While all the stores like Marshall’s and TJ Maxx have Chinese made Easter bunnies, plastic eggs, and signs that say “Faith, Hope, Love,” Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu of Xinxiang sits in a Chinese prison because he criticized government repression of the Church and the people in his diocese, Xinxiang in Henan Province.
The Chinese government only looks to American purchase of its disgusting spring and Easter decorations, manufactured by a combination of forced and underpaid labor. In addition to the rabbits, there are plaster birds and owls for the garden, made in sterile factories where workers toil for up to 12 hours a day.
The Chinese government has released no news of the Bishop arrested in May 2021. Like so many who disappear into the ultimate surveillance state, no one knows if he is alive or dead. During this Season of Lent, we should not only pray for those who resist the subjugation of the Gospel to political power but call on our government to support Christians in China. Crucifixion comes in many forms.
Prayer for the Day
You call us, O God, to set our faces towards the Jerusalems of our day,
Places where your faithful servants are persecuted and imprisoned;
But focused on goods and products in our stores and shops,
We find ourselves tempted to ignore their silent pleas.
Forgive us, O Lord, when we turn aside, from harsh realities,
And awaken us to care for those who refuse to yield to corrupt power.
In the name of the One who took on the powers of his day,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Studies have shown it is precisely brands’ demands for lower prices, faster production, and fulfillment of unanticipated orders that compel factories to illegally subcontract work to places like labor camps.”
- Amelia Pang, Investigative Journalist, from Made in China
We can’t do business with people who are violating human rights. If the prices go up, it’s too damn bad.
- Thomas R. Suozzi, U.S. Representative (NY), Congressional Uyghur Caucus
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath.
For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down upon me.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
Psalm 38: 1-3