Blessed Martin Luther (c. 1483-1546)

 

"...The number of books attributed to Martin Luther is quite impressive. However, some Luther scholars contend that many of the works were at least drafted by some of his good friends like Philipp Melanchthon. Luther’s books explain the settings of the epistles and show the conformity of the books of the Bible to each other. Of special note would be his writings about the Epistle to the Galatians in which Luther compares himself to the Apostle Paul in his defense of the Gospel. Luther also wrote about church administration and wrote much about the Christian home.

Luther's work contains a number of statements that modern readers would consider rather crude. For example, Luther was know to advise people that they should literally 'Tell the Devil he may kiss my ass.' It should be remembered that Luther received many communications from throughout Europe from people who could write anonymously, that is, without the specter of mass media making their communications known. No public figure today could write in the manner of the correspondences Luther received or in the way Luther responded to them. Luther was certainly a theologian of the middle-ages. He was an earthy man who enjoyed his beer, and was bold and often totally without tact in the blunt truth he vehemently preached. While this offended many, it endeared him all the more to others.

He was open with his frustrations and emotions, as well. Once, when asked if he truly loved God, Luther replied 'Love God? Sometimes I hate Him!' Luther was also frustrated by the works-emphasis of the book of James, calling it 'the Epistle of Straw', and questioning its canonicity. Also irritated with the complex symbolism of the Book of Revelation, he once said that it too, was not canon, and that it should be thrown into the river! He later retracted these statements, of course. Luther was a man who was easily misquoted or taken out of context. While a brilliant theologian, and a bold reformer, he would not have made a good politician. But then, he never aspired to any career in politics...

...Martin Luther escaped martyrdom, and died of natural causes. His last written words were, 'Know that no one can have indulged in the Holy Writers sufficiently, unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles... We are beggars: this is true.'" (From Greatsite.com)

A Modern Martyr - Archbishop Janani Luwum (1922-1977)

In this day of people revolting against long-standing dictators and the injustice and oppression which they've perpetrated, we have an inspiring example in Janani Luwum. In the name of Jesus and in defense of his people, he was willing to confront on of the 20th century's most notorious despots, Idi Amin of Uganda, fully aware of the consequences. "They are going to kill me. I am not afraid...While the opportunity is there, I preach the Gospel with all my might, and my conscience is clear before God."

O God, whose Son the Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep: 

We give you thanks for your faithful shepherd Janani Luwum, 

who after his Savior's example, gave up his life for the people

of Uganda. Grant us to be so inspired by his witness

that we make no peace with oppression, but live as those who

are sealed with the cross of Christ, who died and rose again, 

and now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Blessed Absalom Jones (1746-1818)

Born - November 6, 1746, in Sussex, DE
Married Mary King - 1770
Died - February 13, 1818, Philadelphia, PA

Sussex, DE, and Philadelphia, PA, slave
Manumitted - October 1, 1784
Methodist lay preacher, licensed - 1786
Free African Society, co-founder - 1787
African Church of St. Thomas, co-founder - 1794
Episcopal Church, ordained deacon - 1795; ordained priest - 1804.

Set us free, heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice
and fear; that, honoring the steadfast courage of your

servant Absalom Jones, we may show forth in our lives the

reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God,

which you have given us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,

now and for ever. Amen.

Cyril & Methodius: Scholars, Ecumenists, Missionaries

St. Cyril (c. 827-869), baptized "Constantine", and his brother St. Methodius (c. 815-885) were Byzantine Christian missionaries to the Slavs in the 9th century.

The Greek brothers were born into the Slavic speaking community of Thessaloniki in Macedonia. Constantine, a child prodigy, attended the Imperial University [University of Magnaura], studying grammar, rhetoric, mathematics, and philosophy under the leading teachers of the region, including Photius, who was became the Patriarch of Constantinople. Constantine was also adept at Arabic and Hebrew. Having been ordained a deacon, then 24, he assumed Photius' chair of philosophy at the Imperial University, as well taking charge of the huge library at Hagia Sophia. Living in a monastery on the Bosporus, he was widely known as a teacher, and, in some circles, as "The Philosopher". Methodius became governor of a Slavic-speaking district in Greek territory for a time, then, experiencing a call to monastic life, he left his post to join Constantine at his monastery.

