The more that is needed

Last week I had the wonderful experience of seeing George Frideric Handel's Messiah in concert for the very first time. It was as moving as many had promised it would be. The moments of exuberant joy were of course among the most familiar in the production. Yet I was also deeply moved by the moments of solemnity, which are choruses of other kind: cries for relief from the anguish of a world bent by sin and death.

In many ways, my emotional response to the production echoed that of well-known Christian author Philip Yancey, who in his Christianity Today essay describes how "the bright and glistening theology" of the Messiah broke through to him in a new way one memorable winter night. The essay is truly a treat to read, and I highly encourage you to do so, especially if you have listened to or attended a performance of Handel's masterpiece this recently.

For me, the highlight of Yancey's piece is his reflection on why Handel's Messiah could not rightly end with the ever-lively and stirring "Hallelujah!" chorus. He begins by explaining that many still speculate that when King George I attended the premiere of the production, he rose to his feet at the singing of the "Hallelujah!" chorus out of the mistaken assumption it had reached its conclusion. Apparently his mistake also continues to be repeated by novice audience members today. "Who can blame them? " says Yancey. "After two hours of performance, the music seems to culminate in the rousing chorus. What more is needed?"

By way of an answer, Yancey breaks down the Messiah's finale and eloquently illustrates the 'more' that is needed--not just in Handel's classic oratorio, but in Lord's masterpiece of achieving Salvation for His children through Jesus Christ. He writes:

The Messiah has come in "glory" (Part 1); the Messiah has died and been resurrected (Part 2). Why, then, does the world remain in such a sorry state? Part 3 attempts an answer. Beyond the images from Bethlehem and Calvary, one more messianic image is needed: the Messiah as Sovereign Lord. The Incarnation did not usher in the end of history--only the beginning of the end. Much work remains before creation is restored to God's original intent.

In a brilliant stroke, Part 3 of Messiah opens with a quotation from Job, that tragic figure who clung stubbornly to faith amid circumstances that called for bleak despair. "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth," the soprano sings out. Overwhelmed by tragedy, with scant evidence of a sovereign God, Job still managed to believe; and, Handel implies, so should we.

From that defiant opening, Part 3 shifts to the apostle Paul's theological explanation of Christ's death ("Since by man came death ... ") and then moves quickly to his lofty words about a final resurrection ("The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised").

Just as the tragedy of Good Friday was transformed into the triumph of Easter Sunday, one day all war, all violence, all injustice, all sadness will likewise be transformed. Then and only then we will be able to say, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" The soprano carries that thought forward to its logical conclusion, quoting from Romans 8: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" If we believe, truly believe, that the last enemy has been destroyed, then we indeed have nothing to fear. At long last, death is swallowed up in victory.

Handel's masterwork ends with a single scene frozen in time. To make his point about the Christ of eternity, librettist Jennens could have settled on the scene from Revelation 2, where Jesus appears with a face like the shining sun and eyes like blazing fire. Instead, his text concludes with the scene from Revelation 4-5, perhaps the most vivid image in a book of vivid imagery.

Twenty-four impressive rulers are gathered together, along with four living creatures who represent strength and wisdom and majesty--the best in all creation. These creatures and rulers kneel respectfully before a throne luminous with lightning and encircled by a rainbow. An angel asks who is worthy to break a seal that will open up the scroll of history. Neither the creatures nor the 24 rulers are worthy. The author realizes well the significance of that moment, "I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside."

Besides these creatures, impotent for the grand task, one more creature stands before the throne. Though appearance offers little to recommend him, he is nevertheless history's sole remaining hope. "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain." A lamb! A helpless, baa-baa lamb, and a slaughtered one at that! Yet John in Revelation, and Handel in Messiah, sum up all history in this one mysterious image. The great God who became a baby, who became a lamb, who became a sacrifice--this God, who bore our stripes and died our death, this one alone is worthy. That is where Handel leaves us, with the chorus "Worthy Is the Lamb," followed by exultant amens.

I recently heard an anecdote about Handel during his creation of the Messiah. One day, while Handel was working in his room while his assistant was trying to shout for his attention. He called and called for Handel for several minutes but received no response. Finally, the assistant walked over to Handel's room, where he found the composer in tears. "What's wrong?" he asked. Handel then held up the score to the "Hallelujah" movement and said, "I thought I saw the face of God."

A powerful story indeed. And yet, it's worth noting that, even after Handel apparently felt as if he had glimpsed God's splendorous face, he continued on to write the third and final chapter to his musical creation. He knew the face of God could not be fully revealed even in the most beautiful of earthly choruses. His classical masterpiece acknowledges that while our world rightly rejoices in the God who is with us (and who suffers with us), it also aches for the 'more' of our Saviour's return.

