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| Martyrdom of St. Agnes Tsao Kou Ying |
"Jesus,
save me!"
+ Lucy Yi Zhenmel,
Agnes Tsao Kou Ying,
Agatha Lin Zhao,
Martyrs of China
1815-1862 A.D.
As we step past All Saints' Day and see the season of Advent on the horizon, Emmaus City Church is seeking to soak in stories of people throughout the past millenia who have followed Jesus, using Our Church Speaks: An Illustrated Devotional of Saints from Every Era and Place as our resource. Here are recent highlights:
When we handed these books out to our congregation this past weekend, this is part of the note we included inside each one:
This might seem at first
to be a peculiar Advent devotional.
But saints often are peculiar people
who stand out in a particular time and place.
In fact, the times when saints shine
the most are times of darkness.
They give glimpses of Jesus’ Light,
which darkness cannot overcome.
to be a peculiar Advent devotional.
But saints often are peculiar people
who stand out in a particular time and place.
In fact, the times when saints shine
the most are times of darkness.
They give glimpses of Jesus’ Light,
which darkness cannot overcome.
Advent begins in the dark.
And we, as part of Jesus’ Church,
are called to live as Advent people
who anticipate Jesus’ coming
into our darkness today to overcome it.
Ultimately, our hope rests in the God of Advent
who drew near to us in Jesus’ first coming
and will come again
to take away the darkness forever
and be our eternal Light.
And we, as part of Jesus’ Church,
are called to live as Advent people
who anticipate Jesus’ coming
into our darkness today to overcome it.
Ultimately, our hope rests in the God of Advent
who drew near to us in Jesus’ first coming
and will come again
to take away the darkness forever
and be our eternal Light.
That hope is what saints have embodied
as our sisters and brothers across time,
ethnicities, Christian traditions,
nationalities, and more.
as our sisters and brothers across time,
ethnicities, Christian traditions,
nationalities, and more.
As we step into this next year,
our prayer is that we will shine
all the more with the holy light
of Christ in us and through us.
And we pray that we
“being rooted and firmly established in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the length and width,
height and depth of God’s love.”
After all, “the Father has enabled us
to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us into the Kingdom
of the Son He loves.”
our prayer is that we will shine
all the more with the holy light
of Christ in us and through us.
And we pray that we
“being rooted and firmly established in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the length and width,
height and depth of God’s love.”
After all, “the Father has enabled us
to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us into the Kingdom
of the Son He loves.”
This post features an excerpt from Our Church Speaks so that you might also walk some of this journey with us with reflection, prayer, and anticipation for how the Light of the world might shine in your life during this season.
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| Martyrs of China in Our Church Speaks |
Lucy Yi Zhenmel,
Agnes Tsao Kou Ying,
Agatha Lin Zhao,
Martyrs of China
Solidarity w/ Those
Who Feel Trapped
Christianity reached China by the early seventh century and has since experienced many waves of growth and suppression. In the last two hundred years, the Chinese church has grown with unprecedented speed, and Agnes Tsao Kou Ying lived at the beginning of this wave of modern growth. She was born Tsao Kou Ying to a Christian family from Sichuan Province. At age eighteen, she married a farmer and was harassed by her in-laws for her faith. After two years of marriage, her husband died, and she was driven away by her husband's family. A Catholic widow took her into her home and trained her in Scripture and Jesus' Church's teachings. At Tsao's baptism, she took the name of Agnes, after Saint Agnes, a martyr of the ancient church. With the encouragement of a traveling priest, Tsao became a missionary in Guangxi Province. When the government of the Qing dynasty outlawed "wizards, witches, and all superstitions," it extended this prohibition to those practicing Christianity. Tsao was imprisoned and ordered to renounce her faith in Christ. She refused to betray her faith and was locked in a cage so small that she could only stand. For three days, she prayed in the confines of her cage before she died.
Two other Chinese women, Lucy Yi Zhenmei and Agatha Lin Zhao, share similar stories and are commemorated alongside Tsao. Both of these women, also bearing the names of ancient Christian martyrs, were arrested for their Christian faith and beheaded. Their witness, and that of countless other unnamed Chinese Christians, sowed seeds of faith that contributed to an abundant harvest of souls.
Today,
with over sixty-five million believers.
Scripture
"Remember those
who are in prison,
as though in prison with them,
and those who are mistreated,
since you also are in the body."
+ Hebrews 13:3
Meditation:
Solidarity with Those
Who Feel Trapped
God's people often
find their bodies trapped in a cage.
Sometimes the bars are made of iron;
a cancer diagnosis,
gender dysphoria,
a hostile work environment,
abusive parents,
The feeling of being trapped, incarcerated within your pain, is — unfortunately — not unique to you; it is normal for a follower of Jesus. Taking up your cross to follow Christ often leads to what can feel like a painful dead end.
When we feel trapped in our suffering, it is vital to remember that we never, ever suffer alone. Not only does Jesus Himself suffer with us, and not only do we share in the suffering of Christ, but we also share in suffering with one another in the body of the Church. The author of Hebrews writes, "as though in prison with them" (Hebrews 13:3). Our siblings are to pray for us with such solidarity that they imagine themselves to be trapped with us. This deep form of empathy is only possible through the Holy Spirit, who flows in, between, and among Christians, binding us in unity.
In the same way, we are to seek this kind of solidarity with those who suffer imprisonment — in any form. Rather than a dismissive, "Too bad for them," or even a heartfelt "I'm so sorry to hear that," we are to cast our imaginations into their lives and seek to view life through their eyes and feel the pain through their bodies.
This is difficult;
it means intentionally leaving comfort
to enter into the suffering of others.
This is difficult;
it means intentionally leaving comfort
to enter into the suffering of others.
Yet this is exactly what
Christ has done for us.
Jesus left the comfort,
protection, and security of
the heavenly realm
and condescended to humanity —
to see and feel as we see and feel,
even when we were in bondage
to sin and death.
If we know the solidarity of Jesus, then we may seek solidarity with any and all who live trapped in a cage.
Prayer
Almighty Father, by whose grace and power Your holy martyrs Agnes Tao Kou Ying, Lucy Yi Zhenmei, and Agatha Lin Zhao triumphed over suffering and were faithful even to death: Hasten the coming of Your Kingdom; and grant that we Your servants, who live now by faith, may with joy behold Your Son at His coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
pgs. 41-42
Bonus Podcast:
Additional Advent Resources:
Many blessings of peace and presence,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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