Treasures of the Church
St. Lawrence Distributing the Treasures of the Church by Bernardo Strozzi, c. 1625
On August 10, 258 A.D., during the persecution by Emperor Valerian, St. Lawrence was martyred only a few days after the execution of Pope Sixtus II.
Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome, appointed to manage the Church’s treasury and distribute alms to the poor.
Immediately after Sixtus’s execution, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church.
In response, Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth.
For the next three days he worked tirelessly to distribute as much Church property to the poor as possible to prevent it from being seized.
Upon presenting himself to the prefect, Lawrence brought with him the city’s poor, blind, and crippled, declaring:
“Here are the treasures of the Church. You see, the Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor!”
Tradition holds that Lawrence was thus condemned to death by being roasted alive on a gridiron.
While historians debate the exact method of execution, the gridiron became his enduring symbol.
A famous detail recounts that during his martyrdom he said:
“Turn me over; I’m done on this side.”
Whether this detail is literal or embellished, the story expresses early Christian conviction that martyrdom was not defeat but victory.
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What does Lawrence’s story have to do with this line from Matthew 4:24?
“The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18)
To the world, all the sick and their lowly state are disgusting and unacceptable.
To our Lord, they are the object of His mission.
While in the following clause (which we’ll engage next week) Matthew provides more detail about who are all the sick, symbolically all the sick represent us - you and me.
Forget the physical.
Spiritually speaking, we’re all poor, blind, and crippled.
Every one of us are like those decrepit Galileans in great need of being brought to Jesus for healing.
To the world’s “kings” and “kingdoms”, the poor and lowly are often despised and discarded, like Lawrence’s offering in 258.
But only in a kingdom not of this world are they received with warmth, welcome, and healing.
That Christ is our King, this is the good news that is folly to the world.
Onward and Upward,
Ted
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