“Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
The history of the Church is full of stories of persecution, from personal to state-sponsored and everything in between. From day one, the followers of Christ have faced hostility in various forms, driven by a wide variety of reasons. The first examples we find in the New Testament, in the Acts of the Apostles, where St Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned to death by the mob in Jerusalem around 35 AD, followed by St James the Apostle, beheaded with a sword around 44 AD on the orders of King Herod Agrippa I. St Paul’s missionary journeys were marked by many a hostile act, a few times escaping death only by the thinnest of margins. For nearly three centuries, the Christian faith was illegal across the Roman Empire, with active persecutions flaring up every now and again. The future looked brighter when Emperor Constantine the Great decriminalised Christianity in 313 AD, only to experience another spasm of hostility some 25 years later under the rule of Emperor Julian, nicknamed the Apostate for his rejection of Christianity and reversion to paganism. One of the unintended and surprising consequences of Christian persecution was the ever-widening spread of the faith. Those escaping persecution after St Stephen’s martyrdom brought the message of the gospel to non-Jewish dwellers outside the borders of Judea, an unexpectedly revolutionary move that rattled many of the Jewish Christians. The march of the Christian faith across the Roman Empire and beyond seemed unstoppable. Over the centuries that followed, the gospel has reached even the remotest parts of the world. Far from triumphalist, it has always been marked by hostile, often violent opposition that culminated in martyrdom. And yet, Christianity has not just survived such persecution but seems to thrive. With a few exceptions, Christians can be found everywhere in the world. How was that possible despite the slaughter?
A few weeks ago, I watched a documentary on how Christians in Japan kept their faith despite an extremely harsh and mercilessly executed ban on it, introduced in 1614, and in place for over 200 years. Any perceived adherence to the faith was punished by death, often by cruel and torturous means, to discourage others. Forced to register as worshippers in Buddhist temples, Japanese Christians developed ingenious ways of keeping the faith alive, such as Christian symbols inconspicuously woven into their clothes or a seemingly ordinary mirror that cast the sign of the cross on the wall when it reflected sunlight. They kept their heads very low and consequently, attached to their bodies. Their story isn’t as unique as you might think. Not dissimilar are stories of Catholics keeping the faith in Scotland, Ireland, and England after the Reformation, in sub-Saharan Africa, and in many other places around the world. The one common factor in the stories of the survival of the Christian faith was keeping a very low profile, often going underground by most of its followers, an attitude and behaviour that, in line with Jesus’ pronouncement in today’s gospel, should earn them condemnation: “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
The passage we heard today is part of a chapter-long instruction given by Jesus to his disciples, sent out on a mission, and inevitably, taken slightly out of its wider context. Having appointed them to a relief mission, as we heard last Sunday, Jesus warned them that they would face persecution from their fellow Jews, authorities and even members of their families. That warning opened up with a very interesting line: “I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be like doves and don’t hurt anyone.” (Matthew 10:16) Then he gave them a practical piece of advice: “When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city.” (Matthew 10:23) In other words, their goal was spreading the gospel, not seeking martyrdom; the latter could only be embraced as an unavoidable consequence of their adherence to the faith.
In this country, we are very fortunate not to face violent persecution as do fellow Christians in many places, particularly across Africa and Asia. Here, our main challenges are indifference, dismissal and mockery. It can be particularly difficult to stick to the faith for young Christians, facing massive peer-group and modern culture pressure, but adults can also have their own significant difficulties in workplaces, neighbourhoods, or even within their families. Often, the only viable solution to avoid a perma-conflict is to keep a low profile and your mouth shut. Isn’t such an attitude a denial of knowing Jesus and, consequently, drawing condemnation? The answer we can find in these words of the Lord: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) The best way to acknowledge Jesus is by adhering to his teaching in our attitudes, behaviour and actions towards others. We remain faithful to Him when we make decisions informed by His teaching and Christian values. As the old saying goes: “Actions speak louder than words.”