This is the eternal 'more' that all of us, including our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters, look towards--not only now, in this time of Christmas celebration, but always. Together we lean into Christ's light in joyful anticipation of the day when our afflictions with cease and we will be rewarded with the finale that Christ has deemed worthy for His faithful.

Until then, our cries of joy and of sorrow all culminate in the same heartrending chorus: Hallelujah! Come, Lord Jesus!

Words from our founder - Overcoming solitude

One of the greatest problems for an underground fighter is to know how to fill up his solitude. We had absolutely no books. Not only no Bible, but no books, no scrap of paper, and no pencil. We never heard a noise, and there was absolutely nothing to distract our attention. We looked at the walls, that was all. Now normally a mind under such circumstances becomes mad. …I can tell you from my own experience how I avoided becoming mad, but this again has to be prepared by a life of spiritual exercise beforehand. …

I, and many other prisoners, did it like this. We never slept during the night. We slept during the day. The whole night we were awake. …The demonic forces are forces of the night, and therefore, it is so important to oppose them during the night. Vigils are very important. In the free world, vigils are largely unknown. In my country, even before the Communist takeover, we had vigils. …

In solitary confinement we awoke when the other prisoners went to bed. We filled our time with a program that was so heavy we could not fulfill it. We started with a prayer, a prayer in which we traveled through the whole world. We prayed for each country, for where we knew the names of towns and men, and we prayed for great preachers. It took a good hour or two to come back. We prayed for pilots, and for those on the sea, and for those who were in prisons.

The Bible tells us about one of the great joys we can have, even in a prison cell: “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15). I rejoiced that there were families somewhere who gathered with their children, read the Bible together, told jokes, and were so happy with each other.

Somewhere there was a boy who loved a young girl and dated her; I could be happy about them. There they had a prayer meeting; and there was someone who studied; and there is somebody who enjoyed good food, etc. We could rejoice with those who rejoiced.

After having traveled through the whole world, I read the Bible from memory. To memorize the Bible is very important for an underground worker.

Excerpted and edited from Pastor Wurmbrand’s The Triumphant Church, pp. 22-23. You can order this special resource on our online catalog.

Christians in Vietnam hold historic Christmas celebrations

What a delight it has been to read of the Christmas celebrations that have been held by Christians in Vietnam in recent weeks. Last week, Compass Direct reported that some 40,000 people gathered in Ho Chi Minh City to worship God, celebrate Christmas, and hear a gospel message. Many believers were reportedly overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude, spontaneously hugging each other and crying out statements such as, “Lord, bring revival to all of Vietnam!” and “Nothing could stop the hand of the Lord.” Then on December 20, an estimated 12,000 people attended a Christmas rally in Hanoi. Local sources said long-requested written permission for the event was never given, in spite of several reminders to authorities. However, four days before the event was to take place, Hanoi authorities and police told organizers that they would not interfere with the proceedings. "The sound of crying, of praise, of prayer were blended as one, beseeching Almighty God for spiritual revival in Vietnam,” said a believer who attended the special Christmas gathering.

Praise God for the resilient faith of His children in Vietnam. Pray that the Lord will continue to make His presence and grace known to them as they celebrate their Saviour, whether it be in large Christmas services such as these, small gatherings with friends and family, or from a prison cell.

You can read the full report on the Christmas celebration in Hanoi below:

Christians in Vietnam Hold Another Historic Celebration

Largest-ever event in northern part of country encourages house churches.

HANOI, December 21 (CDN) — For the second time in 10 days, Protestant history was made in Vietnam yesterday when 12,000 people gathered for a Christmas rally here.

The event, which took place in the large square in front of the entrance to My Dinh National Stadium in the heart of Hanoi, was said to be 10 times larger than any prior Protestant gathering in history in northern Vietnam. On Dec. 11 in southern Vietnam, an estimated 40,000 people attended a Christmas celebration in Ho Chi Minh City (see “Unprecedented Christmas Gathering Held in Vietnam”).

Local sources said long-requested written permission for the event, entitled “Praise Jesus Together,” never came in spite of several reminders. But four days before the event was to take place, Hanoi authorities and police told organizers – in words as close as they would get to granting permission – that they would “not interfere.”

“One can hardly overestimate the importance of such an event in the lives of northern house church Christians,” said one long-time Compass source. “For many, this will have been the first time to join in a large crowd with other Christians, to feel the growing power of their movement, to hear, see and participate in the high quality, and deeply spiritual mass worship.”

