‘Do not be afraid’ was also the clarion call of St. John Paul II. Today’s Gospel addresses a certain kind of fear: we could call it the fear of witness or testimony. Since the beginning, the Church has lived through times of terrible persecution. Believers under Nero and Diocletian were subject to all manner of torture and suffering for giving witness to their faith. Nero lit up the Roman sky with burning bodies of crucified believers; Diocletian was merciless, completely focused on eradicating Christians from the face of the earth.
In our own time too, in countries like Syria and Iraq, Chaldean/Syrian Christians are subject to constant fear and intimidation. The martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya in February 2015 shocked the world. Before the execution, the kidnapped workers were invited to renounce their faith, but they refused. They were heard to pray ‘Lord Jesus help me’ before they were beheaded in such brutal fashion.
Among their number was Matthew Ayairga from Chad. He wasn’t a Christian and was invited by his executioners to embrace Islam. He refused. They said to him: ‘Do you reject Christ?’ The witness of the other men so moved him that he said: ‘Their God is my God’ He was then beheaded. These men are martyrs for the faith, outstanding witnesses for Christ. We salute them and thank God for them, as we do for men and women around the world who suffer persecution, fear and intimidation because of their faith.
Pope Francis said: ‘As we recall these brothers who died only because they confessed Christ, I ask that we encourage each other to go forward with this ecumenism, which is giving us strength, the ecumenism of blood. The martyrs belong to all Christians.’ The blood of the martyrs is the seed of love, unity and brotherhood, and bears witness that every believer is called to give testimony for Christ. Not many of us will be called to proclaim the name of Jesus. We aren’t zealots or fanatics: we are simply men and women who are always prepared respectfully and with love in our hearts to share the reason for our love and joy.
