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| The narrow way of discipleship: a gorge (chine) in the Isle of Wight |
December 26 remembers Stephen, the first Christian martyr
(Acts 6,7). The next day recalls John the apostle, exiled for his faith to the
island of Patmos. Then on 28th the Holy Innocents are recalled, the
toddlers slaughtered by Herod in his quest to eliminate his supposed rival as
king of the Jews. Epiphany comes on January 6, after which the wise men had to
find a fresh route home to avoid the unwelcome attention of the paranoid Herod.
There are some minor saints in between, including the reformer John Wycliffe
(December 31) who didn’t suffer martyrdom but did incur strong opposition to
his theological views.
Whether by accident or design, the ancient designation of
saints’ days, drawn up long before Christmas became a three-month commercial
fiesta, convey an important truth. They remind us that the baby in the manger “did
not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34) – not deliberately as an
aggressor but by default as the purveyor of a radical message and lifestyle
that would divide communities and invite hostility.
While there have been some well-reported court cases in
which some Christians have alleged discrimination on the part of their
employers (and all but one were dismissed by the courts), there are far more
less-reported cases of real persecution seeping into public awareness.
In October 2013, The
Spectator magazine published a lengthy article headed “The war on
Christians” which quoted research showing that 11 Christians are “killed
somewhere in the world every hour, seven days a week and 365 days a year, for
reasons related to their faith. In effect, the world is witnessing a rise of an
entire new generation of Christian martyrs.”1
And in December, Tony Baldry MP, who speaks in the House of
Commons for the Church of England, said that “200 million Christians today are
at threat of persecution, loss of their faith, livelihoods, homes and even
their lives. This is not acceptable.”2 While many of the attacks on
individuals and churches are in the Middle East, Burma, Nigeria, North Korea,
Congo, Eritrea, Indonesia, and Pakistan have all witnessed significant violent
attacks on Christians in recent years. The Spectator
article suggests discrimination against Christians in some form took place in
139 countries between 2006 and 2010.
There are two practical responses to this. One is that
Christians who enjoy considerable freedom could be finding out about, praying
for, and perhaps through various agencies supporting, their less fortunate
brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. The other is to take seriously
the Bible’s teaching about what Jesus called “the narrow path”, the sometimes
lonely route of discipleship that may result in hardship and sacrifice. There
are some Bible passages to study below.
Think and talk
1. Some Christians
have alleged persecution because they have been disciplined for (say) refusing
to work on Sundays or remove a lapel cross from their work uniform. Other
Christians, however, are content to take their turn on shifts and do not feel
the need to advertise their faith with a badge. Discuss the principles that
might apply to such situations, using such contrasting passages as Luke 9:23-26
and 1 Peter 2:13-17.
2. Read Paul’s
catalogue of his sufferings in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 and 11:22-33. Make separate
lists of the voluntary sacrifices or consequential deprivations made for the
sake of his mission, and the unsought aggression and persecution by opponents of
his message. Then read again Luke 9:23-26 and also Matthew 7:13,14. What does
discipleship inevitably involve? To what extent do you reflect more of your
contemporaries’ non-Christian lifestyle than that envisaged by Christ?
3. Jesus frequently
warned his disciples that they would face persecution. Read, for example,
Matthew 10:17-35 and 24:4-14. What are the causes of antagonism towards
Christians? In what ways might we minimise these without compromising our
faith?
4. There are a number
of agencies working with Christians who face hardship or opposition in various
parts of the world. One is Christian Solidarity Worldwide (http://www.csw.org.uk/home.htm). Why
not discover more about the suffering church, share the stories in a group and
pray for both Christians and their oppressors? At the same time, think about
the issues of religious freedom generally; we cannot ask for Christians what we
are not prepared to offer to others.
References
1. John Allen, “The
war on Christians”, The Spectator 5
October 20132. Reported on the BBC website, 3 December 2013
© Derek Williams 2014
