Je Suis Charlie: How do we pray?Andy Freeman - 19 Jan 2015

It’s nearly two weeks since the awful events that took place in the centre of Paris began with the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.  

Since then one of the largest security operations Europe has ever seen has taken place.  Armed soldiers patrol the centre of Paris.  Leaders of Governments have fought to understand and legislate for perceived new threats.  People have searched for answers and accusations have been made.

But since then a nation has showed solidarity and support to bereaved colleagues and families.  Four million people have marched for peace.  Leaders have cried and hugged.  Heroes and heroines have been saluted for their bravery regardless of their faith.  

Jews, Muslims, Catholics and Agnostics have all stood together and said ‘no more’. 

This morning I sat in front of a candle, opened my Bible and then struggled to know what to say.  How do I pray God?

Many of you will have seen pictures of crowds of people holding the simple sign ‘Je Suis Charlie’ or ‘I am Charlie’.  This viral campaign began almost immediately after the first attack and spread.  Sometimes ‘Je Suis Ahmed’ was added in honour of the Muslim policeman who was gunned down in the attack.  But despite variations… ‘I am’ was a common theme.

It reminded me of the hours after the Sydney Café Siege where people tweeted ‘I will ride with you’ in support of Muslim men and women who endured abuse for their faith on the Sydney metro - offering them solidarity and company on their journeys. 

Christians worship a God who understands the idea of ‘Je Suis Charlie’.  Jesus lived and died saying ‘I am’, not just in the sense he is Yahweh or Almighty God.  He also said ‘I am’ as God made man, standing with us as a human being and sharing all our pain and suffering.  Jesus is our ‘I am’ God.  Before his ascension he declares ‘I am with you’ (Matthew 28:20).

Maybe this week we can begin to pray in this style – to pray incarnationally.  What does it feel like to be in Paris right now?  What is it like to be Muslim in a continent unsure about what’s happened in France and it’s implications?  Take time to consider the people and places which are suffering right now and then pray as if you’re part of it  - standing with them as Jesus stood with us... 

                                                             ‘Je Suis Charlie’

“He, the Life of all, our Lord and Saviour, did not arrange the manner of his own death lest He should seem to be afraid of some other kind. No. He accepted and bore upon the cross a death inflicted by others, and those other His special enemies, a death which to them was supremely terrible and by no means to be faced; and He did this in order that, by destroying even this death, He might Himself be believed to be the Life, and the power of death be recognised as finally annulled. A marvellous and mighty paradox has thus occurred, for the death which they thought to inflict on Him as dishonour and disgrace has become the glorious monument to death's defeat.”
Athanasius of Alexandria

All images are used by permission in accordance with commons copyright license terms: Feature image is a derivative of the images 'Je suis charlie' by Jodi Sharple, 'Je_suis_Charlie-19' by Valentina Calà and 'Je_suis_Charlie-2' by Valentina Calà