From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah chapter 50, verse 6
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 early church is filled with martyrs, people who gave their life to see the faith continue. Today is the feast day of St. Martin I.
When he became Pope in 649 there was a popular belief called Monothelitism that Jesus had a divine will, but not a human will. At the time, much of the church was controlled by the Roman Emperor Constans II.
That Emperor endorsed Monothelitism and forbade this teaching from being changed, and outlawed discussion of it. One of the first things Pope Martin I did in his papacy was to gather a council of more than 100 bishops to refute that teaching and clearly state that Jesus had two wills. He was fully human and fully divine and thus had two wills.
The Pope and his bishops also denounced the ban on discussion about the topic. This infuriated the Emperor. He ordered his soldiers in Rome to arrest the Pope. That was not such an easy task, but after three years of trying, they did apprehend him and put him on an arduous voyage to Constantinople. When he arrived there, the Pope was immediately put into jail.
He was left there for three months in filthy, freezing conditions, and fed disgusting food. He suffered greatly and was not allowed to wash. He was then given a trial in which he was not permitted to offer a defense. The Pope was found guilty of treason. After spending another three months in the squalled conditions of the prison, he was exiled to a remote area and died within two years.
He gave his life trying to spread the truth as he understood it about Jesus. Saint Martin I is considered a martyr. We don’t know this, but perhaps during his humiliations in prison he recited the Isaiah passage that we shared today. “I gave my back to those who beat me, my checks to those who plucked my beard.”
Maybe those words gave him the willpower to not renounce his position and stand firm in his belief about Jesus.
We know that tomorrow will be Holy Thursday. Jesus will finish his day by going to the garden of Gethsemane. There he will pray and ask for the cup of suffering to pass him by if it be God’s will. When we read about the anguish of Jesus on that night, it seems clear that he was trying his best with his human will to follow his divine will.
Perhaps he, too, on that night, recited the words of Isaiah to try to find strength and comfort in the monumental task ahead of him. Maybe it helped him to feel like he wasn’t alone. “I gave my back to those who beat me, my checks to those who plucked my beard.”
Perhaps when they arrested him and had him scourged, as the whip cut into his skin over and over again, he said those words of Isaiah trying to find the willpower to withstand the pain.
How’s your willpower doing? Is there something going on in your life that is hard? Are you suffering along with Jesus and Pope Martin I? Let the words of Isaiah inspire you and give you the willpower to follow God.
“I gave my back to those who beat me, my checks to those who plucked my beard.”
Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…
When do you feel your willpower is at its strongest?
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