Constantine's mastery of theology and command of both Arabic and Hebrew well qualified him for his first state mission by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. He was sent to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil to discuss the principle of the Holy Trinity with Arab theologians, and to generally improve relations between the Caliphate and the Empire. In c. 860, Emperor Michael in Constantinople, along with Patriarch Photius, again called on Constantine, this time with Methodius also [although this is somewhat uncertain], to go to the land of the Khazars, north and west of the Black Sea (present day Russia and the Ukraine). This was a missionary expedition to the Khazar Khaganate in order to discourage the expansion of Judaism there, though unsuccessful, since the Khagan later imposed Judaism on his people as the national religion. There's a legend that Constantine and Methodius made a stop beforehand at Chersonesus in the Crimea to prepare for the upcoming mission, and that, according to tradition, Constantine discovered the relics of St. Clement of Rome during their stay there. That 200 Khazars were purportedly converted and baptized because of the brothers' work points to a successful mission. After the brothers returned to Constantinople, Methodius was elected abbot of a monastery.

The brothers spent their energy translating scriptural and liturgical texts into the Slavic language. Constantine also composed a totally new Slavonic alphabet, called the glagolithic. In it's final form it's known as the cyrillic alphabet, still used today by Orthodox Christians in Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Constantine used glagolithic to translate the Psalms, the Gospels, and the epistles of St. Paul into Slavic.

In 862 Prince Rastislav of Moravia sent a request for missionaries to Emperor Michael noting: "Our nation is baptized and yet we have no teacher to guide and instruct us in interpreting the Sacred Scriptures. We understand neither Greek nor Latin. Furthermore, we do not understand written characters nor their meaning. Therefore, send us teachers who can make known to us the words of the Scriptures and their sense." (From The Russian Primary Chronicle) The Emperor once again chose to send Constantine and Methodius to Moravia in 863. Constantine told him: "I am weak and sick, but I am happy to go naked and barefoot and I am ready to die for the Christian faith."

The brothers worked under the support of the prince of Moravia: training the clergy, instructing the people in the Slavonic language, converting non-believers, confirming those who already were believers in the Christian faith, and translating liturgical books into the people's language. Their efforts weren't at all universally appreciated, particularly by nearby German clergy who objected on several counts: 1) they saw the brothers as intruders, considering Moravia under their jurisdiction; 2) they considered use of the "vulgar" Slavonic language in liturgy as blasphemous; and 3) they were generally suspicious of anyone from Constantinople! In 864 Louis the German conquered Moravia, and the Frankish clergy curtailed the brothers' activities. These people were what Constantine referred to as trilingualists, i.e., they believed that only Latin, Greek, and Hebrew were acceptable for use in worship, basing their belief on the inscription which hung over Jesus' head at the Crucifixion and identified him as "King of the Jews" in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

Constantine and Methodius traveled to Rome in 867, hoping to enlist the Pope's support for their work. By the time they reached Rome a new Pope, Adrian II, was in place. The Pope received the brothers cordially, especially since, according to legend, they'd brought him the relics of St. Clement of Rome. Adrian gave his approval to the Slavonic translations of both the Bible and the liturgy, and blessed the Slavonic books in a service at the altar of the Church of the Virgin. He likewise authorized the use of Slavonic in the Mass in several churches in Rome in which he installed Methodius and three of his disciples. Pope Adrian agreed to consecrate both Constantine and Methodius as bishops, and apparently this was done for Methodius, while it isn't clear, at least from the sources I've read, whether that was true for Constantine.

Constantine's worsening health prevented the brothers from returning to Moravia. He entered a monastery, was tonsured as a monk and took on the name "Cyril", just a month and a half before his death on February 14, 869. He died in Rome, and was buried with great pomp in the Church of St. Clement, whose relics he'd brought back from Crimea.

