Present-Day Martyrs

Present-Day Martyrs

Let us talk about soap operas for a few minutes. You know, those shows on TV that are terribly formulaic: poor girl meets rich boy, they fall in love, and they swear to be with each other for all eternity. And they lived happily ever after? No! Or at least, not immediately. The girl has to suffer beyond belief first, under the dastardly villains who are so intent on wreaking havoc on her life, and usually for the most inane reasons. The heroine, however, does not react against them. The most she could do is to cry in her sleep, until a certain part in the plot wherein she finds the strength and nerve inside her to fight back (you can almost hear the viewers cheering for her as she slaps the face of her nemesis). Before she transforms into a lioness, however, she is the quintessential battered victim, not even saying “Ow!” when just about all of her hair has been forcefully yanked.

This is now the commonly-held perception of who a “martyr” is. The portrayal is almost always that of someone who is abused and does not do anything about it, not because it is his/her choice to remain quiet, but usually because she is scared of the possible consequences of her actions, if she decided to fight back. In short, “martyrs” are considered to be spineless jellyfish, not having any backbone to stand up for his/her own rights. Martyrdom is seen in such negative light nowadays. In fact, one of the common expressions here in the Philippines is “Masyado kang pa-martir!” or any of its derivations, usually said by someone berating a friend for being too cowardly, too silent, or (perish the thought) “too nice.”

With all that in mind, is there anyone in the world who would choose to be a martyr? The probable answer would be no, but the thing is, we’re not out to look what the world is saying, right? It presents martyrs as people who have no ability to stand up for themselves, to speak up, in essence, to be weak. All of those are lies. To prove that, let’s look into the biggest martyr the world has ever seen: Jesus Christ.

Was He unable to stand up for what He believed in? No. In fact, He did not care one whit what the people would do to Him, just as long as He is able to minister to these same individuals. He was utterly fearless, fulfilling His purpose, knowing that it would eventually lead to His death. Was He unable to speak for Himself? No. He went from place to place delivering the Father’s message, not being afraid of the maltreatment He would be receiving, and from the highest officials to boot. Did He cry alone in the corner when He was being persecuted? No. Instead, He went on to continue doing what he has to do, even with the knowledge that the next town might just bring Him more pain and suffering. That does not sound like someone who is weak.

The most prevalent characteristic of martyrs is meekness, and this should not be equated with weakness. I remember reading a devotional (I think it was written by David Jeremiah) that said that to be meek does not mean allowing one’s self to be a doormat, allowing other people to just trample you just because you can’t defend yourself. That implies submission because there is no other choice. Meekness implies a conscious decision to be exactly that. When you think about it, meek people actually have a stronger will than other people. Instead of giving in to their instinct to fight back, they temper that and choose not to respond. It’s not about having the courage not to fight back, but having the strength not to. What good would it do to retaliate, in the first place? In the long run, it does more harm than good, if it does any of the latter at all. It would, in fact, make things worse, because the both of you would have something against the other. Retaliation is pointless. Taking justice in your own hands does not accomplish anything, except that you would go out of your way to look for your own punishment for what you have done. One bad thing does not negate another. Is it also not a sign of pride why we want to get back to the person who has hurt us? It gives the “avenger” the satisfaction of not allowing another to have one over you, not allowing that person to be superior to you, to a degree. Is that really a good thing?

Even though the Lenten season has come and gone, I hope and pray that all of us would continue to share in the Passion of Jesus, His pain and suffering, and to do exactly what He has done: be a meek lamb.

Isaiah 50:6-7 “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore, I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”