The day before the event, Christians gathered near the stadium for final prayer and to help with preparations. Witnesses said the huge public square at the entrance to the stadium was arrayed with thousands of stools rather than chairs – plastic, backless, and bright blue and red. In 10-foot tall letters, “JESUS’ was emblazoned on the backdrop to the stage.

Invitations had been sent through house church networks even as official permission for the event was still pending. When church leaders decided to move ahead only days before, Christians were asked to send out mass invitations by text-message, leading some to speculate whether this may have been the largest ever such messaging for a Christian event.

Nearby Christians as well as those bussed from more distant areas began to fill the venue hours before the event. They were not dissuaded by a Hanoi cool spell of 12 Celsius (56 Fahrenheit) with a chill wind. Bundled in thick jackets, their heads wrapped in scarves, they waited expectantly without complaint.

They were not disappointed. Witnesses said the throng deeply appreciated a program of outstanding music and dance, a powerful personal narrative followed by a gospel message and an extended time for prayer for the nation. As at the previous event in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 11 that house church Christians had long worked and prayed for, the program featured music from Jackson Family Ministries of the United States.

In a world of globalized gospel and praise choruses, songs included hymns such as “How Great Thou Art” as well as classic praise songs such as “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord.” Witnesses said the music was accompanied by tasteful, emotionally engaging dance. Top Vietnamese artists performed, including news songs by Vietnamese songwriters, and a Vietnamese choir of 80 sang, as did a Korean choir.

A young man in his 30s who now pastors two house churches told the crowd how an encounter with Jesus proved more powerful than the grip of drug addiction. His story, simply and humbly told, proved an effective bridge to a Christmas evangelistic message by Pastor Pham Tuan Nhuong of the Word of Life house church. Then the winsome Pastor Pham Dinh Nhan, a top southern house church leader, gave a disarming but strong invitation to follow Jesus, witnesses said.

Organizers said approximately 2,000 people then poured forward in response, packing the large area in front of the stage.

The final portion of the program included a time of intense prayer for the nation, with pastors confessing and praying for righteousness for Vietnam’s leaders, as well as for God’s protection and blessing on their land. In their prayers they claimed Vietnam for Christ, witnesses said.

A high point for the throng was the superimposing of a large white cross on a yellow map of Vietnam on the backdrop. As the Korean choir sang a spirited revival hymn, the crowd raised thousands of hands and exploded in sound.

“The sound of crying, of praise, of prayer were blended as one, beseeching Almighty God for spiritual revival in Vietnam,” said one participant.

The event was streamed live at www.hoithanh.com for Vietnamese and others around the world to see.

Until recently – and still in some places – most Vietnamese meet in small groups in homes knowing at any time there could be a hostile knock on the door, a source said.

“None of these groups is registered or recognized by the government,” the source said of the crowd at yesterday’s event. “What you see is Christians standing up!”

In addition to this event and the Dec. 11 event in Ho Chi Minh City, a large public Christmas rally was held by the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) at the Hoang Nhi church in Nam Dinh Province on Saturday (Dec. 19). Some 2,500 people gathered in the church’s large courtyard, with sources saying 200 responded to an invitation to follow Christ.

In Tuy Hoa, on the coast of central Vietnam, a Christmas program is planned for Saturday (Dec. 26) in a 4,000- seat theater. Many smaller events are also planned in other areas, part of an unprecedented public display by Vietnam’s Protestants.

At the same time, the freedom for Christians tolerated in large cities has not reached some more remote parts of the country, where ethnic minority Christians live. In Dien Bien Dong district of Dien Bien Province, authorities on Tuesday (Dec. 15) orchestrated immense ethnic social pressure on a new Christian couple to recant. The couple told Compass that police added their own pressure.

“The police said they would beat me to death, and take away all my possessions, leaving my wife a widow, and my children orphans with no place to live,” the husband told Compass. “I folded. I signed promising that I would no longer follow God. I really want to, but it is very, very hard to be a believer where we live, as the officials will not allow us.”

Christmas greetings from The Voice of the Martyrs

Father and daughter released from prison in Pakistan

We are pleased to report that Gulsher Masih and his daughter, Sandul, who were falsely accused of desecrating the Quran, have been released from prison.

Christians Accused of Desecrating Quran Freed in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan, December 16 (Compass Direct News) – A Christian in Faisalabad district and his 20-year-old daughter were released on Monday (Dec. 14) after 14 grueling months in jail on false charges of blaspheming the Quran.

Khalil Tahir, attorney for Gulsher Masih and his daughter Ashyana Gulsher (known as Sandal), said the case was typical of the way Pakistan’s blasphemy laws can be used to harass innocent Christians.

