“But, nevertheless, closing remarks means you have to say your closing remarks. I don’t know what to talk about anymore, your honour. 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.
Alexei Navalny
(Source- Moscow Helsinki Group, from Navalny’s defense statement in a Moscow court February 20, 2021)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6
This is an excerpt from Alexei Navalny’s defense in front of a sham Moscow court. In that speech, he also referenced the Sermon on the Mount when he quoted the passage, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
The death of Navalny at the hands of a ruthless tyrant like Vladimir Putin must not be forgotten or minimized. He took his Christian faith and boldly spoke truth to power. Folks, I am not seeing very much of that these days. Navalny paid the ultimate price for his beliefs and his relentless challenges of tyranny and corruption in Russia.
It costs something to be a Christian. It means sacrificing our power and position for the benefit of those who do not have such privilege. I suppose each of us must decide the proper personal response to that challenge. For me, it is contacting my elected legislators to urge them to support the Ukraine in their fight against the Russian invasion.
Perhaps you do not have the same response, and that is, of course, your prerogative. I see it as a way to speak truth to power in my own little way.
Prayer: Lord, give us the strength to speak truth to power, just like Jesus did. Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 