always loved God’s ancient people.  They gave us our Bible and our Savior.”  A role model for his children, Willem passed on his love of God and the Jewish people to his children, especially his son Casper.

Casper followed in his father’s footsteps as a watchmaker. He frequently joined his Jewish neighbors on their sabbath and holy days.  In his eighties, Casper continued work as a watchmaker and lived with his two unmarried daughters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, when, in 1940, the Nazis invaded Holland. He loved the Jewish people so much that he had to be convinced not to sew a Jewish star onto his coat. One day, as he watched the Germans transport a truckload of Jews, he told his daughter, “I pity the Germans; they have touched the apple of God’s eye.”

During the Nazi occupation, a Jewish woman came knocking at the door of his home seeking help. Casper did not hesitate, saying, “In this household, God’s people are always welcome.”  In the early years of World War II, Casper and his daughters hid over 800 Jews, including a hundred Jewish infant orphans.

Betrayed by a Dutch collaborator, Casper and his family were arrested and sent to concentration camps. During his interrogation, the Gestapo told him that they would release him because of his age so that he could “die in his own bed.” He replied, “If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door to anyone who knocks for help.” When asked if he knew he could die for helping Jews, he replied, “I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.”  He died in prison nine days later.

One of Casper’s daughters survived the Ravensbruck Concentration camp.  Her name?  Corrie Ten Boom.  Corrie had trained as a watchmaker herself, becoming the first woman to be licensed as such in the Netherlands.  And like her father and grandfather, Corrie followed Jesus. Their faith inspired them to serve the poor, and they resolutely believed that the Jews were precious to God and that all people are created equal.

Corrie spent the remaining years of her life as a Christian writer and speaker.  Her best-selling book, The Hiding Place, was later made into a movie.  She died in 1983.

She and her father, Casper Ten Boom, were later recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe all of the non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from being exterminated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

Is it not humbling to consider the impact of a 19th-century pastor’s prayer request to one of his congregants?  How a heritage of faithfulness did indeed echo for generations?

In the early 21st century, we are again witnessing a rising tide of hatred for the apple of God’s eye.  In recent months, college campuses have been engulfed with violent protests and explicit antisemitism.  One must wonder — can a Jew ever feel safe on an American college campus?

As Willem did almost 200 years ago, should we not also pray for our Jewish friends and neighbors?  And act accordingly? The time may soon come, if it hasn’t already when our faith will be tested yet again.  

Psalm 122:6 tells us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

Willem Ten Boom did.  

Casper Ten Boom did.  

Corrie Ten Boom did.

So should we.