Word to the Wise
Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 2nd Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 5:27-33 and John 3:31-36]"We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts nis testimony. [John]
APRIL 11 ST. STANISLAUS, bishop and martyr
Both passages of scripture assigned for today refer to testimony and witnessing. The apostles are speaking to the highest Jewish authority, the Sanhedrin. In the gospel passage, the evangelist reflects on the "testimony" of Jesus (and of those who believe in him.). The liturgical calendar also celebrates the memory of St. Stanislaus, a martyr bishop in Poland in the 11th century A.D.. The statement, "We must obey God rather than men." is at the foundation of martyrdom. The very word, "martyr" is derived from a Greek word meaning "witness" and is used in a forensic or adversarial context.
I have referred in the past to a poster I once had with the words, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" The earliest (and subsequent) martyrs were killed not just because they believed in Jesus but because their belief was seen to be inimical to good public order!!! They refused to participate in idolatry which was the civil religion of the Roman Empire.
Martyrs can seem to be heroic figures of the past or at least in missionary territory and not here in the USA. But we are familiar with "civil disobedience" and the actions of government in responding to it. Christian faith does not demand martyrdom nor condone violence, despite terrifying examples to the contrary throughout history. But when someone like St. Stanislaus from the 11th century or St. Oscar Romero or the Maryknoll sisters in El Salvador and Bl Stanley Rother in Guatemala in modern times exemplifies the cost of bearing witness, we are challenged to ask ourselves whether we would have the courage they displayed in bearing witness. The early Church father, Tertullian, wrote, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." Where do we fit in? AMEN