Episode 8: 11/03/08

Readings:

Psalm 65
Nehemiah 6:1-19
Revelation 14:1-13
Luke 12:49-59

Sermon:

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." Rev. 14:13

Last week we celebrated two important feasts of the Church: Reformation Day and All Saints Day. On those two days we celebrate heroes of the faith who lived and died for their Lord. Some of them, like Martin Luther, were giants who risked all to bring the Church back to the authority of Scripture and the teachings of the Apostles. Luther was excommunicated from the Church and lived the rest of his life in exile as an enemy of the state.

Other reformers paid with their lives. In England, the Oxford martyrs, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, and Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were executed for their reforming work. As Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake, Latimer’s last words were prophetic: “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as I trust shall never be put out.”

That candle continues to burn brightly not only in England but in some of the darkest parts of the world today, lit by the sacrifices of everyday Christians who are persecuted or murdered for their faith. While they may not be as well known as the superstars of Church history, they are following in a proud tradition and have earned a place of honor in the history of the church.

Take, for example, the Christians of Orissa, in India. We don’t normally associate a democratic nation like India with religious persecution, but anti-conversion laws make criminals of Christian missionaries who often work among members of the lowest castes, the untouchables of Indian society. Although the caste system was officially abolished when India gained its independence, it still exists in practice, and Dalits who try to escape its tyranny by converting to Christianity are often murdered or abused, as well as the foreign missionaries who bring the Good News of Christ to them. An Australian missionary and his two sons were burned to death in their car by an angry mob nearly a decade ago, and anti-Christian violence continues to this day.

Or consider the Christians of Pakistan, where Islamic laws against blasphemy make it a crime to mention the name of Christ. Or Christian converts in Iran, who face hanging or stoning for leaving Islam. While we admire the dedication and perseverance of these modern-day saints and martyrs, we may wonder what drives them to make these heroic sacrifices, what gives them the strength to endure abuse and prison and death.

Persecution and hatred for one’s faith, near and far, has happened through every chapter of history.

In Russia, for generations upon generations faith was adored and it flourished. Then, in one moment it all changed. Looking to the Supremacy of Man and his wisdom, the communists would strike out in vile anger against Christians. Sent to Siberia or tortured in prisons, for eighty years the community of believers would be cast into a bitter Diaspora, their contact with the larger body of the church rare, and only when bibles would be smuggled into the country.

In the Beatitudes, our Lord says “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

This sounds rather counterintuitive to most people, even Christians, who would consider themselves to be blessed when life goes well for them, when they are happy and prosperous and well-liked and respected. While a great reward in heaven is a nice thought, for most of us it’s too far off to be much of an incentive, and if we really thought we might be looking forward to it in the next day or two, we might have second thoughts on how nice it really is.

So what is the blessing in being persecuted? Where is the joy to be found that sustains them in their suffering and keeps them faithful even unto death?

St. Paul, who certainly underwent his share of suffering for the Gospel, being flogged, stoned, arrested and eventually beheaded, tells us that “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Like Paul we say the words, but when put to the test do we really believe them in the way that we should?

We don't live in a world like Paul's or like those believers in India or Pakistan or Iran. Here in America we are blessed with a society that cherishes freedom of religion and we are able to testify to our faith any time we would like. Still we meet opposition and critics, those who would mock and berate us for our faith, trying to cut us down. So here's the test. Knowing that about our surroundings, do we still testify? Do we still preach the word in our daily lives? Or do we shrink from it, believing that somebody else will take up the task?

The blessing we find in our persecution is the understanding that what we do is for something greater than ourselves, putting our own comfort and complacency secondary to God's will and desire for our lives; knowing that through faith we will gain our reward in our salvation. The blessing we find there sustains us through this life in the strength of God, and comforts us in the peace of the Holy Spirit, unto the salvation we find in Christ.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.