Prayer for the week

Let us thank God for those who have witnessed to him,
says Susan Sarapuk

We thank thee, O God, for the saints of all ages; for those who in times of darkness kept the lamp of faith burning; for the great souls who saw visions of larger truth and dared to declare it; for the multitude of quiet and gracious souls whose presence has purified and sanctified the world; and for those known and loved by us, who have passed from this earthly fellowship into the fuller light of life with thee.
Anonymous

RECENTLY, I was reading through a publication from a society that supports persecuted Christians, when I came across an account of a young convert who was executed for his faith. In his refusal to recant, he said he wanted others to hear that he died well. That young martyr had no idea that a 50-year-old woman in Britain would read about his death and praise God for his faithful witness.

There are many Christians who are living in times of darkness today and yet are keeping the lamp of faith burning; there are many Christians who continue to declare the truth in the face of opposition. Such great acts remind us that this faith we profess is real, powerful, and life-changing, and that in our world today people are prepared to die for it, just as the martyrs did of old. We need to pray for them.

It is often difficult to maintain our Christian distinctiveness in a multicultural society: in a world where other faiths belligerently clamour to be heard, the temptation is to retreat, to remain silent, to keep it personal. Newspaper reports about people losing their jobs, or people being prosecuted for daring to speak about their faith, or offering to pray for someone give us pause.

I was on a train to Cambridge recently when a young man in the carriage got up to speak about his faith. People were annoyed, and told him to stop. His actions may have been inappropriate in today’s climate, but it was a picture of how alien Christianity is to many today. I can see the day coming when to refer to someone as a sinner will be seen as a term of abuse or an act of religious intolerance.

So thank God for those who stand up for the gospel in every age. But the prayer also reminds us that there are “quiet and gracious souls” who have gone around in their daily lives never doing anything spectacular, and yet their presence has made a difference. I think in particular of a parish priest I know whose gentleness and spirituality draws people in.

This is where our witness lies: to be so beautifully and gently different that people want to know why. “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.16).

The final part of the prayer takes our focus to “the fuller light of life with thee”, a reminder that there is more than just this life. The apostle Peter knew it when he stood before the Sanhedrin and said: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5.29).

Let us be thankful for those who kept the lamp burning, for they remind us that we are part of something passionate, real, and powerful; they remind us that Christ makes a difference. And let us be thankful for the Communion of Saints, that we are bound in Christ with those who have gone before us. Now we bear the torch of witness to our world.

The Revd Susan Sarapuk has spent 18 years in parish ministry in the diocese of Swansea & Brecon.