“Christians are the soft targets, and most of the people implicated in these inhumane laws are Christians,” Tahir said. “We Christians are fighting for the same, noble goal – to provide justice to the victims of blasphemy laws.”

Masih said that inmates beat him at least five times since he was arrested on Oct. 23, 2008. His daughter was arrested two weeks earlier, on Oct. 10.

“These long 14 months seemed like ages,” Masih told Compass. “There was one inmate, Ghulam Fareed, a rich man, who always harassed me, trying to coerce me to convert to Islam by saying he would make me rich and would send me abroad.”

Fareed, who also promised high quality education for Masih’s children, joined with Islamic extremists jailed for terrorist acts to beat him in an effort to force him to “come into the fold of Islam,” Masih said. While in jail, he said, his wife told him that their daughter had been beaten several times by the superintendent of police.

Masih and his daughter were charged under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code for blaspheming the Quran. Before charges were filed in October 2008, Masih said an initial incident occurred on Aug. 25, when Ashyana Gulsher found some burned pages of the Quran in a garbage dump outside their community of Chak No. 57, Chak Jhumra in the district of Faisalabad.

[To read the rest of the report, click here.]

See below for a special video of Sandul thanking everyone who prayed and advocated on her and her father's behalf.

We encourage you to continue to keep this family in your prayers. Pray that the hardships they endured will draw them closer to Christ. Pray that they will continue to be a light to those in their community.

Arrest made in attack on Christian family

Watch the latest edition of The Overcomers to find out how a suspect has finally been arrested for the March 2008 bomb attack in the Jewish settlement town of Ariel that severely injured Ami Ortiz, the teenage son of a Messianic pastor. To find out more about Ami and the struggles he and his family has faced, please click here or here.

To watch more video reports from The Voice of the Martyrs, check out our media site.

Elderly Eritrean Christians released

It was just reported that the Eritrean Christians arrested on December 5 have been released. Praise the Lord! Here's the report from International Christian Concern:

Eritrea Releases Elderly Christian Women

Washington, D.C. (December 16, 2009)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that yesterday at 3:30 PM local time, Eritrean officials released all the Christian women they had arrested on December 5.

The elderly women were detained for praying together at a house in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital. Eritrean security forces raided the prayer meeting and brought them to a police station in Asmara. ICC broke the news of the arrest in a press release issued on December 7. (See story)

Most of the released Christians are members of Faith Mission Church, an Evangelical Church with a Methodist background. The church has been carrying out evangelistic and development activities in Eritrea for over five decades and was forced to go underground in 2002 after Eritrean officials required all religious groups to register. The officials then allowed only three Christian denominations to register. The three registered churches are: the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea.

Since 2002, officials of Eritrea have been cracking down on members of both registered and unregistered churches. They have imprisoned more than 3000 Christians keeping them in underground dungeons, mental shipping containers, and military barracks. Several Christians have died inside prisons due to torture and lack of medical attention.

One of the released women told ICC source that “we appreciate all the people who prayed for us. Please thank God for our release.”

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia, Jonathan Racho said “We welcome Eritrea’s decision to release all the women. We urge the Eritrean officials to release the more than 3000 Christians who are suffering in underground dungeons, military barracks, and metal shipping containers.”

ICC would like to thank all individuals who prayed for the release of the Christian women. Please continue praying for the release more than 3000 imprisoned Christians in Eritrea.

Somali Christian flees refugee camp under death threat

NAIROBI, Kenya, December 9 (CDN) — Somali Christian Mohamud Muridi Saidi last month fled a refugee camp near Kenya’s border with Sudan after Muslims threatened to kill him.

For Saidi, a father of four, the recent relocation of 13,000 refugees from the Dadaab refugee camp near the Somali border to the Kakuma camp, where he had lived since 2002, brought its own nightmare: the arrival of Muslims from Somalia’s Lower Juba region who knew of his father’s Christian activities in his home village.

After Somalis four times threw stones at Saidi’s iron sheet home in the Kakuma refugee camp – once in mid-October, and again on Nov. 17, 21 and 22 – word spread that they intended to kill him. Case workers for a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) service group confirmed the death threat.

“I know the attackers are the Muslims who forced us to leave Somalia in 2002,” Saidi told Compass in Nairobi, adding that he was unable to bring his family with him when he fled on Nov. 23. “They are not safe, and that is why we should be out of Kakuma as soon as possible.”

Saidi has reported the attacks to the LWF service group as well as to police in Kakuma. Case workers for the LWF service group confirmed that the stoning of his home had escalated to the threat of him being assassinated.

