There are times
when it is just one thing after another.
Before Christmas our minds were full of a tragedy in the centre of
Glasgow and now we are living with the echoes of the terrorist attacks in
Paris. We all know what it is like
to be going about our business in a city centre without a thought for our
personal safety so events like these touch us at a personal level.
Ignatius Kaigama
offers us some perspective, however. He is a Roman Catholic Archbishop in Nigeria where
Boko Haram have killed thousands of people and rendered many homeless. He has commended the spirit of Paris
with thousands turning out in support of the victims and to affirm their
commitment to freedom of speech. Nevertheless he has challenged the West,
not least its leaders, to show that same kind of spirit when attacks happen in
Nigeria, in Niger or in Cameroun.
Perhaps, looking
at the West, the Archbishop would agree with the poet’s observation that we
cannot bear too much reality. The
scale of the carnage in places like Nigeria is just too much for our minds to
process. But it is there and
people who share our faith are being called to persevere in the midst of it
all. And that is a wake-up call
for people like me. From
time to time I have felt that orthodox Christians are being sidelined in
Western society and sometimes even pressurised to conform to mainstream thought
on a number of issues. But what is
this in comparison to the suffering inflicted on Christians of all traditions
in parts of Africa and the Middle East?
The Anglican
Archbishop of York, John Sentamu was interviewed recently and it was put to him
that some Christians in the UK are currently feeling persecuted because their
views have been marginalised by mainstream society. He replied:
‘Well I lived in
Uganda during the time of Idi Amin . . . and our Archbishop was murdered by Idi
Amin. I had to get out of Uganda
because I had opposed Amin on a number of things which I didn’t think were ethically
right . . . I know what
persecution looks like. What is
happening at the moment in (the UK), it ain’t persecution.
The coming
season of Lent reminds us that Christian discipleship is challenging but we
still have freedom to express our views in various ways, to engage in works of
service and also to share our faith. None of this should ever be taken for granted
but approached prayerfully and used responsibly and respectfully.
