This is my gospel for which I am suffering.

This week's news  

One year ago Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl, was shot by the Taliban. 

Two men climbed on to the truck on which she was travelling home from school. The men asked which one of the girls was Malala. Two of the girls looked towards their friend. The men then shot the 15 year-old girl. Malala had been identified as a threat to the Taliban because she had spoken out in favour of education for young women. Initially Malala had expressed her views through an anonymous blog but she then began speaking out in public. Malala suffered a severe brain injury but survived and has since spoken before the General Assembly of the United Nations. This week is the anniversary of her brush with death and to mark this, Panorama showed a documentary  about this young woman, who has thanked God for her survival. 

A bomb exploded in the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar this week killing several people who were engaged in a health project vaccinating local people against polio, a disease that remains endemic in just three countries, two of which are Pakistan and her neighbour Afghanistan. Both those carrying out the vaccinations and those who bring their children to be vaccinated do so at great risk to themselves as the Taliban have banned polio vaccinations.

Homeland, Channel 4’s psychological espionage thriller, is back for a third series. The series’ moral ambiguity, its attitude towards Islam and having a lead character with fragile mental health, have all helped to garner good reviews. Fictional spy stories with their labyrinthine plots and duplicitous characters are consistently popular. Occasionally a real life story hits the headlines as happened with the death of Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006 having been poisoned with radioactive polonium. Litvinenko is alleged to have been working for MI6 and his wife wants a public inquiry  to ascertain how her husband was murdered. 

In the wake of the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, US Special Forces targeted Islamist leaders  in Libya and Somalia. While not the case with these specific attacks, Special Forces operations often involve a principle of ‘deniability’. The effect of this is that operations are carried out by a third party so that the President or other senior official can legitimately deny knowledge of a mission. It also means that if the operatives are captured or killed, their government will claim no responsibility for their actions.

Reflection

What an extraordinary young woman Malala Yousafzai is! Having recovered from extensive major surgery, she has continued to speak out about the need for more support for educating young women in her Pakistan. She has undoubtedly suffered, but, as was the case with Paul, Malala has not allowed her ‘gospel’ to be chained. Malala is not alone in having suffered for speaking out. In recent times, Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken words of freedom while under house arrest. In an earlier generation, Martin Luther King risked the sniper’s bullet, while Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote letters from the prison in which he was executed in 1945.

While life may not continue as normal in those parts of the world where terrorism is endemic, it appears that there are still those who are prepared to risk their own lives to bring ‘good news’ to the poor. ‘Good news’ comes in various forms, whether it be the promotion of education amongst young women or better healthcare for people without access to local clinics.

Terrorism relies on the fear that it induces for its effect. Where people are brave enough to continue speaking and acting for good, God’s word is not chained.

Being denied might be one of the most painful experiences that anyone can experience: whether it be the denial of one’s existence or one’s relationship with another. For soldiers at war, such a denial could mean torture or death. In a social situation it might simply mean the pain of isolation and loneliness. The most famous Biblical denier was Peter. Three times he denied being a follower of Jesus, but in a similarly three-fold fashion, Jesus rehabilitated Peter. Does Paul’s, ‘If we disown him, he will disown us’, ignore the capacity of God to graciously forgive? 

Prayer

Our God, 

we give you thanks for the lives of those 

who have suffered for their faith. 

We remember with gratitude 

those who have given up their lives for the sake of the Gospel. 

We pray for the safety of people such as Malala Yousafzai 

who speak out for truth and for freedom. 

We thank you for the example that this young woman is 

to so many people in this country 

and around the world. 

May her voice not be silenced.

Our God, 

we pray forgiveness for the times that we have denied Jesus. 

We may not have done so in such a direct manner as Peter, 

but we confess that we have denied Jesus 

in the way that we have lived our lives.

Forgive the times we have not stood up for justice 

in the home, at work or school or in the world. 

Forgive us for those occasions 

when we could have said something, but didn’t 

and for those other occasions 

when we have followed the herd 

in saying and doing things 

that were inconsistent with the values of your kingdom.

Our God, 

we thank you that you hold on to us 

and that is especially true on those occasions 

when we lose our grip on you. 

We thank you that you remain faithful, 

when our faith wanes. 

Your grace has brought us safe thus far 

and grace will bring us home. 

Amen.

Questions

• Have there been any occasions when you have suffered for the sake of the gospel?
• Have there been occasions on which you look back with regret because you have failed to stand up for Jesus?

Action

You could watch the BBC documentary  Malala: Shot for Going to School in a home group.

Young People

If your young people are old enough, they could watch the documentary mentioned above. If not, you could tell them Malala’s story and discuss situations in which they have experienced ‘suffering’ for attending church. Malala has become a modern day heroine – do the young people have other heroes in the present or from the past?

Simon Carver is a Baptist Minister in St Albans and takes a particular interest in film.

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