Christians being persecuted

With one exception, Christians throughout the countries of the Middle East are at risk or on the run, their churches burned, their property expropriated, their personal safety in peril from thugs intent on beatings, rapes, and murders.

The one exception -- where Christians flee to rather than from, where they increase rather than decrease in numbers -- is Israel.

A century ago, the Middle East was about 20 per cent Christian. Today, following waves of persecutions, the proportion is 4 per cent and falling. Some fear that the Middle East -- the very birthplace of Christianity -- may soon be all but emptied of Christians.

Gaza, for example, is continuing to lose its few remaining Christians -- 3,000 of them all told, or about one-sixth of 1 per cent of the total population -- amid anti-Christian violence and an Islamist government that increasingly limits Christian institutions.

In Israel, the history of decline is reversed. The Christian community of 34,000 at the time the modern state of Israel was created in 1948 has more than quadrupled to 158,000. Part of that quadrupling stems from a natural population increase -- the Christian fertility rate modestly exceeds the 2.1 children per woman required to maintain a population. Most of it stems from Christian immigration into Israel, often following upheavals in neighboring countries or far-flung parts of the world.

Archbishop pays tribute to Nelson Mandela

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The Archbishop of Canterbury's sermon at the Nelson Mandela Memorial, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London and Christ the King Church, Sophiatown, 8 December 2013 

Readings: Exodus 14, Matthew 18:21 ff
Great injustice is overcome only by great courage. Evil can never be placated, it must be defeated: that means struggle, and struggles demand courage.

Nelson Mandela showed his courage by his determination in the face of evil and by his humanity in the experience of victory. What is more, such courage and humanity were learned and demonstrated in the mists of conflict and suffering. He was that rarest of leaders, those who learn from terrible events so as to exhaust all their lessons, rather than being shaped by them into bitterness and hatred.

Our first reading was the story of the Israelites escaping the oppression of Egypt. It is a story of liberation. God made it possible for Israel to escape. He rescued them when all was lost, and he defeated their enemies, so that the oppressors were destroyed.

Throughout history, this story has been one to which those who are suffering oppression have turned. It is hard to remember today the full evil of apartheid. Nelson Mandela recalled how at school, and in every part of his life, he felt its injustice. Oppression was his life, and those of the vast majority of the people of South Africa.

Not everyone responds to such treatment with resistance. Many of us would have  kept our heads down, made what we could of life, looked after those close to us, and closed our eyes to what was happening. We would have said to ourselves, "Life is tough enough, do not make it worse by swimming against the tide".

But Mandela had courage that showed itself in leadership. He stood out, resisted, and fought. He faced the insult of being labelled a terrorist for fighting for his own people, the absurdity of trial for treason against an utterly wicked regime. At the height of the Cold War, with South Africa seen by many as a dependable ally protecting the seas around the Cape of Good Hope, he had little overseas support. One of the great pressures of conflict is loneliness: he faced solitude and isolation and continued the struggle.

Resisting evil is a call of God. Christians disagree about whether force is justifiable, but are at one that resistance is essential. Easy to say, how hard to act! More than that, the act of resistance opens our souls to harm. In fighting hatred, we risk becoming what we resist. History is full, especially in the 20th century, of evil overthrown - to be replaced by worse.

Archbishop Tutu commented, "I often surprise people when I say this. Suffering can lead to bitterness. But suffering is also the infallible test of the openness of a leader, of their selflessness. When Mandela had gone to jail, he had been one of the most angry. The suffering of those 27 years helped to purify him and grow the magnanimity that would become his hallmark. Jail helped Mandela learn how to make enemies into friends. It also gave him an unassailable credibility. When you speak of forgiveness, 27 years in prison sets you up very nicely.”

"27 years in prison sets you up very nicely" - only someone like Tutu has the right to say that, because he took the same risks. 27 years, add it to your age, think about what you would be like at the end. 27 years of hard labour, pointless oppression, petty insults. Yet in that school of hatred he learned to treasure the ideal of a just nation. That is a second aspect of his uniqueness. His courage was undefeated, indomitable, extraordinary. His capacity to go on becoming more human was breath-taking. His guards grew to respect and even love him. One called him a father figure, whose absence was a bereavement. Robben Island was defeated by someone who could take everything it threw at him, and by melting courage into forgiveness, create the gold of reconciliation. 

