On a recent plane ride, I read an interesting book, Rowan Williams little book Why Study The Past?: The Quest For The Historical Church
One of the remarks was regarding martydom. Modern martyrdom is dominated by the Islamic homicidal bombers of (mostly fortunately) the Middle East. However, in the early church stories and narratives centered around martyrdom comprise most of the documentation that has been left us from the late first and through the 2nd century. Why? Why were these stories so central? The reaons, Bp. Williams suggests is because being alien was central to the Christian ethic. For the Islamic terrorist suicide/homicide is a way to express strongly their certainty that their vision is right (righteous?), even in the face of their poverty as contrasted with Western power and wealth.
Flowing from this in the following centuries, after Christianity was not persecuted but had mainstream acceptance what followed as a upwelling of asceticism. Contrary to my earlier notions (on this blog) that asceticsm was a reaction against and to contrast with a wildly hedonistic Roman culture. Instead what is suggested is that this movement was just a consequence of being an alien in a place where the religion itself no longer had to live underground.
The religious right wants to capture political power to express Christian viewpoints in the public square. Catholicism, and for example the catholic legal scholars blogging at Mirror of Justice, daily express the Christian ethic (via legal thought) in the public square. This is a far cry from being an alien in your own land. That, if I might over-express the notion, you are not a American Christian but rather a Christian living in America (or wherever you live). You are an resident alien, dwelling in a strange broken land. When you hear the refrain “this is our land” an alien cannot let that soak into his heart. For he holds as resting place, as home … somewhere else.
We have an election season fast approaching. A naive reading in a democracy of what to “render unto Caesar” is that our participation is required. But it might be useful to hold as well, the memory of the first 4 centuries, which held that our efforts and time to be spent not seeking to make this Kingdom our fiefdom, our land. In this kingdom we are aliens. One obvious lesson to take from that is, a little apatheia or dispassion (to be distinguished of course from disinterest) is called for. Our temper is not required to be rendered. Also, whatever result comes, be it “your guy” or the “others”. As an alien … it touches you more lightly.
Amen.
I find that often we become too closely linked to America. In my association with foreign Christians I realize these are my brothers. My fellow citizens can not share as deep an attachment as I share with Christians of another land.