{"id":1954,"date":"2015-04-27T22:02:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T04:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?p=1954"},"modified":"2015-04-27T22:02:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T04:02:00","slug":"unsettled-face-to-face-with-families-of-the-martyred","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/unsettled-face-to-face-with-families-of-the-martyred\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsettled: Face to face with families of the martyred"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I was a white face in a sea of dark faces, many with tears streaming. They were crying for the slain, for the raped, for the pillaged, for the imprisoned. They weren\u2019t distant peace-nics or sympathetic Africans. They weren\u2019t there out of some guilt. They were living this tragedy. It seemed everyone there knew someone affected.\u00a0I met a cousin, and an uncle, and a friend \u2014 all who have had a loved one impacted.<\/p>\n

\"2015-04-27<\/a><\/p>\n

Ethiopia<\/a>.<\/em> I can\u2019t even find it on a map. I can\u2019t tell you a single thing about the country except they had a terrible drough<\/a>t two decades ago. Or was it three? What am I doing here? All I know is that an Invisible Hand nudged me to the Colorado Capitol where hundreds gathered \u2014 representing a local Ethiopian community of 30,000 \u2014 to cry, to ask for support, to offer prayers.<\/p>\n

I am with you.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"2015-04-27<\/a>The World is Silent<\/h2>\n

It didn\u2019t\u00a0take long to hear the plight of the speakers. In France, a vile cartoonis<\/a>t was gunned down by ISIS and hashtags sprang up, advocates for free speech sounded the alarm, \u00a0and the world rightly was aghast. But 30 poor Ethiopians,<\/a> looking for work, are taken hostage \u2014 and either gunned down or beheaded. 80 more are currently imprisoned. And the world is silent.<\/p>\n

Not now. Not here. Not me.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ethiopian martyrs were given the opportunity to renounce their faith. They did not and they paid the ultimate price. A Muslim man,\u00a0Jamaal \"\"Raham\u00a0<\/a>who was a friend to one of the Ethiopian Christians<\/a>, stood with his friend in solidarity \u2014 and lost his life too.\u00a0Jamal offers a beautiful glimpse into what the world should do.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

There is a growing problem across the globe with Christians who are being persecuted for their faith. Many of the details are shocking and I\u2019ll save many of those for another post. But what we need to do now is to pray for the church and stand with them in whatever way possible.<\/p>\n

I had one man tell me online that \u201cChristians deserve this \u2026 that they brought it on\u00a0themselves because of the way they are so hateful.\u201d<\/em> I was shocked. Regardless of the cross that hangs around their neck; Regardless of the color of their skin; Regardless of the continent they live, these are humans who are being brutalized. And as fellow citizens of this world \u2014 black, white, Atheist, Jew \u2014\u00a0we should be outraged.<\/p>\n

Can we get past \u201cjihad\u201d \u00a0and talk about humans?<\/h2>\n

I believe that many are afraid to speak up for the martyrs because they are being killed by those who are doing so under the guise of a faith in\u00a0Allah. And we are afraid to be called \u201cMuslim haters\u201d or \u201cracists\u201d or intolerant. I understand. Language can spell the end of a reputation and we are all so guarded. \"2015-04-27<\/a>While it is true that ISIS crawls under the protection of a faith to perpetrate their hate, we cannot succumb to the temptation of condemning an entire people for the sin of a few. We bristle when\u00a0others paint our faith because of a few crazies. And the fact remains that I have met so many Muslims<\/a> over the last two weeks\u00a0and not one of them is in agreement\u00a0with what is happening. I do not believe for a moment that this is mainstream Islamic faith<\/a>. So let\u2019s just set aside the religion question and simply stand with our fellow brothers and sisters.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe must do what Jesus asked us to do \u2014 and that is love our enemies, regardless of what some are doing to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"2015-04-27
\u201cWe must love our enemies\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beyond Christianity. It\u2019s an attack on humanity.\u201d I interviewed a man named Jehesal at the rally who spoke with great passion. \u201cWe must do what Jesus asked us to do \u2014 and that is love our enemies, regardless of what some are doing to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked, \u201cAre you here out of revenge?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d said Jehesel. \u201cWe are not here for revenge. If we seek revenge, we are against Jesus message.\u201d<\/p>\n

One woman I spoke to simply told me that her only response is to pray for her enemies. \u201cI pray every day, because that\u2019s what God wants me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, here I am. My neck red from years of misunderstanding. But now\u00a0I\u2019m ready to stand up for my brothers and sisters, to extend love to the enemy, and to pray for peace. I\u2019ll do it alone, or you can can you stand with me. It does not matter.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, here I am. My neck red from years of misunderstanding. But now I’m ready to stand up for my brothers and sisters, to extend love to the enemy, and to pray for peace. I’ll do it alone, or you can can you stand with me. It does not matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1112,1178,1202,1510,1232,1242,1260],"class_list":["post-1954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ethiopia","tag-islamic-state","tag-killed-for-faith","tag-love-your-enemies","tag-martyr","tag-muslim","tag-peace"],"yoast_head":"\nUnsettled: Face to face with families of the martyred<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""We must do what Jesus asked us to do -- and that is love our enemies, regardless of what some are doing to us." 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