Saturday 10 November 2007

Background

At the beginning of the book of Revelation, there are seven'letters' to young churches in Asia. These verses are the letter tothe Church in Smyrna, a Roman seaport built to replace an ancientGreek city of the same name a few miles inland.

The Church in Smyrna was being persecuted, almost certainly bymembers of the local synagogue. The writer, John the Divine, aimsto strengthen them to face not just the persecution which isalready happening, but that which is to come.

What is to come will be worse. Some of the believers faceimprisonment, which John sees as the work of the devil, althoughthe agents of it are human. We think of prison as a place wherepeople are held either pending trial or as a punishment after beingfound guilty. In the ancient world, it was usually the place wherepeople were held prior to execution. Facing prison meant, ineffect, facing death.

John's encouragement to his readers to be faithful until death is,therefore, no idle form of words. But those who are martyred fortheir faith actually become conquerors in the name of the risenChrist. Jesus told his followers not to be afraid of those whocould kill the body but could not kill the soul (Matthew 10:28) andJohn echoes that here. Martyrdom brings eternal life.

To Ponder

'The blood of the martyrs is the seed of theChurch' (Tertullian - a famous Christian in the early Church). Whoare important contemporary martyrs for you?

The name of 'martyr' has been claimed for somepeople in the contemporary world who have themselves engaged inacts of violence in the name of their faith. What do you think arethe dangers of promoting an ideal of martyrdom within a faithcommunity?

Have you ever put your life, reputation orcomfort on the line for the sake of your faith? If so, whathappened as a result?