Fr Ben Garren

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Today, reading about the martyrdom of the Apostle James in the twelfth chapter of Acts, I am struck by the nature of violence. Up to this point the martyrs of the early church have been the victims of mob violence, deaths that the state had ignored but not instigated itself. Today we have King Herod putting James to death by the sword, discovering that this death is not only allowed by the general population but actually makes him, the king, more popular... and so he begins the search for more Christians to be put to death.

It is a difference that some of us understand well and is elusive for others. What happens when a situation goes from where one may be the victim of violence, to knowing that the state will generally ignore victims like oneself, to realizing the state is now sponsoring violence against members of one's own community. The nascent Christian community, now about a decade after the death of Jesus, finds itself in such a situation.

Importantly, for me, this is the context in which all of the New Testament is written. When the writers of the gospels and epistles were putting pen to paper they existed under this heightened risk of violence and were writing to those under such. A context that many of us never experience in any way... and none of us experience on account of our faith. This moment of the Apostle James' martyrdom sets the tone for the rest of the New Testament, the backdrop we need to have in mind as we read it. 

As you go about your reflections on scripture this week, and moving forward, keep this question in the back of your mind: how would this sound to a group under threat of violence not only from the greater community but from the state itself? Because it is to one's such as that the Gospels are meant to give hope.

Pax,

—Ben