Reflections on Ignatius
I've recently been studying some early church history and have been thinking about the early Christians attitudes towards martyrdom in contrast to those held by many Western Christians today. We can find several writings from the second century that help us to understand the attitudes of those early Christians towards martyrdom, the most dramatic of which are recorded in the "acts of the martyrs," which retell the arrest, trial, and death of various martyrs. In addition we learn of the attitudes of early Christians towards martyrdom through other Christian writings of which one of the most valuable is probably the set of seven letters that the aged Bishop Ignatius of Antioch wrote on his way to martyrdom.
The most significant letter to help us understand the attitude that Ignatius held towards martyrdom can be found in the letter he wrote from Smyrna to the church in Rome, after his arrest, while on his way to Rome to die as a martyr. Somehow, Ignatius had heard that Christians in Rome were considering the possibility of freeing him from death. He did not look upon this with favor as he was ready to seal his witness with his blood. He viewed any move on the part of the Christians in Rome to save him as an obstacle to his goal. In this letter he wrote to them:
"I fear your kindness, which may harm me. You may be able to achieve what you plan. But if you pay no heed to my request it will be very difficult for me to attain unto God."
Ignatius views martyrdom as the highest attainment of imitating the passion of His God, Jesus Christ. As he faces the ultimate sacrifice, Ignatius believes that he begins to become a disciple and therefore asks that the Christians in Rome simply pray not that he be freed, but that he may have the strength to face every trial. He goes on in the letter to say:
"... so that I may not only be called a Christian, but also behave as such. My love is crucified. I no longer savor corruptible food but wish to taste the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, and his blood I wish to drink, which is an immortal drink. When I suffer, I shall be free in Jesus Christ, and with him shall rise again in freedom. I am God's wheat, to be ground by the teeth of beasts, so that I may be offered as pure bread of Christ."
I believe that we can learn from Ignatius of Antioch the attitude that many early Christians held towards martyrdom. An attitude of embracing that which Jesus suffered with great honor and joy. An attitude that enables us to look at persecution and martyrdom as a priviledge that God grants to some of His followers.
Martyrdom is not something that we should seek out but it is something that we should wholeheartedly embrace should we be given that gift. I sometimes fear that because the Western church has become so comfort oriented we have steered dangerously far away from Biblical teachings on suffering, persecution and martyrdom. Should we truly wish to be Jesus' disciples, and live our lives wholeheartedly for Him, we must once again embrace the attitude towards persecution and martyrdom that the early Christians held.
We often times speak of seeing the Gospel preached to the unreached Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists of the world, and should we truly desire to see these precious people come to faith in Christ, we must be willing to lay down everything, even our very own lives for them. We must seek to know God not only in His joys but also in His hardships and sufferings. We must seek to know Him in His greatest victory, the victory that He attained through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. We must say as the Apostle Paul did:
"that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:10,11
Now I begin to be a disciple. Let fire and cross, flocks of beasts, broken bones, dismemberment, come upon me, so long as I attain to Jesus Christ. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH
Peace,
Matthew Pascal
The most significant letter to help us understand the attitude that Ignatius held towards martyrdom can be found in the letter he wrote from Smyrna to the church in Rome, after his arrest, while on his way to Rome to die as a martyr. Somehow, Ignatius had heard that Christians in Rome were considering the possibility of freeing him from death. He did not look upon this with favor as he was ready to seal his witness with his blood. He viewed any move on the part of the Christians in Rome to save him as an obstacle to his goal. In this letter he wrote to them:
"I fear your kindness, which may harm me. You may be able to achieve what you plan. But if you pay no heed to my request it will be very difficult for me to attain unto God."
Ignatius views martyrdom as the highest attainment of imitating the passion of His God, Jesus Christ. As he faces the ultimate sacrifice, Ignatius believes that he begins to become a disciple and therefore asks that the Christians in Rome simply pray not that he be freed, but that he may have the strength to face every trial. He goes on in the letter to say:
"... so that I may not only be called a Christian, but also behave as such. My love is crucified. I no longer savor corruptible food but wish to taste the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, and his blood I wish to drink, which is an immortal drink. When I suffer, I shall be free in Jesus Christ, and with him shall rise again in freedom. I am God's wheat, to be ground by the teeth of beasts, so that I may be offered as pure bread of Christ."
I believe that we can learn from Ignatius of Antioch the attitude that many early Christians held towards martyrdom. An attitude of embracing that which Jesus suffered with great honor and joy. An attitude that enables us to look at persecution and martyrdom as a priviledge that God grants to some of His followers.
Martyrdom is not something that we should seek out but it is something that we should wholeheartedly embrace should we be given that gift. I sometimes fear that because the Western church has become so comfort oriented we have steered dangerously far away from Biblical teachings on suffering, persecution and martyrdom. Should we truly wish to be Jesus' disciples, and live our lives wholeheartedly for Him, we must once again embrace the attitude towards persecution and martyrdom that the early Christians held.
We often times speak of seeing the Gospel preached to the unreached Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists of the world, and should we truly desire to see these precious people come to faith in Christ, we must be willing to lay down everything, even our very own lives for them. We must seek to know God not only in His joys but also in His hardships and sufferings. We must seek to know Him in His greatest victory, the victory that He attained through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. We must say as the Apostle Paul did:
"that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:10,11
Now I begin to be a disciple. Let fire and cross, flocks of beasts, broken bones, dismemberment, come upon me, so long as I attain to Jesus Christ. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH
Peace,
Matthew Pascal
posted by Matthew Pascal @ 8:47 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Matt, I think that's laudable so long as a desire to imitate Christ doesn't become a desire to deserve Christ. One makes us disciples; the other makes us Pharisees.
Good reminder Steve.
I was just cleaning out some of my old files, and found this Op-Ed article from last Easter's edition of the New York Times. It's written by Nicholas Kristof, who often focuses on faith and social issues, and this particular piece was discussing the rise of Christianity around the world and pointing out that Christianity is no longer "Western." The thing that interests me most is how he highlights the persecution and oppression many of the Christians in the non-Western world face. He ends with these comments:
"Conservative Christians in the U.S. should take heed. Christianity is thriving where it faces obstaces, like repression in China or suspicion of evangelicals in parts of Latin America and Africa. In those countries where religion enjoys privileges--Britain, Italy, Spain or Iran--that establishment support seems to have stifled faith.
That's worth remembering in the debates about school prayers or public displays of the Ten Commandments: faith doesn't need any special leg up. Look at where religion is most vibrant today, talk to those who walk five hours to services, and the obvious conclusion is that what nurtures faith is not special privileges but rather adversity."
What the Western Church has lost in faith it has gained in acceptance by humankind and governments...which reminds me of Matthew 16:24-26. Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their soul? Or what will they give in return for their soul?"
great reflections MP and you two Heidi. Steve's theoretically right and biblically solid in his encouragement, but in my many years doing campus and international mission, I'm not sure we're in too much danger in the western church of going overboard with self-sacrifice. Our righteousness, including obedience, is to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. That means the obedience of faith
without the presumption of Phariseeism. Sometimes I think we're so afraid of having the wrong attitudes that we end up doing little or nothing.
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