The Boot and the Cross

The story is told, by celebrated Japanese author Shusako Endo, of a horrific persecution which all but eliminated Christian faith in Japan in the late 16th century.
The church in Japan was estimated to be over 1/4 million at this time. The Shogun decided that the growing movement was a threat from the west against Japan so they set out to destroy the church which was being nurtured by Portugese missionaries.
Many missionaries and disciples were arrested and told to deny the faith or face a brutal death. Silence is the story of one such Missionary who faced this dilemma with a slight twist. Though willing to die himself, he was not prepared for the torturous deaths which faced the people he had come to know in the village. He was not going to be killed but in darkness he listened to the pain and groans of many others being tortured to death.
He was told that all he needed to do was to trample on a medallion of the virgin Mary and Child which would represent his apostasy, the turning away from his Lord and Savior. So much pain, so much hurt, so many dying, he continued to cry out to Jesus for an answer to his prayers. "Silence" (the name of the book) was the only thing he heard.
Finally, broken and sorrowful, he decided he publicly would trample the "fume". As he lifted his foot to do what he never imagined, symbolically grinding away at the face he so dearly loved, Jesus breaks the silence, speaking from the medallion. "Trample, Trample," Jesus said, "for this is the reason I came into this world, to be a ransom for many...Trample!"
This is not a story of triumphalism. This is a story of grace... scandalous grace which challenges us to see, once again, the story is about Christ, not about us. I would love to think I would stand firm but, more foundationally, I need to know that God’s grace is far more dependable than my supposed courage, no matter how fueled by devotion. We have not really known God’s grace until we have been offended by that grace.
Peace