In the same year, 869, Methodius was consecrated as Archbishop of Sirmium in Moravia, and returned there with the Pope's recommendation. He arrived only to find that Prince Rastislav, who'd originally invited Methodius and his brother, had been overthrown by a nephew, Svátoplúk, who was in cahoots with the German clergy and bishops. In 870 Methodius was arrested, hailed before the synod of German bishops, and imprisoned. Three years later Pope John VIII was able to free him, but only on the condition that Slavonic, "a barbarous language", be used only for preaching. Methodius continued his work, but, having confronted the new prince for his moral failings, Methodius was recalled to Rome on charges of continuing to use Slavonic in the liturgy and for heresy because, following ancient tradition, he omitted the Filioque clause, "and the Son", from the Creed. Pope John summoned him to Rome and, finally satisfied with his orthodoxy, sent him back to Moravia, even authorizing the use of Slavonic in the liturgy, with certain reservations. Nevertheless, at Prince Svátoplúk's request, Pope John unwittingly consecrated a German priest, Wiching, as Methodius' suffragan bishop. Bishop Wiching did everything he could to make Methodius' life miserable, even to the extent of forging pontifical documents! Even after Methodius' death, Wiching made it his mission to try to undo all of Methodius' work.

Methodius eventually completed a Slavonic translation of the Scriptures, as well as of Byzantine ecclesiastical and civil law, while continuing his missionary activities. He died on April 6, 885. The chronicle records that at his funeral, celebrated in Greek, Latin, and Slavonic, "The people, carrying tapers, came together in huge numbers;...all were there. For Methodius had been all things to all people that he might lead them all to heaven."

You could say that SS. Cyril and Methodius, Eastern churchmen working in collaboration with the Western Pope, were among the first ecumenists. In recognition of this, Pope John Paul II, in 1981, proclaimed them joint patrons of Europe, together with St. Benedict of Nursia.

The heritage of liturgy in the vernacular left to Eastern Christendom by SS. Cyril and Methodius is of monumental importance. Orthodox churches commemorate St. Cyril on February 14th, St. Methodius on April 6th, and both brothers together on May 11th. The Episcopal Church also honors the saints on February 14. Catholic churches commemorate them together on July 7th.

"Let Your Word Be 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no""

You've probably all seen the Peanuts cartoon where Lucy holds a football for Charlie Brown. Each year she holds it, and each year she jerks the ball away just at the last minute before Charlie tries to kick it. In one episode Lucy assures Charlie Brown: "I know you fell down last year. But this year I cross my heart that I won't do it..." Of course, we all know what happens: she pulls the ball again. When Charlie Brown complains, she replies: "Yes, I said 'cross my heart', but I didn't say 'and hope to die'"!

The problem here is that Lucy seems not to feel that oaths are binding. You and I know people who haven't been true to their word to us, who've outright lied to us or have been less than candid. When I was in sales work years ago and would call on a prospective client, I'd often be told, after the sales pitch: "Give me a call next week and then we can do business." Next week, of course, you could never reach the person, or you were told the person was no longer interested. Same thing with family, friends or acquaintances: parents sometimes manipulate the truth by replying to children's requests, "We'll see." All of this can leave a person feeling cheated and betrayed.

It's not a new problem. By Jesus' time the use of oaths and empty promises had become somewhat commonplace. An oath can be described as that by which a person invokes God to attest to or witness to the truth of what one says. Often a sacred object is substituted for God's name: "I swear on my mother's grave" or "I swear by my soul." Some oaths assert or attest to the truth of what we declare. Other oaths signify that we'll abide by a certain promise which we make.

The Israelites were commanded to swear by God alone. In effect, their oath was a profession of faith in God. In the Hebrew Scriptures an oath was relatively rare, and certainly not something to be taken lightly. But by Jesus' time oaths were invoked routinely. People swore by various objects, but many times the oaths weren't even legally binding. It was difficult to tell which ones were binding or non-binding.

Matthew's passage today (5:21-37) presents Jesus as the Teacher: he speaks with new authority and not as the Scribes. He's depicted as the One who proclaims God's will as it was originally intended. Jesus is, so to speak, God's mouthpiece, the authentic interpreter of God's law. His word is more radical than Moses' word, even stands above it.

Jesus' attitude toward oaths, as reflected in Matthew, is to forbid them. Possibly his reply was to a question, such as: "Which oaths are binding or not binding?" Jesus points out the hypocrisy and deceitfulness of the questioner. Why would anyone ask this unless s/he condoned telling half-truths? In the reign of God, Jesus contends, there's no room for oaths. The truthful word of God's follower is all that's needed. God is as serious about the truth, all the time, as we're serious about it when we use a binding oath. In following Jesus, however, oaths become unnecessary: a simple "Yes" or "No" is binding enough. The truth stands on its own.

