The Christian soldier

Do you think that the title of this post poses an anomaly, a paradox, or a contradiction of terms? Didn't our Lord Jesus Christ preach non-violence, and non-resistance to evil? How then can anyone speak of the Christian soldier?

What about the hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers?

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!

At the sign of triumph Satan's host doth flee;
on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.

Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
but the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never ’gainst that church prevail;
we have Christ's own promise, and that cannot fail.

The lyric of this hymn is careful to avoid anything that would suggest that our battle is anything but spiritual, but from my reading of the Bible and of the history of the martyrs of Christ, it’s clear to me that there is no way one can draw the line between internal spiritual warfare and the struggles that we face in the ‘real world.’ There is only one arena of spiritual combat, and it takes in all possible worlds, internal and external, psychological and social, by word and deed, in the inner and the outer man.

Yes, as Christians, we too fight a jihád, but with the knowledge that the victory is Christ’s and that He bore the punishment for our transgressions in His flesh, hanging on the Tree.

Today is the feast-day and commemoration of the holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, as well as the first pre-sanctified evening liturgy of Orthodox sarakostí (‘40 days,’ or Lent). It is a fitting reminder that we are to follow Jesus into the wilderness, where He provoked satan to do battle, and where He won the victory in word that He would later seal by His deed, shedding His blood on the Cross.

But of the 40 Martyrs, thought by some to be the Thundering Legion, let’s make ourselves aware, and join them in carrying forward the battle, behind Jesus our King, against the world, the flesh, and death itself!

Yes, “blessed are the peacemakers,” especially when they are soldiers, policemen, and others we have commissioned to keep the peace and who, like the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, do not flinch from doing what they know is right, no matter what the cost, even at the cost of their lives.
U.S. soldiers pray in a circle before leaving Camp Victory for their patrol mission on the streets of Baghdad.

O holy martyrs, you were not frightened
By the supple sword because you took courage
In the fire of divinity, which you had put on.
Because you had met with frost and cold
And endured lightning flashes from on high,
You gained crowns.

Casting aside all the armor of the flesh,
You advanced, naked, into the midst of the lake.
Tortured by cold, yet warmed by faith,
You passed through fire and water
Worthily victorious; in the sight of God
You gained crowns.

Holy ones who did not fear the supple sword,
When you were willingly cast into the icy lake,
You were nobly patient under the whips of the tyrants.
Now the powers of Heaven rejoice,
And the race of men is happy and delighted because
You gained crowns.

From the kontakia of Romanós the Melodist