Christ is risen!
Her
name is Meriam Ibrahim; and she has been sentenced in a Sharia court to 100
lashes and to be executed because she refuses to recant her Christian
faith. But her story goes a deeper than
that. She was born to a Muslim father
and a Christian mother and even though her father left soon after her birth,
even though she has been raised Christian her whole life, according to Sharia,
Muslim, law, since her father was Muslim, she also is considered to be of Islamic
faith. She’s never bowed toward Mecca,
she’s never called on the name of Allah, but because this court considered her
Muslim from birth because of her father’s faith, she has been convicted of
converting away from Islam.
Moreover, she
married a Christian man, she had one child before her conviction and was
pregnant with the other until just days ago when she have birth to a little
girl. She’s also been convicted of
adultery, Muslim women are forbidden from having relations with non-Muslim men,
even though he’s her husband.
The judge did show
a little compassion, if you could call it that.
He stayed the 100 lashes until the child was born and he stayed the
execution until the child has been nursed for two years. So, the child having been born, the lashes
could be given at any time. Then she’ll
wait in a Sudanese prison cell until the child is weaned.
This whole matter
could just go away if she just did one thing: renounce Christ and praise
Allah. But she’d rather face prison,
lashes, and death than deny Christ.
I tell you this
not so to fuel the flames of anger; we’re called to love even our enemies. Not so that you would call this an injustice
of the highest degree, we’re called to bless our persecutors. I tell you this so that Meriam may be an
example of faith to you. That if you
ever face the prospect of being persecuted for the faith, you remember Meriam,
and the rest of the martyrs, who spilled their blood rather than deny the
faith.
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery
trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were
happening to you. But rejoice insofar as
you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his
glory is revealed. If you are insulted
for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because of Spirit of glory and of God
rests upon you. But let none of you
suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him
not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”
Peter is writing
to people who know what it is to suffer.
His letter is addressed to “those who are elect exiles of the dispersion
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” Exiles scattered, dispersed, presumably
because of persecution that they endured for bearing the name of Christ. Being Christian, contrary to what you may
hear from some T.V. preachers, offers no exemption from suffering. With baptism comes no “Get out of Suffering
Free” card. It’s a mistake to think that
since Jesus suffered, we’ll get out of it in this life. But as, Jesus says in the Sermon on the
Mount, those who are hungry, thirsty, poor in spirit, the meek, the persecuted
are blessed.
The kind of
suffering that Peter is talking about isn’t the general sort of suffering we
face because we live in a fallen world, you know, that aches, the pains, the
heartaches; but Peter’s talking about suffering specifically for the
faith. Suffering for being a
Christian. Suffering for holding fast to
the faith once delivered to you, His saints.
He’s talking about the suffering that St. Paul once afflicted God’s
people and the suffering that he ultimately endured himself. Peter’s talking about the suffering that he
would eventually go though as he was martyred for the faith. He’s talking about Meriam Ibrahim kind of
suffering. Suffering for the faith.
I don’t know if
we’ll ever endure such suffering in our lifetimes here in America. The Christians in the next generation may;
the storm clouds seem to be looming on the horizon. But for the moment the sufferings that we
endure are more the sufferings of insults, ridicule, loss of friendships, even
discrimination, perhaps, or a loss of credibility. Even small, momentary sufferings like those
have caused people to fall away, what will happen when walking into this
building may mean the loss of your life?
Are God’s gifts that important to you or not? Do you take seriously your confirmation vows
or don’t you - that you would face death rather than falling away? Face 100 lashes and the hangman rather than
deny the faith?
As strange as it
may sound Christian suffering is a gift.
Peter says if you suffer for being
a Christian, don’t be ashamed, glorify God in the Name of Jesus and entrust
your lives to your faithful Maker and Redeemer. He will see you through your time of trial and
testing.
In the book of Acts, persecution is the
engine that drives the spread of the Gospel. The apostles and the believers are scattered
and the Word of the Lord spreads like seed blowing in the wind. The Russian dictator Vladimir Lenin tried to
get rid of Christianity and purge it from Russia. But he finally concluded that
Christianity is like a nail. The harder
you drive it, the deeper it goes. Suffering for Jesus’ sake drives faith even
deeper. It galvanizes and tempers
faith. It refines and purifies faith.
You will suffer for Jesus’ sake in your
own way, from time to time. But know
that Jesus suffered for you first. Suffering
is the way of Christ. Jesus came to
suffer as the “Man of Sorrows.” His
suffering was our suffering. Indeed, no
man has ever suffered to the degree Jesus suffered. We suffer for ourselves. He suffers for us. We suffer for our own sins. He suffers for the sins of the world. We suffer as one man, one woman. He suffers as collective humanity, Everyman,
all of humanity as one suffering Man. His
suffering was the great necessity of His mission – it was the will of God, it
was prophesied in the Scripture, it was necessary the Christ must suffer and
enter into His glory. The way to the
right hand of the Father was the way of the cross, of death, of suffering.
Jesus knows what it’s like to suffer. He understands human pain to His own flesh and
bone. He experienced the anguish of
God’s silence. He knows the darkness of
facing one’s death alone. He knows our
pain; He identifies with our suffering. He
is one with our suffering and He is with us when we suffer.
You will suffer for Jesus’ sake, probably
not in the way Meriam Ibrahim suffers, but that’s certainly never out of the
question. Jesus suffered for you first. His suffering saves you; your suffering honors
Him. His suffering is the gold of your
faith. Your suffering brings that gold
to 24 karat purity. HIs suffering was
for your sins; your suffering if for His Name.
His suffering sanctifies your suffering.
You will be humbled, you can expect it.
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” You will be humbled. Jesus was humbled to
death on a cross to save you. He humbled
Himself for you, reaching down to you, joining His suffering life to you. He was humbled in order to exalt you to the
right hand of God. And in your humbling, you will exalted. He will lift you up. He will raise you from
death. He will restore, confirm,
strengthen, and establish you. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life
everlasting. Amen.
