From Cairo to Rome and beyond, the reaction to the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians by ISIS has been swift and profound: anger and condemnation, sadness and solidarity. Yet, as I have thought over this horrific event, another emotion has swelled within in me: pride. For while the Islamic State considers itself to be following in the footsteps of its religious founder and leader (see here, here and here), the 21 Egyptians were undoubtedly following in the footsteps of theirs.
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”
So the prophet Isaiah foretold the character and fate of the Messiah, seven hundred years before Jesus fulfilled these words by his death on the cross. Like the Egyptians, Jesus allowed himself to be murdered, refusing to meet violence with violence, knowing that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18.36), placing his faith and hope in God alone.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), Jesus taught his followers that it was not the strong in spirit – but the poor, not the bold – but the meek, not the victorious – but those that mourn, who were blessed by God. Jesus spoke of a faith in God so deep that his disciples should “not resist an evil person.” If they were slapped “on the right cheek,” they should “turn the other cheek also.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Jesus said, and he stayed true to his word, even unto death.
St. Paul continued this radical pacifism, writing to the persecuted church at Rome,
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12.17-21).
It is because of passages like these that Christians, in spite of continuous and widespread persecution during the first few centuries AD, resolutely refused to react violently. And, miraculously, their numbers grew at such a rate that they peaceably took over the Roman Empire in just under three centuries.
We live in the midst of uncertain times. A holy war is being waged, whether or not we in the West admit it. Come what may, it is my prayer that Christians will place their faith in God and follow the example of Jesus, the apostles and the 21 Egyptian martyrs.
COMMENTS
8 responses to “The 21 Beheaded Egyptians Make Me Proud to Be a Christian”
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We may very much wish to use this tragic event to preach our own version of doctrinaire pacifism. Whatever. I find it ironic that most often such preaching comes from Christian clergy who would not do a damn thing to risk their comfortable pension, let alone their head.
Michael – Guilty as charged.
R-J, The thing about pacifism is it always amounts to stealth law. (WWJD? Submit…go and do likewise.) I had a Norwegian friend who called himself a “Christian pacifist anarchist”. That, in many ways, is my ideal. But it always gets turned into law and self-righteousness in the end. We are all guilty as charged, thanks be to God. It’s Ash Wednesday, after all.
It is Ash Wednesday. And I agree about stealth law, and yet I hope and pray that, were the moment ever to come, I would, by God’s grace, have the faith and courage not to fight back.
Amen!
I wonder about why one would feel pride. I don’t know these men –how they came to be in the hands of Isis. Maybe they were part of the militias fighting ISIS. We don’t know that they were pacifists. We don’t know if in the moments before their death they blessed or cursed their captors. I wonder why we heroize people who may simply have been victims? How do we know if they were “freely following” in the steps of Jesus or not.
Moreover, I’d say it a little differently than Michael — I’d say it isn’t yet clear what any of us would do in those circumstances, So how do I take pride in watching this, it wasn’t after all, my act. And I wish we Christians wouldn’t lapse into a sort of tribal “my team” identity formation as is the normal pattern of religions and ethnicities. From “look what happened to the precious members of my team” is a short journey to “look at how my team is victimized.” After all, Isis has killed Muslims, Yazadis — plenty of other people as well. Yes, I know we are related by faith (although, what we actually know about the faith of these men is nil.) But why else do we claim their actions as anything related to us at all?
Also, the three Here, here and here links aren’t working for me — I sincerely hope that they aren’t links to stories about how bloodthirsty “their” leader was, when ours was clearly a man of peace. We’ve got enough of that triumphalism all over the web. Not to mention plenty of people who want to tell you that when Jesus said he came not to bring peace but a sword, or to buy a sword or whatever — that he’s blessing America’s wars. Let’s just not go there. It is just much too big a conversation to toss off with a few links.
Paula – valid criticisms. I guess I’m just tired of people saying that all religions are the same and I think it’s important to talk about the ideas contained in various religions (without condemning people), even if those ideals are not always embodied by their adherents. It’s difficult to live at a time when it’s both very important to talk about this and yet also dangerous and uncomfortable to do so.