“Saidi has security-related issues fueled by the new refugees from Dadaab,” said one LWF service group worker, who requested anonymity for security reasons, last month. “I did some investigation and found out that Saidi’s life is threatened.”

On one of the occasions in which his house was stoned as his family slept, Saidi turned on a flashlight and neighbors rose up, scaring off the assailants.

He and his family had enjoyed some tranquility since fleeing raging conflict in Somalia, but that ceased with the transference of the Somali Muslims from Dadaab refugee camp to Kakuma in August. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees relocated the refugees to ease congestion in the crowded Dadaab camps of Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley, where close to 300,000 Somalis had arrived to sites designed to house only 90,000 refugees.

The influx of those refugees from the Dadaab camp more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away came with the quickly spreading word that Saidi and his family must be Christian, since his father was a well-known Christian while living in Somalia. A Somali Bantu from Marere, Lower Juba, Saidi’s family left Marere in 2002 after strict Muslims sought to kill them when they found out they were followers of Christ.

Saidi’s late father had coordinated activities for a Christian charity in Lower Juba. Since the death of his father in 2005, Saidi has been working as a translator for a Non-Governmental Organization. As a translator, he became known to the newly arrived Somalis from Dadaab.

Because of the dangers, Saidi has been forced to abandon his job for fear of exposing himself to other Muslims who might know of his father. He is the sole supporter for his family, including his 55-year-old mother, wife and four children.

“It is not safe for us to continue living in Kakuma – we have to move away, possibly to Nairobi,” Saidi said.

As a stop-gap measure, Saidi said he hopes to work as a freelance translator, for which he would need a computer, printer, photocopying machine and laminator.

“This would be a temporary measure – asylum for my family would be a permanent solution,” he said.

Despite the relocation of the refugees from Dadaab, overcrowding has not eased due an influx of newly displaced people fleeing fighting in southern Somalia. Earlier this month, radical Islamic al Shabaab militia recaptured three key towns, including the key town of Dobhley, in Lower Juba province along Somalia’s border with Kenya. They retook control from the more moderate Isbul-Islam militants as they each try to overthrow the Western-backed Transitional Federal Government of president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed in Mogadishu.

Messengers of peace and hope in Iraq this Christmas

In the Christmas season, when the potential for attacks on Christians can intensify in certain countries, it is always a comfort to hear followers of Jesus in these hostile environments call on fellow believers to live as messengers of peace and hope. Such are the words shared by Louis Sako, the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk in Iraq, in this recent AsiaNews article:

Christmas in Kirkuk, Christians messengers of peace and hope
Louis Sako

Kirkuk (AsiaNews) - What is Iraq expecting of Christmas? What does it expect from this time of Advent? We posed this question to some of our friends and Msgr. Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk has sent us the answers that we publish below. Kirkuk, inhabited by Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, has fought for its immense oil reserves. Throughout the year there have been kidnappings, killings and violence against Christians in the city. According to the same archbishop, Christians are subject to violence because "they want to have a role in rebuilding the nation."

This year all activities in our diocese focus on the message of Christmas: peace on earth and hope to men.

In these weeks of Advent, the Catholic priests and those of other Christian churches have gathered together for a day of reflection, in preparation for Christmas.

Young people and associations, for their part, have deepened the basics of the faith with catechism. All the faithful have made time for prayer vigils, visits to the sick, those who are isolated or disabled.

In the difficult economic situation, the youth of the Emmaus communities have collected gifts and money to help poor families, without distinguishing between Christians and Muslims.

A young Mandaean (gnostic) doctor received baptism.

Christians must be aware of their mission: the faithful have the duty to be messengers of the Good News of peace and hope in Iraq and Kirkuk. For the message to be received and heard, we must love it and strive to live it in a concrete manner. Our example affects more than words. People see this and are moved.

Although there are difficulties in the country and a lack of security, Christians must have the courage to pass on this message without fear and anxiety, instead with great freedom and enthusiasm. The heart is full of confidence in the One who calls us, sends us and accompanies us because he is Emmanuel; God-with-us.

We are messengers of joy even when there are tears and suffering and sacrifices, as in this our land of Iraq.

So this message can increasingly become an integral part of our lives, we must live together with others in the Church. The true messenger remains faithful to the Tradition of the Church and with it bears witness.

The Church is the place where the faithful share their spiritual experiences and support one another in giving testimony.

Continue to pray for Yemen hostages

Six months have passed without any news about Worldwide Services workers Johannes and Sabine, their children Lydia (5), Anna (3), Simon (1), and their friend Tony, who went missing on June 12 in Yemen [click here for more details]. Thank you for all of you have have continued to pray for them . We have not given up hope that they are alive and will be returned safely to their homes and loved ones.