In the Exodus story God brings freedom, but the Israelites have to struggle and trust. So it is with us. Jesus Christ gives us freedom. We must take it and struggle for it and stand for it, as did Nelson Mandela. And yet there is more.

Peter, in the reading from St Matthew, is looking for a natural limit to forgiveness. Jesus' answer says there is no limit. Don't do the arithmetic, learn the point. We are called to forgive forever. Few manage it. Nelson Mandela was one of the few. He did not merely call for resistance, he led it. He did not merely demonstrate and call for forgiveness, he put in place a constitution and governing system that faced evil and defeated it with truth and reconciliation. Leadership is not seen merely in policy, but making policy practice. It is what Jesus calls his followers to do along with him.

And there lies the challenge. Where do we find those who carry on his work? Pray for South Africa as it mourns. Ask God for every nation to have leaders who are full of courage and resist evil, who learn from suffering, who turn that learning into love and make both into reality. And thank God for Nelson Mandela, South Africa's amazing grace.

---

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• Reconciliation
• Sermons
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• Sermons
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Links

•  
  Listen to the Archbishop's Mandela sermon on BBC iPlayer
•  
  Archbishop Justin's statement on the death of Nelson Mandela
•  
  'Courage, humanity, generosity': Archbishop Justin interviewed on the life of Nelson Mandela

- See more at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5203/archbishop-pays-tribute-to-mandela#sthash.U7Qo2QHf.dpuf

The Archbishop of Canterbury's sermon at the Nelson Mandela Memorial, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London and Christ the King Church, Sophiatown, 8 December 2013 

Readings: Exodus 14, Matthew 18:21 ff
Great injustice is overcome only by great courage. Evil can never be placated, it must be defeated: that means struggle, and struggles demand courage.

Nelson Mandela showed his courage by his determination in the face of evil and by his humanity in the experience of victory. What is more, such courage and humanity were learned and demonstrated in the mists of conflict and suffering. He was that rarest of leaders, those who learn from terrible events so as to exhaust all their lessons, rather than being shaped by them into bitterness and hatred.

Our first reading was the story of the Israelites escaping the oppression of Egypt. It is a story of liberation. God made it possible for Israel to escape. He rescued them when all was lost, and he defeated their enemies, so that the oppressors were destroyed.

Throughout history, this story has been one to which those who are suffering oppression have turned. It is hard to remember today the full evil of apartheid. Nelson Mandela recalled how at school, and in every part of his life, he felt its injustice. Oppression was his life, and those of the vast majority of the people of South Africa.

Not everyone responds to such treatment with resistance. Many of us would have  kept our heads down, made what we could of life, looked after those close to us, and closed our eyes to what was happening. We would have said to ourselves, "Life is tough enough, do not make it worse by swimming against the tide".

But Mandela had courage that showed itself in leadership. He stood out, resisted, and fought. He faced the insult of being labelled a terrorist for fighting for his own people, the absurdity of trial for treason against an utterly wicked regime. At the height of the Cold War, with South Africa seen by many as a dependable ally protecting the seas around the Cape of Good Hope, he had little overseas support. One of the great pressures of conflict is loneliness: he faced solitude and isolation and continued the struggle.

Resisting evil is a call of God. Christians disagree about whether force is justifiable, but are at one that resistance is essential. Easy to say, how hard to act! More than that, the act of resistance opens our souls to harm. In fighting hatred, we risk becoming what we resist. History is full, especially in the 20th century, of evil overthrown - to be replaced by worse.

Archbishop Tutu commented, "I often surprise people when I say this. Suffering can lead to bitterness. But suffering is also the infallible test of the openness of a leader, of their selflessness. When Mandela had gone to jail, he had been one of the most angry. The suffering of those 27 years helped to purify him and grow the magnanimity that would become his hallmark. Jail helped Mandela learn how to make enemies into friends. It also gave him an unassailable credibility. When you speak of forgiveness, 27 years in prison sets you up very nicely.”

