Reflections on Jesus’ Sayings from the Cross
Guli Francis-Dehqani
Canterbury Press, 2021
Guli Francis-Dehqani is the Bishop of Chelmsford. She has a more interesting history than her title suggests. Her father was a Muslim convert who became the Anglican Bishop of Iran. When the Islamic Revolution took place in 1979, the Iranian church was persecuted, her brother was murdered and Guli, aged 14 fled the country with her parents.
This short book is a series of seven reflections, each taken from one of Jesus’ sayings from the Cross. She writes with wisdom, her theological insights enriched by the experiences of her own life. I was left wishing she had written more about the church in Iran, past and present, though that was not the purpose of this book.
In her reflection on Jesus’ saying “Father, forgive”, she recounts:
“As the Islamic Revolution in Iran was beginning to take hold – in the early days, as its impact was gradually being felt by the Anglican Church through various raids on properties and confiscation of institutions, as missionaries and foreigners began to depart, leaving the community vulnerable […] my father […] declared his intention to side with forgiveness rather than hatred. He talked of having preached for years about the theory of forgiveness, but now it was time to practise it.
He didn’t know that soon he would be in prison, his wife would be injured in an attack on their lives, and that eventually his own son would be murdered and he and his family forced into exile, where he would remain until his death in 2008. But he declared his intention early on to live with a spirit of forgiveness no matter what and, though this proved far from easy, that is the path he and my mother continued to travel and which I have tried to emulate.
[…] In all this talk of being forgiving, it’s worth remembering that forgiveness isn’t always our gift to offer. […] When my brother, Bahram, was murdered it was his life that had been cut short […] is forgiveness ever ours to offer, or does it belong to God? […] To ask God to forgive is to trust God and surrender to God’s will the task of judging and of changing hearts and minds. It is to release us from the burden of responsibility and liberate us to move into the future.” Pages 6-8.
In the reflection on Jesus’ words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Bishop Guli challenges us that our value does not depend upon our achievements:
“I have a friend who’s struggling with a disease that’s gradually disabling her body. […] She is gifted and creative and was destined for senior posts of considerable responsibility. As she’s stripped of the things she felt gave her purpose and value and recognition, she is having to reconsider her worth as a child of God, not in terms of what she does but of who she is. It is very painful, and it comes to all of us in old age if not sooner – letting go of things we once considered essential to our self-understanding.” Page 35
She also reflects on how good can be brought out of suffering:
“I certainly don’t mean to underestimate the extent of suffering in our world nor minimise the importance of speaking and acting against injustice. There is far too much suffering and far too much injustice, and some people have way more than their fair share of them. Striving towards creating the kingdom of God here on earth means that we are compelled to do our part in working for change. But – and here’s the paradox again – when all is said and done, in our moments of pain and anguish, loneliness and abandonment, our suffering takes us closer to the heart of God, for it gives us insights into the person of Christ, deepening our trust and faith.
[…] Our pain connects with his pain – he understands and can redeem our moments of despair and aloneness, for through them we come to understand that our strength in fact lies in how we accept our weakness, in how we are when we’re at our lowest ebb.” Pages 37-38.
Bishop Guli writes with an authentic voice. I hope that she publishes more in the future.
September 2022
Adrian Vincent