Today Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported that the Germen foreign office confirmed today that a German diplomat has travelled to Yemen to help negotiate the release of the hostages. "The trip is part of the intensive efforts by the emergency task force to achieve a solution to this case," a ministerial spokeswoman said in Berlin, confirming reports by Yemeni news agency Saba. The foreign office gave no new information about the condition of the hostages.

This news may provide a glimmer of hope that the hostages are alive and that negotiations are taking place but it by no means confirms these things. Please continue to pray for them and their family at this difficult time.  Show your solidarity with them by posting a prayer on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall today.

This week in persecuted church history (December 13-19)

Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7b (ESV)

December 13

• 37: Nero, the Roman emperor who was the scourge of early Christians, is born. After his suicide in 68, many believed he would return, and "false Neros" appeared throughout the eastern provinces.
• 304: Lucy, one of the earliest Christian saints to achieve popularity, dies. According to legend, she renounced marriage out of devotion to Christ, but a spurned suitor convinced Roman authorities to force her into a life of prostitution. When this was unsuccessful, they tried to burn her to death, but she wouldn't catch fire. Finally, she was killed by the sword. More realistically, she was probably one of several Christians killed in the Diocletian persecution. But within a century of her death, she had a remarkable following.
  
• 1545: The first session of the Counter- Reformation Council of Trent opens. Responding to the spread of Protestantism and the drastic need for moral and administrative reforms within the Roman Catholic church, it met on and off for 18 years. Ultimately the reforms were not comprehensive enough to satisfy the Protestants or even many Catholics, but it created a basis for a renewal of discipline and spiritual life within the church.
• 1571: Hans Misel is martyred for his faith after refusing to recant his Anabaptist beliefs.  According to Martyr’s Mirror, when the executioner brought him to the place where he was to be executed, he said to him, that if he would recant, he still had authority to let him go. But he refused, and would there seal his faith with his blood, and so far as he was concerned, he said, he might proceed. Thus he was beheaded and then burnt, and as they could not burn him quickly enough, they cut him into pieces and burned the pieces. When the executioner had struck off his head, so that the same lay on the ground, his body still remained erect, with the hands uplifted, as though he were praying, till the executioner pushed him over with his foot. It was also said that his head and hair could not~be burned, but that it was found entire and undisfigured in the ashes, and was thus buried.

December 14

• 1591: Spanish poet John of the Cross, one of the greatest Christian mystics, dies. His "Dark Night of the Soul" is one of the era's best known religious poems, and his treatises have profoundly influenced both Catholic and Protestant thought.
• 2003: Nigerian federal police officers kill four Catholics and injure eight others for refusing to pay a bribe. A group was returning from a crusade and prayer vigil when police stopped their bus. According to one of the passengers who escaped, the bus driver refused to pay a bribe because of his faith and was then shot point-blank. When others in the group intervened, they were also shot while the rest fled on foot.
• 2006: The church building of the Pentecostal Church of Alamar, a suburb of Havana, Cuba is destroyed by government officials.  The official reason for the destruction is that the building was an "illegal construction."

December 15

• 1418: English pre-Reformer John Oldcastle is burned alive for his efforts to preserve and promote the cause of the Lollards (preachers who spread John Wycliffe's views). Shakespeare reportedly based his character Falstaff on Oldcastle.
• 1564: Anabaptist believer Jan Gerrits is burned at the stake in the Hague in Holland, for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
• 1900: Count Leo Tolstoy writes to the tsar asking him to end religious persecution in Russia.

December 16

• 345: Eusebius (not to be confused with historian Eusebius of Caesarea) becomes bishop of Vercelli, Italy. After refusing to sign the condemnation of Athanasius at the Council of Milan, he was exiled. But he was pardoned by Julian the Apostate and led the movement to restore the Nicene Creed—and thus orthodoxy—to the empire.
• 2007: An Italian priest, Father Adriano Franchini (65), is stabbed in the stomach by a 19-year-old Muslim man outside St. Anthony Church in the city of Izmir, Turkey. Father Franchini and the assailant, Ramazan Bay, had a brief conversation after mass in which Bay expressed his interest in becoming a Christian. During the discussion, Bay suddenly became angry and stabbed Father Franchini. In his statement to the police, Bay reportedly said that his actions were influenced by an episode of a television program that depicts Christian missionaries as political "infiltrators" who pay poor families to convert to Christianity.

