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The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), June 19, 2005
Jeremiah 20:7-13, Romans :15b-19, Matthew 10:16-33
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

The Rev. W. Lee Shaw

In today's gospel, Matthew recounts the foretelling of the persecutions of the church. The words of Jesus are hard to hear about what will befall those who will follow his name and teachings. This is a hard part of Matthew's Gospel to hear.

Millions of men, women and children have been martyred in the name of Christ. Martyr originally meant just a witness giver for Christ, but as more and more were killed, it became the title of the victims of the persecutions. Our images of these persecutions are engraved in our popular consciousness: the coliseum with wild animals tearing people apart, people burned at the stake or beheaded, or as our patron, Stephen the very first martyr, stoned to death. A cruel, harsh way to die.

Let's talk about the martyrs, these saints of the church who gave their life as a witness to Christ. I take my text not from scripture or popular martyrologies, but rather from architecture. In my estimation, one of the greatest churches in all the world, a building that enshrines and celebrates the history, myth, heroes, culture, and ethos of a people; a building which for nearly a millennium has been a place of national celebration, mourning and coming together; a place unlike any other in the world: Westminster Abbey.

Above the great western doors of the abbey are ten niches for statues. At the close of the last century it was decided to use these spaces to commemorate the Christian martyrs of the 20th Century. Men and women of our time who gave the ultimate witness to the Christ, enshrined above doors that see 3 million visitors a year. In classic Anglican style and grace, none of them are English and only three are Anglican. Let me tell you of them: the martyrs of our age.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, killed in 1918 by the Bolsheviks. After the death of her husband she founded a religious order in Moscow, the Sisters of Love and Mercy. Following the murder of the Tsar's family, she and other sisters were murdered in a mineshaft. In 1992 she was recognized as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Manche Masemola, a 16 year old girl in South Africa. She converted to Anglican Christianity from her tribal religion and soon feared for her life because of her family. In 1928, she was murdered by her mother and father because she was a Christian.

Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan brother, was arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned in Auschwitz. When a prisoner in his cellblock escaped and was recaptured, Br. Kolbe stepped forward and offered his life for that of his friend. The Nazis attempted to starve him to death, but finally in August, 1941, killed him by lethal injection. His cell in Auschwitz is now a shrine.

Lucian Tapiedi was a native Anglican missionary in Papua, New Guinea as WWII broke out. When the Japanese conquered the island in 1942, the missionaries were rounded up and murdered. Lucian was one of 333 Christian who lost their lives in New Guinea for their faith.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was a Lutheran pastor and theologian and virulent opponent of Hitler. He was arrested by the Nazis because of his work with the Confessing Church, the opposition Lutheran church, and his participation in a plot to kill Hitler. He wrote his major works of theology from his prison cell and is widely read today. He was executed in April, 1945, just days before the Russians liberated his prison.

Esther John, born Qama Zia in Pakistan, she was converted to Christianity as a young girl and worked as a missionary and hospital worker in Pakistan. She worked with Anglican and Presbyterian missionaries, much to the disdain of her family. She was brutally murdered by unknown persons in 1960.

Martin Luther King, Jr. American civil rights leader, American prophet and political activist. His work for civil rights was grounded in his Christian faith as a Baptist pastor. In 1968 he was shot to death in Memphis, TN.

Wang Zhiming, a Chinese Christian who worked to reconcile his faith with the political requirements and realities of China during the cultural revolution of Mao tse Tung. In 1973, he was executed at a mass rally by the Red Guards. Following his death a riot of more than 10,000 people broke out.

Janani Luwum, Anglican Archbishop of Uganda. He was a vocal and powerful critic of dictator Idi Amin and warned that the Church should not conform to the “powers of darkness.” In February, 1976, he delivered a protest to Amin against his acts of violence. He was taken and murdered, his body never recovered.

Oscar Romero, Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador. He transformed himself from a supporter of the government to an outspoken critic and champion for the people of El Salvador. He spoke out publicly and boldly for “the disappeared” and against the government. He petitioned the Pope for help but his friends felt his isolation from the Vatican. In March, 1980, he was gunned down while celebrating mass at a hospital chapel.

There are Christian martyrs today, dying for the faith we share so comfortably in West Valley City, Utah. Let us remember these ten and all others who give witness to Christ with their blood: “For the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all your saints, who have been the chosen vessels of your grace, and the lights of the world in their generations.”