In the wake of innumerable atrocities committed by ISIS, we mourn the latest loss of twenty-one of our Christian brothers and sisters beheaded by the Lybian branch of extremists. The gruesome video of their murders, released on Sunday, showed their last moments to be those of prayer and crying out to God, praise on their lips. Pope Francis called those who lost their lives martyrs, asking the Church to “encourage one another to go forward with this ecumenism that is emboldening us,” and that “the martyrs belong to all Christians.”

The Bible Society of Egypt responded quickly to the tragedy, working to produce a Scripture Portion ready to distribute to people in this time of severe sadness and crisis. By the end of the day on Thursday, February 19, they produced more than one million copies of the Scripture Portion ready to share in Arabic. On the back of the Portion is a poem, it’s English adaption reads:

Two rows of men walked the shore of the sea,

On a day when the world’s tears would run free,

One a row of assassins, who thought they did right,

The other of innocents, true sons of the light,

One holding knives in hands held high,

The other with hands empty, defenseless and tied,

One row of slits to conceal glaring-dead eyes,

The other with living eyes raised to the skies,

One row stood steady, pall-bearers of death,

The other knelt ready, welcoming heaven’s breath,

One row spewed wretched, contemptible threats,

The other spread God-given peace and rest.

A Question…

Who fears the other?

The row in orange, watching paradise open?

Or the row in black, with minds evil and broken?

We ask you to join with us in prayer for everyone affected by these atrocious events. Pray for the friends and family of those murdered in Egypt, pray for the Kasabeh family in Jordan, the Mueller family in the United States, and for world leaders who are responding to these events. Please continue to pray for peace where there is conflict throughout the Middle East.