At 6:50 pm CET on April 15, the roof of Notre Dame de Paris caught on fire.

The cathedral was quickly evacuated while over 400 firefighters were mobilized on the ground. Within the first hour, the main spire (symbol of God’s grace) succumbed to the flames as did the 1,000-year-old beams framing the roof. Unable to use helicopters or airplanes for fear of destroying the structure, firefighters worked all through the night to save the structures, the bell towers and what treasures they could. As I write this, the fire was just officially put out, nearly 16 hours after it began.

At this present writing, there are no casualties, and an active investigation has begun.

The cathedral was under scaffolding as renovation work was underway, but all the workers had finished their day at 5:30 pm, over an hour before the fire began. The reactions on social media were almost immediate, including former French president François Holland and American President Donald Trump. There have been many words, hopeful, political, conflictual and some desperate. My favorite so far has come from the professional footballer from the Paris Saint-Germain team Neymar tweeted Pray for France¹

Though there are tragedies all over the globe right now, some more wretched and costly in human lives, it’s not easy to know how to respond. This tragedy has shaken the faith of many, even in the first hours, we heard even the news anchors asking deep questions on air. The first step for me personally was wrapping my head around it. This really happened. Our church meets in a rented room a stone throw from the cathedral. I saw it so often it became a part of the background as I was more concentrated on traffic, but then there were those moments, often in a traffic jam, I would look up and be amazed all over again by the majesty of the building. We’ve done outreach there; I’ve given historical tours there, brought family and friends while never tiring of the architecture, wood panels that pictured the Gospel story or the stained glass windows. The arch-bishop of Paris, Monseigneur Michel Aupetit, consoled the French people, reminding them that the soul of France has not been touched and this place will continue to be one of faith.² As I write, there are plans in motion to rebuild the cathedral.

All this being said, how should we as protestants react?

I believe our first response should be compassion. Though we do not follow decrees of the Vatican, we can express our solidarity in our commune heritage. Notre Dame de Paris was built over the years 1163-1345. At that time, there were no Protestants; it was just the church. Though the cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary by Monseigneur Maurice de Sully, ³ the interior contained art that clearly depicted the Gospel story; the outside was decorated in a reminder of the Kings of Judah and the Judgement of Christ. Though we are stunned by the physical loss of a historical monument, we know that our faith is not based on such things.

“As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5).

I believe our next reaction after the shock has passed, is to pray. Neymar was right. For our Catholic friends all over the world, this is devastating, especially during Holy Week. We can be a comfort; we can pray, pray for them. We can remind them that in a few days we will both celebrate the day Jesus rose from the dead. Therein lies a greater hope, one that can never be shaken, burned or destroyed by anything on this earth or in any spiritual realm because Jesus is Lord of all. It’s with this in mind, that I would invite you to pray for France, pray for your Catholic neighbors, and be ready to offer a word of consolation and hope in our Risen Lord.

Notes:

¹ Neymar Jr. Twitter

² “L’archevêque de Paris Monseigneur Michel Aupetit affirme que ‘Notre-Dame de Paris a failli s’effondrer'”

³ “Avant l’actuelle Cathédrale Notre-Dame”

It’s not often that we hear stories of heroism on the evening news. More often we have to wait until after the program and turn on a movie. Last week in France we witnessed one of those rare moments; a man gave his life to save someone in danger of losing theirs. His name was Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, a highly decorated officer, and as more information became available, we discovered he was also a Christian brother.

On Thursday March 22, Radouane Lakdim, a 26-year-old Moroccan extremist with connections to ISIS, acted out in three acts of terrorism in the vicinity of Carcassonne, in the South of France. He was known to the authorities, under investigation and had a case pending against him.1 He stole a car, fired on its owner, killing the passenger, drove to military police camp, fired on and wounded an officer before ending up at the grocery store and attacking it, taking hostages.

During the negotiations, Lieutenant Colonel Beltrame, offered to take the place of the hostage.

The terrorist accepted and freed her as soon the Lieutenant Colonel entered. Beltrame opened his cell phone, placing it on the table, allowing the Anti-Terrorist Squad to follow what happened inside the store. Lakdim fired four shots at the officer, as the special forces unit attacked and successfully liberated the supermarket, killing the terrorist. Beltrame was rushed to the hospital but died of his wounds later that night.² Since, the moving testimonials have not stopped pouring in from family, friends, colleagues, clergy and even the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.

Arnaud Beltrame was born into a non-practicing Catholic family. He graduated from an elite military school, served in Iraq, served on the security committee at the presidential palace, Elysée, served in the government under the ministry of Ecology before returning to the terrain as an Adjoining Commander in August 2017. At the age of 39, he entered into the Legion of Honor.³ His career was exceptional, and his devotion exemplary. His mother spoke of him this weekend saying, “If he were here, he would say, ‘I was just doing my job.'” Clearly there was something else inspiring him than pure duty.

In 2008 he had a real conversion experience, became a practicing Catholic and took his first communion two years later. His colleagues spoke of a man full of faith, who shared what he believed in word and deed. A local clergyman close to him told of how he prayed to meet the woman God had for him and how that prayer was answered. At 45 years old, Arnaud Beltrame was married without children.⁴

In today’s complex geopolitical context, it’s not easy to read into these situations where faith comes into play.

