To believe in some patchwork feel-good religion might be fine for some, but it's not for me. I suppose we have the luxury to do that in a country where the material needs of most are generally met. Many are calling for the abolition of religion. With that in mind, I would like to introduce today's saint, St. Athanasius. Generally, the saint is honored, not on their birthday, but, if known, on the day they died. Athanasius died May 2, 373. So...
Athanasius was born in the year 296 in Alexandria, Egypt, to Christian parents. He learned the Christian faith as he grew up and spent some time in the desert, on retreat, with the first monastic church father, St. Anthony. I don't want to get into a big biographical thing on him, but I want to say that what Athanasius is chiefly known for is his argument against a very prominent priest in Alexandria named Arius. Arius was proclaiming that Jesus was not a Divine Being. He said that God the Father existed first and at some point created Jesus the Son, Jesus the Son being an inferior being. Arius, I guess, must have had a lot of sway, and he was causing division. So a church council was called in Nicaea to really hammer out what was actually true about the man Jesus of Nazareth. The council was convened in the year 325.
You see, these early Christians were Christians (Christ followers) because they believed that God, the creator of all things, sent His Son, Jesus, to the earth. And this fact changed the world. In the Council, they proclaimed the following, each in their own voice: "I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end."
Do you see? They believed this was historical fact. Eternal TRUTH. They bring in all that stuff about him being born and suffering, dying and rising again, because NO ONE has ever done that before or since! If the resurrection is not true, then why believe this stuff? Saint Paul says as much in his letter to the Corinthians, that same book with the beautiful reflection on Love. He says, "If Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all." (I Corinthians 15:14-19, NAB) Not an opinion. Not something to put on a shelf. This is something for which they would give their lives, and many did. In self-offering and love. These truths were professed even before there was a canon of Scripture. In other words, the Bible wasn't done yet. The Bible was done around 75 years later, when the Bishops, in Council again, proclaimed which books were inspired texts.
Every Sunday when I go to worship, I say the exact same words given to me way back in 325 listed in the quotation above. These words are what I proclaim as true about Jesus Christ as part of the entire Nicene Creed. The creed also has parts about the Father and the Spirit. These words are proclaimed after the pastor preaches. Partly why is to make sure that Father's words line up with the truths passed on to us by our forefathers. This is what is called Catholic tradition, or, as GK Chesterton calls it, "the democracy of the dead." To be Catholic is to affirm those truth passed on to me as the truth. AND to live them, knowing they are the true paths to freedom and happiness.
My aim is to daily try to conform my life to that which I profess and believe as true. But I don't. For example, let's say I gossip. At the time, it feels fun, but afterwards, I feel as if I've done something ugly. And I remember that my Master, the God Man who did something no one else did, He rose from the dead, said, "Honey, gossiping won't really truly make you happy." And I say, "You're right. I'm sorry. Can I try again?" And He says, "Of course! And by the way, I want you to pray for and do some good thing for that person you were talking about, because I love them as much as I love you, little miss!”
And every day is new, and I continue to either make progress or regress (I'm good at the regress part!) I have a real relationship with this Jesus. And so did Athanasias, so much so that he was willing to suffer exile, persecution and torments because of it. In his case, he had a lot of people angry with him for standing up for the truth. His life was difficult. Standing up for truth, as mysterious as that truth seemed to him, meant suffering. He wrote so honestly, "My writing has caused me great pain. For the more I desired to write, and endeavored to force myself to understand the divinity of Christ, so much the more, it seemed, the understanding of this great mystery escaped me. Moreover, I was unable to express in writing even what I seemed to grasp, so that what I wrote fell short even of the imperfect shadow of truth in my mind. Although often tempted to quit, I constrained myself to keep writing so as not to disappoint you and those who depend on me.”
Athanasius, I thank you for not being afraid to stand up for what you believed. I look forward to joining you and all the saints in Heaven this Sunday as we, with one voice, proclaim the beautiful Nicene Creed. YOUR legacy, sir (stop blushing!)! Enjoyed getting to know you better today, and I feel you with me even now. I hope this little reflection might bring encouragement to you, friends. God bless!
Saint Athanasius, pray for us!
