MARTYR

"Saint Sebastian"
by Takato Yamamoto

Today is the feast day of St. Sebastian, martyr. It's also inauguration day in DC. It's also the first day of my StoryGraph giveaway. Martin Luther King, too, look at that. With all this, I want to tell you about the definition of "martyr." 

"The use of the word μάρτυς (mártys) in non-biblical Greek was primarily in a legal context. It was used for a person who speaks from personal observation. The martyr, when used in a non-legal context, may also signify a proclamation that the speaker believes to be truthful. The term was used by Aristotle for observations, but also for ethical judgments and expressions of moral conviction that can not be empirically observed. There are several examples where Plato uses the term to signify 'witness to truth,' including in Laws."

Thanks, Wikipedia. So, this is the basis for the term used in Christianity. 

Did you know that St. Sebastian's arrows did not kill him? The saint's martyrdom was not by the use of the arrows from the firing squad; he's normally depicted in art tied to a tree and speared with arrows, the Yamamoto image being a modern and rather unique take on the classic. Sebastian (255 - 288 CE) lived during the reign of Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, born in Gallia Narbonensis (what's now Provence // Occitane in France) and educated in Milan. The young man rose to the rank of the Roman Praetorium Guard and so learned the ins and outs of the politics surrounding those emperors. Sebastian concealed his Christianity while secretly converting powerful families to the faith and performing miracles. He was found out and sentenced to death. After returning from what seemingly would have been death, however, he appeared before Diocletian as though he were a phantasm and righteously berated the emperor for genocide against the people of God, which then led to his being killed by means of clubbing.

Why is this relevant? Think. Think a lot. There are many seers of truth. We're all meant for it. We offer you the truth but can't make you accept it. We don't have to die doing it. Though that is a serious reality in the world and no one should take it lightly. In all cases we do have to die to ourselves, however. 

"Oh my G0d, you literally think XXX? You're a XXX. You're brainwashed. You're a tool, you're an 0p." Where, no, I'm just me. And, you're just you. But, those people don't feel that they're "just me." They feel manipulated because they are, and, so, they assume you are too. Don't be manipulated! 

How do you get out of the trap? You know it's a trap. So, just sit in the center of the tornado. Of the cyclone. When faced with the firing squad, let the arrows fly, knowing they will not kill you. You will, in the name of truth (or, God, if you really understand), come out the other side. You're meant to witness truth. The storm will pass. You will be reborn. You are meant for a beautiful life of discovery.

It won't be easy. It'll be lonely at times. You'll be tempted to think you're crazy. And, maybe, sometimes you'll be led astray, and maybe you'll find yourself a little crazy. Don't worry. You have another chance. Satan plays tricks on you, but, remember, she's awfully lonely herself and can't quite admit it.

Donald Trump is a convicted felon. Yes. We have a criminal for president. You have to calm down, though. If you think it's going to be the end of the world, then it will be the end of the world. I'm not saying he isn't going to make devastating decisions. I'm not saying he's great, but, I'm not saying he's the worst monster ever when we just came out of an administration that has bl00d on its hands and not just Gazan bl00d. Nope. Blood of patriots, too. This is a weird time.

No one ever really dies the way we think they do. But, I've had to die a lot of times to my own self, to thinking that I know everything, to the disease of pointing the finger at everyone else and labeling everyone. If I can do it, you can. Truth-tellers do it. And when we least expect it, signs come that people have been saved by God through our truth-telling. This is not the time to read dumb things. This is time to have compassion for those writers who don't know what they're doing.

I believe that you can handle the truth. I believe you can read the signs, decode it, think about it.