This story is intriguing because out of the darkness of a crime committed in hate, came a life-sparing sacrifice of a man who wanted to follow Christ. The timing of his act of bravery corresponds to the season, a time when we remember the One who in perfect innocence, gave his life for a world in rebellion, to save us, give us life and hope. We can only imagine the welcome Beltrame had entering into his heavenly reward. May it inspire us to be brave, seek justice and live out the Gospel, as we pray for his family.

¹“Le suivi du terroriste de Carcassonne en questions”– LaCroix
² “Attaques terroristes dans l’Aude : le récit de 4 heures de terreur”– Le Parisien
³ “Communiqué – Décès du lieutenant-colonel Arnaud Beltrame”– elysee.fr
⁴ “Arnaud Beltrame : Le témoignage bouleversant du prêtre qui l’a accompagné jusqu’au bout”– famille chrétienne

Does God work in patterns? If He works miraculously in one area, does that mean He will do the same thing in another? Sometimes we hear of a person who has done extraordinary things for the Lord. Inspired, it’s natural to wish we’d been there or look for a way of replicating their work. We can’t go back in time; we can’t go around imitating other people’s achievements, but we can celebrate what happened.

One such event was Martin Luther’s 95 thesis he attached to the church door in Wittemberg, Germany, but 17 years after that event, a similar action was executed in the name of reforming the church that became known as “the Affair of the Placards” or “posters” in old French. The consequences were not as positive as Luther’s move. But for the kingdom of France, it was equally decisive. The Affair of the Placards provided an example of how God may do one thing in one place, but that does not guarantee He’ll do the same in another. He is after all, God.

The Reformation had been spreading roots behind the scenes for some time.

Thanks to the work of Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples, an aged professor at the Sorbonne, of whom Erasmus spoke fondly, he led his students to look to the Scriptures for inspiration and worked hard to make them understood by the people in their language. He released a French New Testament one year after Luther’s German text and commentaries on the Gospels and Epistles in the following years.

The Sorbonne reacted violently to Lefevre d’Etaple’s translation, burning it in the streets for fear it would propagate Luther’s ideas in France. He continued his work and poured into the lives of men like Guillaume Farel, who became one of the more outspoken and active evangelists of that time. He preached to all who would listen, traveling all over the Eastern half of the kingdom, and often found himself in trouble with both civil and ecclesiastical authorities.

Another important person to consider in the Affair of the Placards is Francis I, King of France.

Francis was a strong leader, centralizing his power and bringing in the influences of the Italian renaissance. He hoped to attain peace in his kingdom that his rival in Germany, Charles V, hadn’t with the Lutherans. According to historian Patrick Cabanel, Francis I may have even entertained the idea of reformation without making any formal adherence. In fact, he called up Lefevre d’Etaples to be the preceptor of his children in 1526.

The king of France was a souverain by divine right, meaning God, not the Pope gave him the right to rule his people. He was a Catholic monarch and protector of the Church, though he held no particular affection for the Medici Pope Leo X during Martin Luther’s day. In fact, John Calvin’s aim at writing his Institutes of the Christian Religion were to win over the king.

By October 1534, the world was different than in October 31,1517. Martin Luther just published his entire translation of the Bible in German; Ulrich Zwingli had already died on the battlefield, and this was the year Henry VIII would declare himself the head of the Church of England. Maybe these political changes inspired Antoine Marcourt, a pastor from Neufchatel and Guillaume Farel, to draft a new text, a sort of 95 thesis of their own. Judging from their writing, they hoped to start a revolution. They wouldn’t just tack up this message on the door of Notre Dame in Paris; they had much bigger plans.

“True arguments against the horrible, great and unbearable abuses of the papal mass, invented directly against the Lord’s Supper, the only Mediator, and only Savior, Jesus Christ.” (personal translation of a modern version by Marianne Carbonnier-Bukard). This is how they began their four thesis that they hammered out in the most violent terms, including Scripture references. Marcourt attacked the doctrine of transubstantiation as a dangerous heresy, an absurdly difficult word to pronounce, and a trap from hell to all who take the Lord’s Supper.

Once they finished drafting their work, they printed it out and recruited a small “army” of passionate French Protestant militants.

On the night of the October 17-18,1534, the band of evangelists posted Marcourt’s handiwork everywhere they could in Paris, Blois, Tours, Orléans and Rouen, including the king’s bedroom door, and according to some sources, even in his pocket. As expected, they were able to get Francis’ attention but certainly not the way they hoped. For the king, this was a breach in security; this was an attack on the mother church he was called to protect; this was an affront to his God-given authority, and this was high treason. Thus, in the course of one night, a king who was open to Protestantism, if for no other reason than to better his German rival or to please his sister Marguerite, who favored the new Lutheran doctrines, became a bitter enemy of the Reformation. Francis then took action that would eventually plunge his country into a series of religious wars, costing countless lives and is considered even today as one of the worst testimonies to Christianity in France.

This was a hard blow, but we cannot separate men from their time and judge them by our own standards.

Farel and Marcourt acted thoughtfully and prayerfully with the intention of bringing the Gospel to the highest courts of France. And all was not lost. John Calvin escaped to Geneva, and persuaded to stay by Guillaume Farel, developed one of the more successful theocratic societies over the following years.

What do we do with the Affair of the Placards?

At the least, may it be a reminder that what works for someone in one country doesn’t always work for another. In the end, we are called not to look so much for what “works,” but look to the One who is working in us and calls us to follow Him. He is the Lord of the Harvest.