The stories
of the clay vessels who endure extreme physical and mental distress as they act
to fulfill their mission to bring others into relationship with Jesus include
the remarkable missionary work of the Jesuit martyrs in North America in the 17th
century. The Roman Catholic Lectionary in Canada for today includes the text from the Book of Revelation in which John of Patmos describes the
persecution of the Church by the Roman Empire points to the special condition
of those who have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. The consequence
of the action described by Paul in the Letter to the Corinthians “I believed
and so I spoke” (2 Corinthians 4.13) is that the one who proclaims in word and deed a
relationship with God will be persecuted. Paul praises God for the inner
strength to endure the hardships of discipleship. Reflection on the martyrdom of
the North American Jesuits cannot help to bring to mind the phrase attributed
to Christian apologist Tertullian that “The blood of martyrs is the seed of theChurch”. We may be misled by this cliché in times of over concern for numbers
in the pews to seek more martyrs for Christ. The difficulties of Christians
outside the Western countries today testifies that many who hear Jesus in the
Gospel of Luke and pick up their cross everyday have a real chance that they
may be killed. The Prince of Peace tells us that we will encounter resistance,
rejection and difficulty as we follow Him. This is the consequence of acts of
Love. Glenn Penner notes we cannot seek violent death to generate martyrs to
grow the Church. In a sense, the choice of those we seek to bring to Christ to
use violence against us is a failure of that particular missionary effort.
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