Martyrs and Demons

(Luke 8:26-39) (23rd Sunday after Pentecost)

Among the saints remembered today is the Holy Martyr Anastasius. He was a simple and godly maker of cloth in the town of Solin in Dalmatia. It was the time of the Emperor Diocletian, the ruler of Rome from 284 to 305 AD, and a persecutor of the Christians. When the persecution came to Dalmatia, Anastasius did not wait for the officials to come to him; rather, he went to the judge of the town, and confessed his faith in Christ. He was arrested, tortured horribly, and then put to death. His body was thrown into the sea; later, it was taken out of the sea, and buried.

His story is not unique. Indeed, today we celebrate the holy martyrs Marcian and Martyrius, who died for the faith in the year 355 AD. Marcian was a reader, and Martyrius was a sub-deacon. They served with the Patriarch Paul at the cathedral in Constantinople, and suffered because, when the heresy of Arius broke out again, they refused the bribes offered to them by the Arians, and spoke out to declare the true teachings of the Orthodox faith. For this, they were beheaded.

There are a couple of things that we should note in these accounts. The first is that the holy martyr Anastasius was murdered at the hands of a pagan state; while the holy martyrs Marcian and Martyrius died at the hands of a state that, while appearing to be Christian, had fallen into the control of heretics. Yes, it can happen here; it probably will happen here – and we would do well to be prepared. This leads to a second point: the truth of the incredible love of God for us, and how these martyrs, in that love, drew so close to God that this earthly life had no hold on them. How else could someone be bold for the truth, even in the face of torture and death? How else could someone turn themselves in, and so make a powerful statement for Christ?

Do you see anything of the martyrs in you? We should. But, if you’re like me, it’s not so much the martyrs we see, as it is the demon-possessed man living in the tombs outside the city of the Gadarenes, described for us in the Gospel reading from St. Luke today. Being naked, he had no protection against the sun, wind, or rain; he had no protection from the heat or the cold. Not living in a house, he lacked not only protection and comfort; he was alone, with only the demons as his company. His existence, in both body and spirit, was one of misery and torment; and yet, when our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, this man says to the Lord, “What do I have to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high?”

Aren’t we asking this same question every time that we sin? Aren’t we saying that there is nothing in common between us and the Lord when we turn from His ways to follow and pursue the passions and pleasures of the flesh? Aren’t we saying that, in word and in deed, we don’t want to have anything to do with Christ when we’d rather be indulging ourselves in sin? But this is madness!

The Fathers tell us that, when we sin, we have, as it were, taken off the robe of our baptism. We have become naked, like the man in the tombs: and we are unable to protect ourselves. When we sin, we have departed from the household of God, to dwell among the dead, and those who hate God. When we sin, we are saying, and showing, that we love ourselves more than we love God; but without the love of God and love for God, we can never take on the appearance of the holy martyrs, for only love for God can transform us so. Instead, we are like the man in the tombs, possessed by our demonic desires, and unable to live a normal life. And our society is like that of the Gadarenes. They saw their economy greatly damaged when the herd of swine, forbidden to them, was possessed by the demons and ran off a cliff into the lake. They also found this man who had struck such fear into them while he was dwelling among the tombs clothed in his right mind, and sitting at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. But this did not inspire them to turn from their ways. No, they asked the Lord to depart from them, because they wanted to continue in their way of life, rather than to struggle to change and follow Him.

So, brothers and sisters, whom do we resemble: the man in the tombs, or the holy martyrs? What can we do to be restored, having thrown off our baptismal garment and having departed from dwelling in the household of God? We begin by repenting, and confessing our sins. We continue by turning away from our sins, and embracing again our Orthodox way of life: praying, fasting, giving alms and offerings, and struggling against our passions by practicing the virtues of the Christian life. And in this, be encouraged by remembering the great love of God for us in Jesus Christ; and seek to be vessels of His wondrous love. For if we will labor to be without sin, and to be filled with the love of Christ, we will declare, in word and deed, the great things that God has done for us, even in the face of persecution and death.

Holy martyrs Marcian, Martyrius, and Anastasius, pray to God for us.