"I Have Come to Set the Earth on Fire"

Sunday Mass Readings

Let me take you to the story of a young woman at the very beginning of the third Century. Vibia Perpetua was a young woman of noble birth. She was twenty-two, a wife, and a mother of a young son. From the point of view of the Roman Empire, there was only one thing she did not do right – she became a Christian. For this crime she was imprisoned. Along with here was another woman, a slave, name Felicity, who was in the last stages of her pregnancy.

Fortunately, Perpetua kept a diary. In it she records the events of her days in prison. One of the entries has to do with her conversation with her father. Pepetua's father was a pagan and came often to the prison with her son in his arms). He would plead with his daughter to renounce her religion and save her life - to no avail. She writes:
"When I was in the hands of the persecutors, my father in his tender solicitude tried hard to pervert me from the faith.
'My father,' I said, 'you see this pitcher. Can we call it by any other name than what it is?'
'No,' he said.
'Nor can I' [I said], 'call myself by any other name than that of Christian.'
So he went away, but, on the rumor that we were to be tried, wasted away with anxiety.
'Daughter,' he said, 'have pity on my gray hairs; have pity on thy father. Do not give me over to disgrace. Behold thy brothers, thy mother, and thy aunt: behold thy child who cannot live without thee. Do not destroy us all.'
“Thus spake my father, kissing my hands, and throwing himself at my feet. And I wept because of my father, for he alone of all my family would not rejoice in my martyrdom.” So I comforted him, saying:
'In this trial what God determines will take place. We are not in our own keeping, but in God's.'
So he left me - weeping bitterly.

On March 7, 203, Perpetua and her four companions were led to the arena where the crowd demanded they be scourged. Then a boar, a bear and a leopard were loosened upon the men while the women were attacked by a wild bull. Wounded, Perpetua was then put to the sword. Felicity was executed only two days after she had given birth to her child. Now we know what Jesus meant when he said,
“From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Scripture and tradition hold those people in high regard who remain steadfast to the divine law even if they were in disobedience to civil authority. In today’s first reading, we hear the persecution of Jeremiah at the hands of King Zedekiah. Jeremiah’s prophecies were directed against the wealthy and ruling elite of the Kingdom of Judah. Corruption, exploitation of the poor, infidelity to the Covenant was rampant at this time. Jeremiah foretold the future destruction of and subjugation of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians. For this he was accused of treason. The point for us today, though, is that, even when Jeremiah was thrown into the pit, even while he was being sucked into the quicksand, he stood by the prophecy God has commanded him to proclaim. Such fidelity is extolled in the Scriptures.

We already know of the opposition that Jesus himself faced from the religious authorities of his time. In fact, scripture scholars say that Jeremiah prefigures Jesus in his suffering as the messenger of God. Finally, Jesus was put to death for his uncompromising stand on the universality of God’s unconditional love. Jesus warned his followers about the consequences of standing by his teaching. And just as he had predicted scores of his followers have been killed for their beliefs. Perpetua and Felicity were just two of them.

Three practical implications

First, We belong to a tradition in which scores of people made heroic sacrifices for the sake of the gospel message. Let me offer an analogy. One of the problems with the war that we are fighting in Iraq is that it is being fought in a foreign land. We do not see the effects of war and we do not experience the devastation of war. Life in this nation is as normal as it is during other times. Military families resent this. While thousands of young people are putting their lives on the line, the nation is living it up. In our day to day life, we have lost a consciousness of the sacrifices that men and women in uniform are making. Similarly, in the name of Christ and for Christ, families were torn apart, communities were divided, many were burned, thrown to the beasts or simply put to the sword. It is important that as a Christian community we keep this heritage in mind. It is when we forget the sacrifices of our ancestors in faith that we become complacent. It is then that our faith becomes just another “thing” like our jobs, or sports, or servicing our car.

Second, persecution continues in today’s world. Dayton Daily news just last week reported the sentencing of the criminal associated with the murder of Sr. Dorothy Stang who struggled with the poor for justice. Over the last five years, a number of priests and nuns working as missionaries for the poor have been killed in India. Missionaries continue to be suppressed in China. In our country, we are fortunate to be free of religious persecution but people who take their Christian faith seriously are often ridiculed. On the one hand, we must offer fervent intercession on behalf of the missionaries. On the other hand, we must stand firm in our own convictions.

Third, St. Paul mentions yet another domain in which Christians can make heroic sacrifices. In today’s second reading, he says, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” The early Christians believed that sins could not be forgiven after baptism. They strived hard to live angelic lives following the example of Jesus. And that is why some of them preferred death to sin. Martyrdom provided for them an excellent way to be like Jesus. Thus, when St. Paul says, ““In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood,” he literally means that people have loved death more than sin. This should make us hyper-sensitive to sin. Holiness is a struggle and we must take it seriously. This week let us resist sin to point of shedding our blood.

In this Eucharist, we commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. He let himself be broken for our sins. As we eat his broken body and participate in the cup of his sacrifice, let us offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to the praise and glory of his name. Amen.

Fr. Satish Joseph