Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter
Acts 22:30, 23:6-11 | Psalm 15:1-2, 5, 7-11 | John 17:20-26
He was a sharp one, that St. Paul. Not many people would have thought to pit different factions in the Sanhedrin against each other, and foment sufficient unrest to get the local Roman tribune to physically haul him out of mortal danger.
Some might even call it devious. After all, shouldn’t St. Paul have kept quiet and gone to his death, just like Jesus his Lord and Master?
I think not. Christ’s mission on earth was to teach all who would listen about the Father’s love, and offer His life in the end for the salvation of all. St. Paul’s mandate…was just the first part of that. To accomplish that in the face of virulent Jewish hostility would require a certain level of “street smart” to ensure both that his message reached as many ears as possible, and that he would live long enough to complete his earthly mission. His shrewd linking of the Father with the Athenians’ “Unknown God” at the Areopagus speaks to the former, and he was not above using his Roman citizenship to metaphorically “get out of jail free”.
I believe we too are called to do the same. As Christians, we certainly don’t have a license to lie, cheat and steal, but we can still come up with innovative ways to get the message of Christ across. For instance, this post’s title seems to contradict a previous exhortation, but I’m really drawing your attention to a critical difference between “martyrdom as Christian testimony” and “martyrdom as suicide-by-evangelisation”.
In short, we should share Christ’s message, but not crucify ourselves in the process. There’s no reason media apostolates like the Daughters of St. Paul should have all the fun, yeah? ?
Lord, you have the message of eternal life. Help us find new and creative ways to share that message with others around us, and thereby find joy in the process of evangelisation. Amen.