Seventh Sunday of Easter - May 8, 2016

Homily for Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 8, 2016

Martyrdom

 

            Right after St. Francis of Assisi turned his life over to Jesus Christ, he was filled with a crazy desire to be a martyr (to die for his faith). He loved Jesus so much that he wanted to give his life to the Lord, even to the point of shedding his blood – but at the same time he wanted to spread the Gospel to the entire world. So to accomplish both desires at once, he traveled to Egypt to meet with the Muslim leader, Sultan Malik, to speak about Jesus Christ. This was during the Crusades – that long, protracted war between Christians and Muslims – so Francis knew that this quest of his was probably a death sentence.

            He was immediately captured and beaten by the Sultan’s guards, who dragged him before the Sultan. The Sultan demanded to know why this Christian was walking, unarmed, through his land. Francis began to explain the story of Jesus – how He is the Savior, how He lived and died for our sins but was raised again, and how faith in Him is necessary for salvation. Then, he waited for the Sultan to give the death sentence.

            Except, it didn’t happen! The Sultan was so impressed by Francis’ evident holiness – and the fact that he came in peace, in the midst of a war – that he let him go and actually gave him a bunch of gifts (which Francis promptly gave to the poor). So Francis never became a martyr!

            Many of the saints had a powerful desire for martyrdom. St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Isaac Jogues…all of them had a burning desire to give their lives to Christ. St. Maximilian Kolbe was actually quite cheerful about it – as a Polish priest who spoke out against Nazism, he was arrested and put into Auschwitz. But as Fr. Kolbe and his brother priests were being arrested, he said with a smile, “Look! We’re going on a trip, and it has already been paid for! What good luck!”

            Is this sadism? Is this heroism? No, it is a soul in love – so in love with Jesus Christ that they would do anything to be one with Him. The saints wanted to imitate Jesus so closely that they were willing to die for Him, just as He died for them.

            Today’s first reading speaks about the first martyr, St. Stephen. Stephen trusted that if he gave up his life, he would receive it back – notice the last line does not say that he died, but that he “fell asleep” – as Christians are confident that we will rise again with Christ in glory.

            Most of us, however, are not called to actually die for Jesus Christ. But that’s okay, because there are two types of martyrdom. There is red martyrdom – shedding one’s blood for Christ, and there is white martyrdom – suffering for Jesus, but not dying for him.

            And white martyrdom takes many forms! The wife who cares for her husband is suffering a white martyrdom if she unites her suffering to Jesus’ Cross. The kid who gets bullied for bringing a Bible to school is going through a white martyrdom. The cancer patient, if she unites her chemotherapy to Christ’s Cross, undergoes a type of white martyrdom.

            One time when I was a seminarian we took a youth group trip to this river where we all went swimming. One kid named Stephen jumped in and badly sliced open his foot. It was such a deep cut – and it had a rock stuck in it – that we knew we had to do some first aid. I grabbed the first aid kit and found the bottle of rubbing alcohol, but before pouring it on his foot I said, “Okay, this is going to hurt like the blazes, but I don’t want you to waste this suffering. Remember what Christ went through for you, and offer this pain back to him.” Then we poured on the alcohol – although he offered it up, he still screamed pretty loudly! (I only found out later that you really shouldn’t pour rubbing alcohol directly on cuts…)

            But the point is, the martyrs knew that they were going to die at some point – we all are. They merely wanted to die for the right reason – for Jesus Christ. Likewise, all of us suffer throughout life – but if we suffer well, for love of Christ, uniting our pain to His cross, and offering it up for the salvation of souls, then we are participating in a white martyrdom. And white martyrdom can form in us the heart of a saint.