Last Saturday was a cool day. A cool and damp day for a Southern Ontario January afternoon. I went to demonstrate, to carry a sign for a war that I do not want to happen. A group of activists had called for an hour long vigil to ask Canada and the world not to go to war with Iran. I felt I needed to go.
A plane was shot down in Iranian airspace early in January. The United States had assassinated nine people near the airport in Baghdad earlier. The Iranian military shot missiles into an American military base in response , and as we have since learned, the soldiers now have brain injuries, coming from the blasts from the missiles. Soon after this event, the civilian Ukrainian airplane was obliterated out of the sky, just after takeoff. The Iranian authorities denied it shot it down, but three days later they acknowledged it. They still say it was an accident.
Paul, the early church theologian and church planter, said the Gospel was/is foolishness. He seems to say that we cannot grasp the Gospel, decipher it, and then spit it out , as if we know exactly what it means. We cannot be wise and eloquent to laud it over anyone. The Gospel is about the love that Jesus showed to the world, that ended up in his death. How can we serve someone who endured such pain ? But, this is the Jesus that I serve, in all his foolishness.
So, I went to this foolish protest on Saturday. No one was there from the government. The local MP, Bardish Chagger, did not come. There was no one from the United Nations, who might be working on peace from behind the scenes. The United States did not show up, and listen to our speeches or read our signs. What we did there on Saturday was foolish. It will not change anyone’s mind who might be able to solve the problem.
But, I heard from some Iranians, who knew some of the people on that plane that was shot down. They were grieving all those scholars, fathers, mothers and children who lost their lives. They were hoping that war would not break out anymore than it already has between Iran and the United States. One woman spoke for just a few minutes to tell us that we should tell our government, to stop the economic sanctions. They are only hurting the people of Iran, and not the government of Iran.
So, what can I do ? I will write to the Prime Minister to tell him to help stop the sanctions against the people of Iran. I can write to the Prime Minister to have him instruct our diplomats at the U.N. to work at peacemaking in the Middle East. I can post pictures on Facebook from the rally. I can pray. Praying might be the most foolish thing I can do, but praying might not change the situation, but it will change who I am in the world . It will change my attitude, and that is a good thing. I will continue to do foolish things in the name of Christ Jesus, to bring about a more peaceful world. Foolishness !
Fred Redekop
Elmira, Ontario
Ponder Anew 