There is a story concerning St. John of Damascus indicating that his right hand had been cut off. According to tradition, the Byzantine emperor, Leo III, who was an iconoclast, forged a letter under John’s name suggesting that John was orchestrating an attack and attempted take-over of Damascus. The emperor did this because he was angry at John’s apologetical writings defending the use of icons. The caliph, upon receiving copies of the letter, had John’s hand removed and then hung it up in the city for others to see. John, later that evening, asked if he could have his hand back, which the caliph eventually agreed to. Then, putting it next to his joint, John prayed in front of an icon of Mary, asking for a miracle, that his hand should be restored. After he went to sleep, the miracle happened: Mary appeared to him in his dream saying his hand would be returned to him, and upon waking up, it had been. As thanks, he painted a silver hand on an icon of Mary, making the foundation of a new iconic tradition, that of Mary of the Three hands. The icon certainly exists, though of course, people can, if they wish, question the story behind it – maybe the hand was not completely cut off, but hurt in some way, and later, the story came to be exaggerated, or maybe it was not originally connected to John but someone else. What is most important about the story is the way a Christian, not Muslims, who acted unjustly toward John, leading to John suffering great harm, for it was the emperor’s forged letter which led the caliph to punish John, and not John’s Christian faith nor his promotion of icons. And it is not that John would have been someone unknown to the caliph, for John had been from a prestigious family, with his father having held a key position in the government, and John himself, before he became a monk and a priest, is believed to have held some governmental position as well.
John of Damascus is famous not only for his defense of icons, a defense which led to the emperor’s ire and attempt to cause John harm, but also for other works, such as The Fount of Knowledge which includes the seminal On the Orthodox Faith, which serves as a basic systematic presentation of the basic teachings of the Christian faith, a text which in many ways can be a simplified precursor to what Peter Lombard would produce in medieval Europe with his Sentences.
Christians often are the ones who cause their own problems. There are many who want power and control, and will stop at nothing to get it. They will use their faith, however warped it is, as one among many tools to gain power and control over others. They will lie, cheat, and steal, if they believe doing so will get them what they want. And yes, though they might know they are doing wrong, they find ways to justify themselves even though, if others do the same to them, they would be the first to cry foul. We see this going on in the present day with the rise of Christian nationalism, an insidious ideology which denies basic moral principles of the Christian faith and yet tries to declare itself as proper orthodox Christianity and demands the power to enforce its ideology upon the world. Those Christians who follow along with this, even if they are not actively seeking power and authority for themselves. undermine the Christian witness, for they become what non-Christians associate with Christianity and not the Christians who resist such evils. Christians are not to be like them, but rather, they are meant to be peace makers. Christians are not only meant to promote justice in the world and treat others with kindness, but to oppose the inordinate passions like lust for power and greed from gaining control over their lives:
Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thes. 4:1-8 RSV).
Sadly, too many Christians ignore the way they are called to be in the world; now, non-Christians are used to Christians using the name of Christ as a way to defend some sort of wrongdoing. We can see this in the way some Christians think they can go anywhere they want and disrupt the people around them by yelling “Jesus is Lord.” When they are told to quiet down and go away, they act like they are being persecuted for the faith, when in reality, it is their bad behavior, their bad faith, and not Christianity, which is being rejected. The Christian tradition has long said that one is not a true martyr, or confessor, if they purposefully create hostility towards themselves by treating others poorly; we must keep that in mind when those who treat others poorly want to claim they are being persecuted when they face the consequences of their actions. Just because someone told a Christian to be silent and go away when a Christian is being rowdy does not mean they hate Christ. If it did, then we would have to conclude when Paul told a woman (said to be demon possessed) who was following him, telling others to listen to what Paul and his companions had to say because they were servants of God, to be silent (by having the demon come out of her), he was denying he was a servant of God. Paul knew, despite what she said was the truth, that her actions worked against the promotion of the truth, which is why he had her silenced; similarly, Christians should look at those causing such disruption in society and tell them to behave, to be quiet, and remind them it is their actions which are at issue, not what they are saying.
Christians need to do better. They need to be the salt of the earth, and to be sure, we can find many examples of those who have lived their lives as Christ wanted them to, many who lived holy lives, bringing peace and justice to the world thanks to the way they followed Christ. But too many Christians sadly seek power and control, and think their faith can be turned into a tool to serve that end. If they do not get what they want, they try to act like Christianity is being attacked. Real persecution does exist in the world, and, if we look carefully we will see it often comes from the hands of fellow Christians (or those who call themselves Christians), as can be seen in the way Christian migrants and refugees are treated at the border (or inside) the United States. Christians need to stand up for what is right and just, especially when it is Christians who are making their fellow Christians suffer. They need to recognize what true persecution is like, for the more they cry out they are being persecuted, when they are not, they undercut the true martyrs and confessors, many of which are like John of Damascus, people who are set up by their fellow Christians to be attacked, if not killed.
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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.
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