Unfortunately today, we run into folks who can't distinguish truth from untruth, reality from unreality. Many lie most of the time. We call them sociopathic or pathological liars. Hopefully, none of us acts in this way. But we've all been guilty, if we're honest, of being less than truthful at times. A friend gets a new hair-do or dress and asks if it looks good. We might say, "It's interesting," when we really mean that it looks horrible. Someone at the office asks your evaluation of a fellow worker, whom you know to be really incompetent, yet you answer, "Jim is a hard worker." And there are the endless "white lies" which we all tell: when we "don't have time" to help someone, or give them a lift, etc. If we're to follow Jesus faithfully, there's always need for greater truth in our lives. God's reign demands it. An honest relationship with God and with one another demands it.

Most of us can understand how untruth or lying harms, not only ourselves, but our family members and friends. But how does it also dishonor God? Perhaps the example of Lucy and Charlie Brown gives a clue. A lie tells another person that the world is different from the way that person perceives it. Like Charlie Brown, we recognize that the world includes untrustworthy people like Lucy. The lying or untruthful Lucys of the world, often our very selves, in essence verbally remake or try to remake the world. When I lie to you I try to make you live in the world which I "create", not the world as God created it. The untruthful person tries to assume God's authority and rule. The liar attempts to portray God's world, conceived in goodness, as other than it is.

In calling us to be servants of the coming reign of God, Jesus challenges us to be straightforward,  singleminded, honest: to "tell it like it is". Further, Jesus asks us to take him at his word: to have faith, to set our hearts and lives on his word, to live by it. Those who live by faith find it unnecessary to ask Jesus to swear that He loves us, "cross his heart and hope to die". Jesus doesn't need to say "hope to die": he did die for us. He said "Yes" to us and to new life, and "No" to death-dealing falsehood and duplicity.

In the inimitable words of Edith Ann, one of Lily Tomlin's characters which you may recall from years ago: "And that's the truth!"

My Very Own Feast Day

Sometime over 15 years ago, a parishioner friend at my former parish, St. John's, Chico, Anita Psyllos, had visited Greece and returned with a wonderful gift for me: an icon of a saint whom she said was "St. Haraldobus". She'd asked around for one fitting my first name, "Harry". [Parenthetically, I've deferentially have tolerated my name, not particularly liking it, though I was close to my maternal grandfather for whom I was named.] Since at least high school, I simply accepted that "Harry" was a derivative of "Henry", which it is; also of "Harold", which is not my name. When I was ordained, the official papers recorded my name, in Latin, as "Henricus". Though Anita's icon has hung on my wall since then, and though I continued to call him "Haraldobus", some months ago I decided to search online for the feast day corresponding to "Harry".

My online search took me to an entry on Wikipedia for St. Charalampos/Harálampos = χαραλαμπος = joyful light. Another variation is Harálambos, which may be what Anita had originally been told in Greece. Interesting, too, that my last name is "Allagree" = allègre (Fr.), lively, cheerful; alegre (Sp.), joyful, glad. But then, I do recall one of my seminary English instructors, Fr. Francis Kinney, calling me "Happy Harry"! He also nicknamed me "Butterball", but we won't pursue that one! At any rate, the feast of St. Haralampos (c, 89-202) is observed today, February 10.

St. Haralampos seems to have been an early Christian priest or bishop in Magnesia, a region of Thessaly, in the diocese of the same name. He lived during the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211), when Lucian was Proconsul of Magnesia. It is believed that at the time of his martyrdom, Haralampos was 113 years old. Let's hope that I have some of his spiritual genes at least!

Haralampos was at least a priest, possibly the Bishop, at Magnesia, and spread the Gospel in that region for many years. When the acclaim of his preaching reached Lucian, the proconsul in the area, and the military commander, Lucius, Harlampos was arrested and brought to trial, where he confessed his faith in Christ and refused to offer sacrifice to idols. Despite his advanced age, he was tortured mercilessly, his body lacerated with iron hooks, and skin scraped from his body. His only comment to his tormentors was: "Thank you, my brothers, for scraping off the old body and renewing my soul for new and eternal life." Legend has it that, upon witnessing Haralampos' endurance of such tortures, two soldiers, Porphyrius and Baptus, openly confessed faith in Christ, for which they were immediately beheaded. Three women who were also watching the sufferings of Haralampos began to glorify Christ, and were summarily executed as well.