December 17

• 1912: Yale-educated Chicago native Bill Borden, heir to a fortune in real estate and milk production, boards a ship to China via Egypt. Converted to Christ as a young man, Borden had given his inheritance and his life to the cause of world evangelism. Only a month after arriving in Egypt, he contracted spinal meningitis and died. However, publication of his story prompted many young people to enter the mission field.
• 1917: Bolsheviks confiscate all property of the Russian Orthodox Church and abolish religious instruction in the schools. Within two decades, at least 45,000 priests were reportedly martyred in the country.
• 2006: An evangelical church building in the Serbian town of Kraljevo, south of Belgrade is fire-bombed. The bomb caused damage to the furniture, carpets and the air conditioning system of the rented facility.  Thankfully, no one was injured.
• 2008: At 7:00 a.m., a large contingent of government officials, police and demolition workers destroy the Cu Hat Church building in Cu Hat, Dak Lak province, Vietnam. Wielding electric cattle prods, police beat back hundreds of distraught Christians who rush to the site to protect the building. Five people were injured, including a child who suffered a broken arm and a pregnant woman who was prodded in the stomach. After the workers had loaded the lumber onto their trucks, they emptied sacks of the Christians' rice on the ground, put the roof tile into the sacks and sped away. In 90 minutes, the destruction was complete. To watch a video of the demolition, click here.

December 18

• 1555: John Philpot, Archdeacon Of Winchester, is burned at the stake for refusing to recant his Protestant faith in Smithfield, England.
• 1568: Jan Thielemans and Job Jans are burnt to death for the testimony of Jesus Christ in The Hague In Holland, condemned by church leaders as heretics for their Anabaptist beliefs.

December 19

• 1734: Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf, founder of the modern Moravian church and a pioneer in ecumenism and missions, is recognized as a minister by the theology faculty of Tubigen, Germany.
• 2004: St. Michael's Church in Homagama, Sri Lanka is virtually destroyed when it is set on fire.  Using two gas cylinders, petrol and two tires, the arsonists burned the roof, pews, statues, organ and other furniture, completely blackening the interior of the building.  Dad de Silva, a church official, said, "Our church is gone this time, nothing is left which is usable."

Prayer: “Grant that we, who now remember these before thee, may likewise so bear witness unto thee in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of glory that fadeth not away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” – taken from The Book of Common Prayer, Canada (1962)

When we are accused of exaggerating or lying about persecution.

It is not uncommon for someone to contact us here at the mission saying that they have recently been talking to a friend or an acquaintance from China, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, India, or some other country where we say there is persecution taking place. To their surprise, they find that their friend or acquaintance denies what we say is going on in their homeland. “It’s an exaggeration,” their friend says. Or something from the past, they suggest. They might concede, “Sure, things aren’t perfect but it’s not as bad as VOMC’s newsletter says.” And so they contact us, confused and torn between believing us or their friend.

It’s hard to know how to respond to such such inquiries. It is not as if we speak out of a vacuum or report only what others tell us. We personally know those who have experienced violent persecution against them. We have met them, held their hands and prayed for them as tears stream down their cheeks. It is impossible for us to deny the reality of what we report when we (or our colleagues in our sister missions) actually travel to these countries and see for ourselves what we report.

So, how do we respond to suggestions or accusations that we are inaccurate in our reporting? We don’t want to call them or their friend a liar but what do you say when you actually do know that what they are saying is not really true.

I recall how difficult it was for my grandparents to talk about their experiences in the former Soviet Union. Their hesitation to speak about the suffering they experienced seemed to range between a desire to leave the past behind on the one hand and the love for homeland that almost all expatriates feel regardless of why they leave, on the other hand. To criticize the government of their place of birth is to risk offending or embarrassing the country itself. To focus on the failures of one’s homeland might seem to negate any progress that has been achieved. To suggest that your homeland needs to improve its human rights record, for example, risks being accused of not being proud of who you are, ethnically and nationalistically. Deep inside most of us there is the nationalistic pull to defend one’s homeland. There are few who are immune to this.

This pull must be understood and taken into consideration whenever you read both affirmations and denials of persecution. We must not assume that because someone is from Eritrea, Pakistan, China, or any other nation, that their analysis of what is going on “on the ground” is without bias and demands special credibility. In fact, it may be needed to be taken with even greater care.

Orissa: A Call to Action and a Call to Prayer

The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada is a member of the Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), a collaborative effort of Christian organizations in over a dozen countries focused on religious liberty. Founded in the spring of 2007, the RLP seeks to more intentionally work together in addressing advocacy and in raising the awareness of religious liberty issues globally.

Two years after the first outbreak of mob violence against Christians in Kandhamal district, Orissa state, India, the RLP remains deeply concerned for the situation. As a collaborative effort of Christian organizations focused on religious liberty, the RLP is urging its members to call upon Christians to unite in continued prayer for justice, reconciliation and peace in the area, and to encourage the Indian government to do all in its power to bring this about.

