Ten days ago, a young woman, Mahsa Amini, was arrested in Tehran for not wearing her hijab (head covering) in accordance with Islamic law. Tragically, she died in prison that same night—under very mysterious circumstances. News of her death soon got out, sparking Iran-wide protests. Only God knows how these demonstrations might impact the current political situation, but they seem to be gaining traction day by day. In the meantime, the government has shut down the Internet to stymy the coordination of anti-regime protests and to try to prevent news of unrest from spreading. As I write this, over forty demonstrators have been killed in clashes with government forces. Last week many of our Iranian church members here in Hamburg asked whether we might organize a special prayer service to pray for the explosive situation in their homeland—and also for their relatives who cannot leave the country. We had more people attend that service than we typically get on a Sunday morning. Some of the women even set up a little memorial in honor of Mahsa outside the walls of the church (see picture) and gathered in front of it, weeping. In my homily, I sought to provide comfort by pointing out that, while the death of one person may impact the history of Iran, we know for a fact that the death—and resurrection—of another person, also God Himself, impacted the history of the entire planet. As Caiaphas himself said—ironically, not aware of the depth of his words: “…it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” John the Evangelist explains: “…he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad” (John 11:50-52). Please join us as we pray for the people and country of Iran, that the death of Mahsa Amini would not be in vain and that the Lord would work great miracles out of this extremely volatile situation.
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