When we think of the saints in the early Church, most of them were martyrs, since this was the time of great persecution in the Church. St Ignatius of Antioch became a bishop in the important Syrian city of Antioch in the middle of the first century. Tradition has it that Ignatius was good friends with St John the Evangelist. Ignatius was very loved by his flock; he also spent a great deal of time defending the faith from a lot attacks and heresies. Under the Roman emperor Trajan, he was condemned to death for failing to denounce his faith. On his journey to Rome, while traveling through Greece and Turkey, he wrote pastoral letters to the faithful to encourage them. Those letters survive today, treasures that speak out to us from the early Church. He is quoted as saying: “It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name.”
When I read the Gospel about Jesus calling out the Pharisees, I thought about how different the Pharisees are compared to St Ignatius of Antioch. Whereas Ignatius remained fiercely devoted to Jesus even to the moment of his death for his faith, also fighting heresy and serving the people of God, the Pharisees devote themselves to outward appearances rather than their inner life of faith. The Pharisees even try to lead others astray by their distortions of the faith and of Jesus’ message. It is easy to care about appearances in our society, in our friendships, and in our work. Let us not go astray.
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