Word to the Wise
Friday, August 10, 2018 - Aug. 10 - St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
[2 Cor 9:6-10 and John 12:24-26]FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2018. ST. LAWRENCE, deacon and martyr [2 Corinthians 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] Scripture scholars tell us that Jesus is referring to himself in this passage in that by his death he will be the source of “much fruit” to the world. The other gospels also have preserved similar statements. At one point in the early Church, believers had to be admonished NOT to turn themselves over to the authorities for martyrdom in the belief that it meant instant heaven! Martyrdom is not something to be sought for itself but rather endured for the sake of some greater cause. We have plenty of inspiring examples right up to the present day. Most recently a diocesan priest, martyred in Guatemala, who was from Oklahoma City was beatified as a martyr - Fr. Stanley Rother. When St. Lawrence was hauled before a magistrate and ordered to turn over “the treasures of the church,” he simply gathered his fellow believers and told the authorities that these were the treasure of the church. It is because he loved them more that he was martyred. Martyrdom takes many forms other than the loss of physical life, but the ultimate loss of that life for the sake of others captures our attention. On the secular, military, level it is honored by the Congressional Medal of Honor. On the level of faith it is the ultimate test of love of God and neighbor. The grain of wheat can indeed yield a great crop of love. But martyrdom is not the common destiny of all of us, thank the Lord! AMEN
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