Till we’re ready to be martyrs next to each other,
under the same sword, no real unity is possible.
I don't know if this line which I read in a comment left on Fr Milovan's blog post Catholics Through and Through was intended to say what it says to me or not, but to me it expresses this very fundamental truth:It is in our common witness (μαρτυρία), and in our common readiness to lay down our lives “for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (cf. Revelation 1:2, 1:9, 8:9, 20:4), that we express our unity in Christ, not through any hobnobbing of church dignitaries, or by any convenient ecumenical declarations, all of which are pure poppycock.
In history we have seen examples of this in the bodily martyrdom of Christians of all denominations in the Nazi death camps during World War II, and in the Soviet gulags (even though the majority were Orthodox Christians, a few weren't). For those who were “martyrs next to each other, under the same sword,” real unity was possible, and not merely possible, it simply was.
I recall a scene in the film The Hiding Place, where Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom, evangelical Christian sisters imprisoned in Ravensbrück, huddled in common prayer with Catholic women and a Greek Orthodox girl who crossed herself and recited the Πάτερ ἡμῶν (Our Father), as other women devoid of faith or just too desperate, looked on uncomprehending. Unity in Christ? How could there not be, since all were “martyrs next to each other, under the same sword.”My hope is only that we are granted God's grace when it comes our turn to suffer for His Word and the testimony of Jesus, together, and finally recognize our brotherhood in Christ, which was ours in Him all along, in the only unity that is possible.
Francis Schaeffer recounts the story in "The Mark of the Christian" of a group of Christians in Germany immediately after WWII. One group had complied with Hitler's demands, another had split and fought against Hitler. After the war, there was tension. One group had relative ease, the other group had seen their families dragged off to concentration camps and murdered.
ReplyDeleteThey decided to come together, and each person searched his own heart for several days before they spoke to each other. Shaeffer asked them man who told him of this, "what happened then?" The man said, "We just were one."
We may have our differences, and sometimes those differences need to be addressed. But Jesus said before he ascended into Heaven that the world would know that we are His and that He was sent by the Father if we have love for each other. May God grant us a heart that is open to oneness, even oneness with brothers with whom we have differences.
Thank you for another beautifully written post full of God's wisdom, brother.
-Andrew
So, I was just reading my Bible, and realized that the quote I said was the last thing Jesus said before He ascended, was said earlier. I'm not sure how I got that twisted in my mind. Still, the point of the statement holds. Please forgive my feeble brain.
ReplyDelete-Andrew