Hagiographers of the saint claim that Lucius, enraged by all this, seized the instruments of torture himself and began to torture Haralampos, only to have his forearms suddenly cut off as if by a sword. The governor Lucian then spat in the face of the saint, and immediately Lucian's head swivelled around, so that he faced backwards! Yes, you can read it all in the acta of Haralampos' martyrdom! A further note says that, surpisingly, Lucian and Lucius both experienced a dramatic conversion. They prayed for mercy, were healed through Haralampos' intercession, and became Christians themselves. Well...who knows?!

But apparently that wasn't the end of it. Even more tortures, according to the legend, were inflicted on St. Haralampos after he was brought before Septimius Severus himself. After being condemned to death and led to the place of execution, Haralampos lifted his arms to heaven and prayed: "Lord, You know that humans are flesh and blood; forgive them their sins and pour out Your blessing on all." Haralampos then gave up his soul to God even before the executioner had laid the sword to his neck. Pretty tough ole codger, at 113! According to tradition Severus' own daughter, Gallina, was also so moved by the death of Haralampos, that she was converted, and saw to it herself that Haralampos was buried.

The skull of St. Haralampos is kept at the Monastery of St. Stephen at Meteora in Greece. Many miracles are traditionally attributed to the fragments of his relics, found in many places throughout Greece and elsewhere. These miracles have made Haralampos, the most aged of all the martyrs, especially dear to the people of Greece.

The Sibling With The Greater Love

St. Benedict of Nursia was no slouch when it came to loving God. His biography is filled with stories about God's special favors granted at his intercession. Nevertheless, St. Scholastica, his sibling and possibly twin sister, seems to have had a bit of an edge, at least according to Gregory the Great in his Dialogues. As a young man, Benedict had run off to become a hermit at Subiaco, later moving to Monte Cassino, when Scholastica was very young. Surely she admired and was influenced by the commitment and holiness which she saw in her big brother. Still at home, she consecrated herself to God, the implication of that being that she must even then have exhibited an advanced degree of love of God.

Gregory relates the oft-told story of Benedict's last meeting with Scholastica before she died. Since her nunnery at Plombariola was located only about five miles from Monte Cassino, Scholastica and Benedict annually visited with one another at a gatehouse outside Benedict's monastery where they would pray together and converse about holy things. Scholastica's health had been failing at the time of the visit about which Gregory the Great wrote, and perhaps she had an intuition that this could be the last time she and Benedict would be together here on earth. She obviously wanted to make the best of it.

Along with Benedict's companions, Scholastica and Benedict had spent the day singing praises to God and talking about the spiritual life. As darkness was settling in, they continued their dialogue over a meal together until it grew quite late. Scholastica, realizing this, begged Benedict and the others to stay the night. Benedict, not one to transgress a Rule he himself had written, reminded his sister that that wasn't possible because they weren't to be away from their monastery overnight. Whereupon Scholastica quietly folded her hands on the table, resting her head on them, and fell into deep prayer. When she finally looked up, a clap of thunder startled the group, and torrential rains began to fall.

Benedict was immediately savvy as to what had taken place. "God forgive you, sister, what have you done?"Her innocent reply was, "When I appealed to you, you would not listen to me. So I turned to my God and he heard my prayer. Leave now if you can...go back to your monastery." A typical sibling squabble! And one might imagine Scholastica's coy smile. Benedict, of course, knew that he'd been "had", not only by his little sister, but also by the God whom they both loved so selflessly. One can only wonder about the deep things of the spirit which they must've discussed for the rest of the night. Whatever it was, Gregory the Great notes that "both of them derived great profit from the holy converse they had..."

Gregory, however, seems unable to let Scholastica's action and words simply go by without further comment: "We need not be surprised that in this instance the woman proved mightier than her brother. Do we not read in St. John that God is love? Surely it is no more than right that her influence was greater than his, since hers was the greater love." Turns out that both she and Gregory made the right call, for only three days later Scholastica died. Benedict is said to have seen her soul entering heaven in the form of a dove. He had his brothers go down and fetch her body and, after the funeral rites, had them bury his beloved sister in the tomb which he had prepared for himself. Gregory concludes with a final observation: "The bodies of these two were now to share a common resting place just as in life their souls had always been one in God."