"27 years in prison sets you up very nicely" - only someone like Tutu has the right to say that, because he took the same risks. 27 years, add it to your age, think about what you would be like at the end. 27 years of hard labour, pointless oppression, petty insults. Yet in that school of hatred he learned to treasure the ideal of a just nation. That is a second aspect of his uniqueness. His courage was undefeated, indomitable, extraordinary. His capacity to go on becoming more human was breath-taking. His guards grew to respect and even love him. One called him a father figure, whose absence was a bereavement. Robben Island was defeated by someone who could take everything it threw at him, and by melting courage into forgiveness, create the gold of reconciliation. 

In the Exodus story God brings freedom, but the Israelites have to struggle and trust. So it is with us. Jesus Christ gives us freedom. We must take it and struggle for it and stand for it, as did Nelson Mandela. And yet there is more.

Peter, in the reading from St Matthew, is looking for a natural limit to forgiveness. Jesus' answer says there is no limit. Don't do the arithmetic, learn the point. We are called to forgive forever. Few manage it. Nelson Mandela was one of the few. He did not merely call for resistance, he led it. He did not merely demonstrate and call for forgiveness, he put in place a constitution and governing system that faced evil and defeated it with truth and reconciliation. Leadership is not seen merely in policy, but making policy practice. It is what Jesus calls his followers to do along with him.

And there lies the challenge. Where do we find those who carry on his work? Pray for South Africa as it mourns. Ask God for every nation to have leaders who are full of courage and resist evil, who learn from suffering, who turn that learning into love and make both into reality. And thank God for Nelson Mandela, South Africa's amazing grace.

---

Tagged with

• Articles/Interviews
• Reconciliation
• Sermons
• South Africa

Back · Back to top

 

• Sermons
• Speeches
• Articles
• Press

Links

•  
  Listen to the Archbishop's Mandela sermon on BBC iPlayer
•  
  Archbishop Justin's statement on the death of Nelson Mandela
•  
  'Courage, humanity, generosity': Archbishop Justin interviewed on the life of Nelson Mandela

- See more at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5203/archbishop-pays-tribute-to-mandela#sthash.U7Qo2QHf.dpuf

St Nicholas

 

Today is the day we celebrate the life and kindnesses of St Nicholas of Myrna (now in modern day Turkey)
Oh St Nicholas........ Chriss Kringle, Santa Claus how did you ever become
FATHER CHRISTMAS?

What a sad sign

Who would possibly grab Hamish by the horns?
Only a Barbarian  -  I think he's beautiful.

C.S.Lewis

50 years this week since the death of C.S. Lewis.

'I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen:
not only because I see it,
but because by it I see everything else.'
RIP

Elephants

 

In 1980 1.2million elephants roamed the lands in Africa and Asia: last year (2013) their number fell to 420,000.
In less than 12 years from today if we are not very careful they will be extinct.
 This is so sad - for us and for them.

Christenings/Baptisms

Every week in every year at least 2,500 babies are baptised into the Church of England and trying
to include all the other Christian denominations makes an enormous number yet the Christian church is the most persecuted religion on the earth - please someone explain to me what are these people scared of?

Catholic Conclave: Archbishop of Canterbury lets the ecumenical cat o...

Catholic Conclave: Archbishop of Canterbury lets the ecumenical cat o...: "God has given you, and given us all, a great Pope. And he’s a great Pope of surprises… and I think people are inspired and uplifted...

This is lovely = let us hope and pray for a decade of unity.

A tour

Recently I did an educational tour of the Cathedral with a large group of excited children and when we
got to the part of the tour when I asked them to don the 'Habits' as the Monks who lived there used
to, they became an entirely different group.  The following day their lead teacher phoned
me to say thank you for the tour and asked me how I had managed to turn her unruly and
loud gang of children into such an attentive, quiet group.
Well I had to confess to her that it was nothing to do with my great talent as a guide but the affect
the wearing of the 'Habit' has on them.   I have used them with other children and it works every time.
Strange but true!

