Walk Church – February 2024 Oare.
I knew the path along Oare Creek would be tough, but the relentless northerly wind and the mud turned it into a significant physical challenge. When we finally reached the shelter of the bird-viewing hide there was a palpable sense of achievement. Gazing around at the new perspective of the Swale estuary and the Isle of Sheppey, we felt as if we’d climbed a mountain. This feeling resonated well with our Gospel reading: “Take up your cross and follow me,” said Jesus to his disciples.
One disciple of Jesus who has literally “taken up his cross” to follow Jesus is Alexei Nalvany, who died recently in a Russian jail. It was at his show trial of 2021 that Nalvany first spoke of the importance of the Christian faith in his life, citing it as part of the reason he chose to return to Russia. He quoted: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied”, saying, “I feel a real kind of satisfaction. Because at some difficult moment I did as required by the instructions, and did not betray the commandment.” (You can read more of what Alexei Nalvany wrote below.)
I hope his extraordinary courage and Christian witness can inspire us to live truthful lives.
Alex Bienfait
More details of Alexei Navalney’s closing statement trial 2021:
“If you want I’ll talk to you about God and salvation. I’ll turn up the volume of heartbreak to the maximum, so to speak. The fact is that I am a Christian, which usually rather sets me up as an example for constant ridicule in the Anti-Corruption Foundation, because mostly our people are atheists, and I was once quite a militant atheist myself.
But now I am a believer, and that helps me a lot in my activities, because everything becomes much, much easier. I think about things less. There are fewer dilemmas in my life, because there is a book in which, in general, it is more or less clearly written what action to take in every situation. It’s not always easy to follow this book, of course, but I am actually trying. And so, as I said, it’s easier for me, probably, than for many others, to engage in politics. …
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.’
I’ve always thought that this particular commandment is more or less an instruction to activity. And so, while certainly not really enjoying the place where I am, I have no regrets about coming back, or about what I’m doing. It’s fine, because I did the right thing. On the contrary, I feel a real kind of satisfaction. Because at some difficult moment I did as required by the instructions, and did not betray the commandment.”
~ Alexei Navalny, in his 2021 trial.
For the full transcript visit https://www.rightsinrussia.org/navalny-2/