Flip the Script

Tuesday's homily notes

“Away with the atheists.” -St. Polycarp

Reading: John 16:5-11

If you read the stories about the early Christian martyrs, one thing you may notice is how often the martyrs flip the script.

That is, the way martyrs talk, often with humor or even sarcasm, they change the meaning of what’s going on, turn the power dynamic on its head. Once you notice it, you see it in almost every martyr story.

Saint Polycarp’s quip is probably the most famous. Told to recant, to disavow his “atheism,” the aged bishop raised his fist toward the pagan mob and said, “Away with the atheists!” Now that’s not what the Roman governor meant, but that’s what Polycarp meant; he changed the meaning of the word “atheists.” He flipped the script.

Attalus was a Christian who was tied to a chair and set on fire. The crowds jeered, called him a cannibal; you see, Christians were often called cannibals because of the Eucharist. Yet, Attalus turned the tables on the crowd. “Look you, what you are doing is cannibalism!” he cried as the bloodthirsty crowd consumed his flesh in the spectacle. He changed the meaning of the word “cannibal.” He flipped the script.

You see what I mean. There are plenty of other examples of this kind of thing throughout the literature of the early martyrs. In fact, a long time ago I wrote a book about it; I said this sort of thing is what Christian truthfulness looks like. I argued that this is how we Christians should speak truth in today’s world, but of course only if we’re willing to suffer again like the martyrs.

I still stand by what I wrote. I don’t think we Christians will quite be truth-speakers again until we’re again willing to be martyrs. But we’re not there yet. We’re still trying to be political.

Anyway, I think there’s something to it, something deeply Christian about flipping the script like that. I mean, “today you will be with me in paradise,” what’s that if not flipping the script (Luke 23:43)? There’s just something deeply Christian about turning the world upside down with words.

And the Spirit. I’m talking about the Gospel reading, about how when the “Advocate” comes, it will “convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation” (John 16:8).

Remember that Jesus is about to stand before the Sanhedrin and Pilate; he’s about to be convicted and condemned. He’s said repeatedly and in various ways “I am,” but many have refused to believe. What Jesus is saying here is that when the Spirit comes, what now looks like justice will be shown to have been injustice and what now looks like shameful death will be shown to have been glory. And all because the peasant from Galilee was all along the Christ.

And so, I guess the question is what script do you read? Do you read the world’s script? Do you recite the lines the world gives you, no questions asked? Or have you allowed the grace of Christ to flip the script? Have you not yet learned that as a believer in Christ you should have turned the world upside down by now?