Brave sign

No need for a comment other than -- 'I so..ooo agree!'

He's back safely

After being abducted by armed men outside his home in Kenya
 Archbishop Ignatious was released unharmed and thrown out of a car close to
where he was kidnapped.  He is greeted here by the Archbishop of Canterbury
.  Deo gratis

Goodbye!

 

Most of the birds have now left our shores to winter in Africa leaving us to face winter without them.
They will be back with us in April after their long flight to make another family.
How do they do this every year of their lives and come back to the exact spot where they bred last year?
It is a miracle nature keeps to herself and we can only wonder at.

Wonderful picture from the Space Station

How small and insignificant we are in the larger picture - we should remember that.

Eurobishop: Nigerian Archbishop with links to our Diocese has ...

Eurobishop: Nigerian Archbishop with links to our Diocese has ...: A Nigerian Anglican Archbishop, one of two who visited our diocese earlier this year, has been kidnapped by armed men on Friday 6 September along with his wife Beatrice, she was later rescued from an abandoned vehicle but now after two days there has been no trace of Archbishop Ignatious.  What has happened to Nigeria? daily we here such dreadful reports of atrocities against Christians....pray for the safety of the Archbishop and for his worrying family and flock.

my garden

 

For the whole of this beautiful long summer I have enjoyed week after week of dainty violas and their more showy cousins the pansies.  Now is the time when they have had enough and might be replaced with some Autumn flowers, annual dalhias or chrysanthemums perhaps so off I go to at least 4 loacal garden centres but what do I find - well all they have is violas and pansies and perhaps turnips so it looks like empty tubs and pots until the bulb planting season is upon us.

Time for the loo chicks

In our last house this nest was in our porch and the residents arrived every year to make repairs and enlargements before the eggs were laid; so we had a grandstand view of the rearing of the House Martins every year.   When the chicks were still living in the nest mum, dad or auntie would arrive and make all the chicks sit on the edge of the nest to make a mess on my floor
then some other member of the family would arrive to feed them.  It was always exciting to watch the older birds helping them to fly the nest on to a nearby tree and then chirp at them until they found the courage to fly for a few yards and back again.
Inevitably the sad day came when they were all lined up on the telephone wire outside the house ready to start their long journey to Africa and sound the beginning of our winter months - we longed for them to return and looked out every day in April for the first comers to arrive bringing  another new Spring for us and another family for them.
I wish they would build at this house and I would gladly clear up the floor beneath their next every day as I used to.   Apparently the swallows, swifts and Martins have already left our shores - much earlier than usual.
Country folk would tell you that when they arrive early (which they did) we are in for a good summer (which we have had) but if they leave early - then look out for a long cold winter.  They sensibly have gone off to search for some more sunshine.

An interesting Life!

Queen Victoria

An entry in Queen Victoria's Diary - a book she made an entry into every day of her life.

'Lord Melbourne said my little terrier followed him downstairs into the hall
yesterday, and he could hardly get rid of her!

What an interesting life Victoria must have had if that was the only thing worth recording!

Martin Luther King

 

 

It is 50 years ago since Martin Luther King made the powerful speech about racialism and there are still many people who do not see it as making any difference.  It did and it still is, though nothing comes easily when it is so deep rooted and wrong.   This week in my city of Bristol we are reminded that it was 50 years ago since 'we'

struck a blow for racial equality by allowing black people to work on the buses as drivers and conductors; until then they had not been allowed that dubious privilege.  I don't think it was any coincidence that this happened at the same time as Dr King's speech in America.  A great splash causes many waves and this may have been a small thing to happen on the other side of the world but it led to freedom for all people in the city whatever their colour or class to apply to work wherever they wished.  Dr King we honour you. RIP

The Syrian City of Homs

Homs was a major industrial centre and the third largest city in Syria and boasted many historic Mosques and Christian Churches.
In October last year the very last Christian was murdered.   Now there are none of the 80,000 who lived in this city before jihad came.
My government until recently have hardly reported this being too involved with changing the law so that same sex people can get married.
Yesterday 44 Christians were sliced up in Nigeria and others had their eyes gourged out - no talk of intervention or even a protest to the Government of Nigeria.
I am sorry but I don't care about same sex marriages - they are not being killed and persecuted - be still, shut up and think yourselves lucky.

