I think it was some time back in the early 60s when the new indoor shopping mall opened in my home town of Columbus, Ohio. All of the big department stores had opened branch stores at the mall, and of course people wondered if the new mall would hurt business downtown, which of course it did. One of the new features of the mall was that all of the stores would be open seven days a week. I remember my family being upset that the sacredness of Sunday was being violated. The churches in town all encouraged their members to do their shopping Monday through Saturday, that Sundays might continue to belong to the Lord. Our family followed that practice, along with many others, for a while; but eventually convenience won out, and before long it was no longer an issue.
I didn’t realize it when it occurred, but it was at that time, the time when the shops started staying open on Sunday, that the society in which I lived was becoming totally secularized. Up until that time the outward appearance of modern life didn’t openly conflict with the teachings of the Church. Television shows were suitable for all ages, often teaching some kind of moral; the style of dress was modest; public schools unashamedly talked about religion and placed value on beginning the day with prayer and often even the reading of scripture. In other words, Church and society were perceived to be in harmony with one another, both moving people in the same direction.
Whether that was truly the case or not, our situation in the second decade of the 21st century is vastly different. The society in which we Christians live is clearly not shaped by the Church or her values. The crucial question that we Christians face is whether we are going to recognize the situation for what it is, or fool ourselves into believing that the goals of the Church and the goals of society are basically the same. If we believe they are basically the same, then the society will continue to erode what standards are left, until there is nothing left of the Church worth salvaging.
If, on the other hand, we truly see our situation for what it is and begin to live according to that perception, then we have an opportunity that Christians have not had in much of the western world for 1700 years. From the time Christianity was made the state religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century until now, it has been difficult to see any clear distinction between the goals of the Church and the goals of society. Don’t misunderstand me. It has never been easy to be a Christian, to follow the way of life spoken of in the Beatitudes, but when Church and society appear to be headed in the same direction, Christians can be lulled into the false notion that being a good Christian is synonymous with being a good American, or a good Canadian, and so on. In other words, the radical claim of Christ over one’s entire life can more easily be missed.
The situation here in America in the 21st century is more closely akin to the Church of the first three centuries A.D. than has ever been the case in our branch of Christendom. This idea isn’t something I have come up with all by myself! Theologians call this the Post-Christian Age. Michael Marshall back in the 90s stated that we may live to see Christians persecuted in this country. We have moved out of an age in which Christianity appeared to be in harmony with the culture into an age in which Christianity is counter-culture.
I am saying all of this on a day in which we honor all the saints because the Church started this practice in just such an environment. The first saints that the Church held up as shining examples for all to see were those who had been martyrs, those who died for no other reason than that they professed Christ as Lord when the society said you weren’t allowed to do that. The saints are a witness to all of us that a Christian can be true to the faith in a hostile environment. And while each saint’s story is unique, they all have certain things in common:
1. They knew what and in whom they believed: The risen Christ.
2. Worship, both corporate and private, was of the highest priority. In fact, it was worship that got a lot of them in trouble, for it was hard to hide the fact that one was a Christian when one was seen worshipping with the Christians.
3. They knew that while many were against them, God in Christ was with them. They took to heart Jesus’ words, “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
4. They did not separate their religion from the rest of their lives.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, we live in a perilous time. We don’t dare ignore the fact that the society in which we live is not only headed in a different direction from Christianity, but also is in some places openly hostile to the teachings of Christ and to his followers. It’s no longer simply a matter of whether or not you’re going to shop on Sunday. Now, perhaps more than at any other time in the history of our nation, the Church needs to be a light in the midst of the darkness. And that light can only be as bright as the devotion, the commitment, and the strength of her members. The saints show us how to do it.