Word to the Wise
Thursday, August 10, 2017 - Aug. 10 - St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
[2 Cor 9:6-10 and John 12:24-26]"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life." [John]
St. Lawrence earned a special place in my memory when, as a grade school kid, I read a brief account of his death. He is supposed to have said to his executioners, while roasting on a big metal grill, "Turn me over, I'm done on this side!" To this day, his symbol is a metal grill! But martyrdom is no joke. Nor is it some grisly memory of the early church. It is a present reality. We commemorate in our own time the deaths of the Jesuits and Maryknoll sisters in Latin America, along with those of Bishop Romero and Fr. Stanley Rother! In the Middle East, the numbers of those who are killed for their faith by suicide bombers continues to grow.
Jesus' words to his disciples rang loudly in the early church. One of the early church fathers, Tertullian, famously wrote, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." Because it was felt by many that martydom meant instant entry into heaven, some early Christians had to be refrained from turning themselves in to the Roman authorities to be martyred! Once the church became legal, dedicated Christians embraced what was called "white martyrdom" by going to the desert to live austere lives.
Both scriptures today speak to the radical generosity that may result in martyrdom. What is very clear is that these persons took their faith seriously and shared it generously. St. Lawrence can remind us of this today. AMEN
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