Jesus said to his disciples, ‘No slave is greater than his master’… If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. The Church honors today the memory of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, an early church martyr and disciple of St. John (the Apostle). He was converted to Christianity by St. John and later became the bishop of Smyrna (present day Izmir, Turkey). He wrote a letter to the Philippians which witnesses to various New Testament writings. He was about eighty-six when the Roman proconsul urged him to renounce Christ and save his life, upon which St. Polycarp replied: “For eighty-six years I have served him and he has never wronged me. How can I renounce the King who has saved me?” He was burned at the stake, and is one of the first martyrs to be venerated.
St. Polycarp’s courageous display even in the face of death definitely contributed to his veneration by the Christian community of the Early Church. While some can say that at eighty-six St. Polycarp didn’t have much to lose, experience shows us that life is always precious and is never voluntarily let go even by the elderly. St. Polycarp, very much like the early Church martyrs, had come to understand that they had given over their lives to the Lord the very moment they accepted to be his followers. And with St. Paul, they had come to the understanding that their post-baptism lives were not their own but rather the Lord’s (cf. Romans 14:7-9). St. Polycarp remained courageous at the face of a cruel death because he had already died with Christ at baptism.
Another reason why St. Polycarp did not beg for his life from his executioners must have been the words of Jesus about which we hear in today’s Gospel reading. As a disciple of Christ, he must have known that he was literally following in the footsteps of his master. St. John who had converted him had himself been sent into exile because of his faith. The cause for which they had become disciples of Jesus was countercultural. The Gospel values that their faith promoted were at odds with the values of the world. Jesus had refused to give in to the values of the world and he was killed. A genuine follower of Jesus should thus not be surprised if he/she gets to be persecuted. In any case, Jesus had foretold it: if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.