try again

I have had so much trouble with this blog during the past year I have given it up many times but I have
decided to try again now that access appears to be possible again.

home grown tomatoes

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What a lot of lovely tomatoes we have this year; they have loved
the many days of sunshine almost as much as I have.
Remembering when we lived in Spain and every journey west on the Autopista took us past many acres of a tomato farm growing exclusively the 'Alicante' variety, and the smell came into the car via the windows or the air/con system all the way from Villajoyosa to Alicante - lovely.  I had hardly ever eaten tomatoes until I went to live in Spain and then I discovered the fruit ripening in the sun instead of in the back of lorries had a whole new taste and the roughly shaped green tomatoes grown exclusively by the locals where just perfect, what they lacked in shape they more than made up for in sweetness and the taste of sunshine.   I somehow don't think the pounds of tomatoes from my garden will taste anything like their Spanish garden produce but I have looked after them and they'll do for me.

Tragedy

The monsson rains in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand have killed more than 1,000 people with
8,000 still waiting to be rescued from the rising flood waters.
Yet in the UK our newspapers and TV news is all about tennis and the start of the Wimbledon.
Strange and very very sad.

Mother nature will have her way!

This picture reminds me of the 'weeds' growing in my garden - nothing seems to stop them!

G8 Summit

There is so much going on here at the Summit between the most powerful people in the world.  I almost said the most powerful men in the world because sadly that is the state of affairs.  The German Chancellor Angela Merkil being one if not the only one of the few really powerful women.
Mr Cameron our Prime Minister and President Obama made much of  'the biggest bilateral trade deal in history'
between our two countries.  Mr Putin, arguably the second most powerful man in the world looked uncomfortable on camera
when any talk of the trouble spots, especially Syria were mentioned but then he is known to wait until he is back safely in Moscow before going into a rant.
I think the most wonderful thing I have read about and seen on TV is the speech Mr Obama gave to a huge group of Northern Irish children, when he told them to look proudly at their own country and it's achievement in turning
their own troubles and fights into peace.  They should be proud he told them and they surely look proud and many of them speaking to camera said they would never forget his message to them.  
That is what great statesmen should be doing in my opinion - inspiring the next generation of leaders.
Thank you Mr President.

Prince Philip

Get well soon.   The Queen is never going to last long if you leave her.

Fiesta time!

I took this photograph at the Fiesta de Mayo in Cordoba and only some time later did I notice that the young men do not appear to have gone to too much trouble - clean Tshirt perhaps?
The girls though look fabulous and have gone to great expence and preparation
soooo what happens?
They dance with themselves of course!   Well done senoras!

Pope Francis

 

When I watched the installation of Pope Francis I became convinced I had seen him somewhere before - impossible!
His looks, tone of voice, stance and walk seemed so familiar to me I spent hours going back in my mind to places I had worked, visited, even houses I had lived in  but I couldn't remember who it could be; eventually I told my nearest and dearest who immediately said  'Well he's exactly like your dad, that's for sure'
Of course, how could I forget my long gone and always lamented dad, whom I have missed every day since his death.
Pope Francis has a new name in our house, he's known as Pope Harold!

Who says animals do not have feelings?

The dog used jump up on to the sofa to have a nap every afternoon
with his owner.  Now the dog walks a couple of miles every day
at the same time to have a nap with his owner.

The world's highest rubbish dump!

Six decades after it was conquered Everest has become gridlocked with climbers waiting in a queue to reach the summit.   How did the world's highest mountain become so congested?  It is probably thanks to the advances in mountaineering equipment, the new lightweigh oxygen tanks and the constant supply of Sherpas who need to earn a living.
But........?   why are we spoiling such awesome beauty for future generations?  Surely if you can carry heavy drink cans up the mountain you can bring the empty ones down with you.   Let us stop now and allow a few years for the mountain to heal itself.
We have the technology to see the pictures and even to feel cold at the sight of them let us for at least three years be content.