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The Martyrs
  "The Martyrdom of Stephen" by Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) | A martyr is someone who gives up his/her life for what s/he believes. Nathan Hale, a soldier in the Continental Army, was captured and executed by the British during the American Revolution. He famously said,"I regret I have one life to give for my country" before he was hanged. Nathan Hale is considered to have been a martyr for the cause of American Independence. Christianity has had martyrs, too. They were targetted by those in power because they placed their faith in Jesus above all else and spoke openly about it, even when powerful people did not want to hear the Word. Many of the disciples were martyred. In earlier times, governments often supported a religion, and speaking out against the state religion was seen as undermining governmental authority and considered to be a crime against the state. The Roman Emperor Nero used the Christians as scapegoats when Rome burned in 64 AD. A few Christians were rounded up and tortured into saying they and some of their friends had something to do with the fire. This probably wasn't true; people who are tortured will often confess to almost anything to get the torture to stop. Over the years, people in Rome had developed prejudices against the Christians, and Nero's campaign to blame them easily took root. Most Christians were not charged with starting the fire. However, since they staunchly refused to take part in many of the pagan Roman rituals and traditions for which participation was required by law, it was easy to find a reason to convict Christians. Many were killed in the spectacle of Roman games. They were fed to wild beasts in the arena, crucified, set on fire, and faced other horrific deaths. We honor a man named Stephen as the first martyr. The disciples charged him and six others with caring for the needs of the poor. Stephen went beyond that and preached that Jesus was the Savior not just of the Jews, but of all people who accepted His sacrifice. The Jewish leaders had tolerated the Christian sect, but were really upset when Stephen proclaimed that even Gentiles (people who weren't Jews) would be treated equally by Jesus and, through Him, God. The Jews believed they were the 'Chosen People' and Stephen was saying their special relationship with God didn't matter anymore. Stephen was put on trial in front of the High Priest in Jerusalem. He spoke of all that God had done for Israel, but then condemned the priests for not embracing Jesus and for conspiring to have Christ killed. This enraged those present; they dragged Stephen outside the walls of the city and stoned him to death. In many parts of the world, Christians are still targetted and persecuted. However, in Western Europe and the United States, governments have embraced freedom of religion so that everyone can come to God in their own way and express their religious beliefs openly. Being respectful of the beliefs of others does not mean that we should hide our own faith in God through Jesus. Sometimes others are not respectful and make fun of us or try to make us deny Jesus as our savior. We should always remember that the truth of our faith is found in what we do, how we live our lives and how we treat others. Standing up for our faith can still be difficult, even if we do not face death because of it. Today we hear a lot about Muslim extremists who want to become martyrs by dying while killing "unbelievers" and who frighten people into accepting their religion. The extremists have political goals, not spiritual ones, and most Muslims want nothing to do with their tactics or their politics. There are also extremists in the Christian faith who justify killing others because of their faith. An example of this are those who kill abortion doctors. These Christian extremists do not represent Christianity any more than Muslim terrorists represent Islam. Martyrs are those who are willing to be persecuted for their beliefs; those who persecute others for their beliefs are the opposite of martyrs! |
| May 2015 | ||||
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