Nereus and Archilleus! Google them. It won’t take long. Lessons I need to remember on the memorial of their martyrdom (despite our not knowing a whole lot about them): 1. My legacy will not be nuanced. The world tends to interpret people’s lives in tidy categories. As complex as the real story may be, 19 centuries down the road (and probably 19 months after I’m gone), I was either on God’s team or I was not. 2. Nobody is out of reach. Even sworn members of the enemy’s army can and will suddenly see the Light of Christ and drop not only their nets but their careers and their heads for Him. When it comes to those who practice and teach evil, I should love, challenge, engage, confront, and testify. I should never write them off. 3. Persecution is real. So, Christians need to make real plans and/or produce real responses to it, depending on where I/they live at any given time. Baptism is civil disobedience of the highest degree. The world hates us like Jesus said it would. Civilly speaking, “freedom of religion” is a temporary and fleeting notion at the best of times. Prudence and wisdom justify the boldest and most effective witness to Truth; they never justify cowardice or compromise of Truth. 4. The blood of the martyrs is still the seed of the Church. There is literally a church built on the graves of Sts. Nereus and Archilleus. I may not have one built on mine, but should Jesus tarry, my grandkids might. I need to do what I can to strengthen them for that eventuality. 5. The “journey” has a destination. These martyrs took decisive action in response to the revealed Truth about Jesus Christ and the revealed Faith He handed down to them through the apostles. They may have been “on a journey” of faith, but they sure didn’t have time to experiment with various trendy spiritualities and points of view to see which one was right for them. In a very real sense, their only legitimate path was locked in with the advent of faith in their souls. 6. Real Christians don’t last long in Caesar’s army. Incarnational evangelism is very good and very disruptive and volatile. God became human so that humans could become like God, not because He enjoyed life better as a human. Likewise, I may use earthly goods and position to reach the otherwise unreachable, but if I retire with those goods and position, I have likely failed the mission and its Lord. Sure, we need Christians in business and politics and culture. But if I can last a long time there comfortably without miraculous intervention, I am in dereliction of duty. Had Nereus and Archilleus not resigned their commissions and remained Roman officers, they would either have been materially participating in evil, or failing to spread the Light of Christ among their peers, or both. The operative word in “seek first the Kingdom of God” is “first”. 7. The following was never once said between these two martyrs. “Wow, you know what? I was able to have a good heart-to-heart with the Centurion today. He really opened up about the struggles he’s having with his wife and with his finances. He was really vulnerable with me, and I think it’s because he’s noticed that you and I are different. He said he’s noticed that when all the other guys are whipping and beating Jews and barbarians, we’re right there sharing our water rations with them. I think that’s made a real impact on him, and he feels that I am ‘safe’, you know? Well, I just feel like I have reached a point in our relationship where I can take the next step spiritually with him. I think it’s time. I have decided I am going to teach him some biblical marriage principles and also show him God’s way of handling money. I am really going to just bless him and enrich his life. It’s really starting to click for him, and I’ll bet that within a year, he’ll be sharing his water rations, too, with no discernible reason why.”
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 15:47:06 +0000
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