During the week of Christmas 2007, Christians belonging to Dalit and adivasi communities in Kandhamal were targeted in a wave of violence, which resulted in the widespread destruction of property. Then, in August 2008, when Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati and four of his followers were condemnably assassinated, allegedly by Maoist insurgents, the Christians were blamed, and became targets of ferocious reprisals. This resulted in the worst communal violence suffered by Christians in the history of post-independence India. At least 75 people have been confirmed as dead, and over 50,000 were forced to flee their homes. More than a year later, thousands of victims of violence are still suffering and waiting for justice.

The RLP welcomes the efforts made by the Indian government and Orissa state government to restore security and bring justice, reconciliation and peace. However, deep concerns remain about the continuing challenges. The government relief camps are now closed, yet a large proportion of victims have been unable to return to their villages for fear of death or forcible conversions to Hinduism. Many are living in grievous poverty in makeshift camps, often with no regular means of sustenance. Although compensation has been delivered to many victims, often it does not match their needs. Victims are continuing to receive threats from the perpetrators of violence, witnesses are facing intimidation by mobs outside courtrooms, and there is widespread fear of the danger posed by impunity. Hundreds of cases have not been registered properly by police, and therefore will not be subject to investigations or prosecutions. The future of the children of victims is also at risk. Many are fearful of attending school, and a large proportion of those sitting their tenth grade examinations have been failed, largely as a consequence of the severe disruption during the past year.

Mervyn Thomas, CEO of Christian Solidarity Worldwide in the UK and Chairman of the RLP said, “We urge that justice must be served in Kandhamal: it will be crucial for the restoration of peace and stability in the area. The wheels of justice are turning slowly, but the authorities need to tackle the significant challenges facing the judicial system. India is famous for her diversity and pluralism, and we look forward to the restoration of inter-communal harmony in this area.”

The RLP also supports a call to prayer for the victims of violence, from Mgr. Raphael Cheenath, Catholic Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in Orissa, who requests that churches around the world use the following prayer for Orissa on Christmas Day, 2010:

Gracious Father, Lord of all the earth, we praise you for the gift of Jesus Christ, sent into the world to break down the dividing walls of hostility.  Have mercy upon those in Orissa who are suffering.  Give them the peace and the justice that they crave, and cause the walls of bitterness and hatred in Orissa to be torn down.  Comfort those who have been bereaved, counsel those who have been traumatised, provide for those who have lost everything.  Give them the grace to forgive and confidence in your gracious favour.  Do not let us forget them, our brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace and look forward to his coming again in glory.

[For more information on the Religious Liberty Partnership, contact Brian O’Connell, RLP Facilitator at: +1 425-218-4718 or Brian@REACTServices.com]

Unknown to many but known to God

In the past week, two excellent studies on religious freedom have been released on two of the most restricted nations on earth and two of the least known. Ask any group of people if they have ever heard of Maldives or Eritrea and I would suggest that the majority would admit that they know little to nothing of both nations--and Maldives in particular. This is not a chastisement or suggestion that people ought to have a better grasp of geography; it is simply an acknowledgment that these two nations have a rather small footprint in the world’s geopolitical landscape.

For this reason, religious persecution goes on in Maldives and Eritrea rather unnoticed and under-reported. Significant studies such as these recent ones by Forum 18 on Maldives and the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission on Eritrea are rare.

There is comfort in knowing that although these nations are unknown to many, they are known to God. Still, I am also pleased to to see this quality of research, believing that God can use it to further His purposes in these nations.

And so I urge you to study these reports in depth, to pray for the believers there and to financially support ministries like The Voice of the Martyrs who work in restricted nations like these but who, for security reasons, usually cannot share details of their work there. The Voice of the Martyrs’ Underground Church Fund is specifically set up to fund such projects. I also encourage you to stand behind Forum 18 and the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission in their important research work both financially and prayerfully.

But to the reports….

To read the report on Maldives click here.

To read the report on Eritrea, click here.

To conclude, I recall reading the late Ralph Winter’s observation that the most significant ministries are those that are the most difficult to raise support for because they are often the most difficult to explain. I would add that it is also because sometimes you can’t talk about them at all or, at best, in the most general of terms. On behalf of the mission, I want to express our thanks to the many of you who trust us as we glorify God by serving His Persecuted Church around the world by donating to our work. We also thank God for you and pray for you, our supporters, almost every day during our staff prayer time. Together, we hope to roll back the ignorance that many have of nations like Maldives and Eritrea so that we may truthfully say that the plight of our brothers and sisters is known both to God and to man.