A Reflection on Hebrews 11:33–39 and Luke 6:17–23
In the Spirit of Ss. Fabian and Sebastian, Martyrs
III Class, Tuesday in the Second Week after Epiphany
In the ancient Roman Canon of saints, the names of Fabian and Sebastian are intoned together—a pope and a soldier, united not by worldly status but by the blood they shed for Christ. Their feast, set amid the luminous days of Epiphanytide, draws our gaze beyond the Infant King in the manger to the crown that awaits those who suffer with Him. Today’s readings from Hebrews and St. Luke echo this very mystery: faith tried by suffering, and suffering transformed into beatitude.
“Of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb 11:38)
The Epistle to the Hebrews presents a litany of heroes—men and women whose lives bore witness to the invisible, their faith evident not in earthly triumphs alone but often in their endurance of unspeakable trials. The Apostle recounts that by faith:
“They subdued kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions… others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection.” (Heb 11:33,35)
These lines echo like a spiritual genealogy of martyrdom. While the victories of the faithful are noted—like Daniel in the lion’s den or the mighty deeds of the Maccabees—the apostolic pen lingers even more over their sufferings: scourging, imprisonment, mockery, and death by the sword.
St. John Chrysostom, in his homilies on this passage, insists that such suffering is not defeat but a manifestation of the power of faith:
“See how they suffered all these things and yet were not only not harmed, but even became glorious through them? So that it is clear that faith has power not only to do mighty deeds but also to bear trials with nobility.” (Hom. 28 on Hebrews)
This litany finds a living echo in the martyrs of the early Church, especially in St. Sebastian, the Roman soldier, who after being pierced with arrows and left for dead, rose again to testify before the Emperor and face a second martyrdom. In him, faith was not merely victorious in enduring, but in returning, like the martyrs of Maccabees, to embrace suffering again for a greater resurrection.
“Blessed are ye that weep now… Blessed are ye when men shall hate you” (Lk 6:21–22)
The Gospel today is the Sermon on the Plain—a counterpart to St. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Here, Christ proclaims blessings upon the poor, the hungry, and the weeping, and offers a startling beatitude for the persecuted: “Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven.”
St. Ambrose, in his commentary on Luke, links these beatitudes directly to the martyrs:
“He calls them blessed, not who seem to be so in this life, but those whom the world despises—those who hunger for justice, who weep for the sins of the world, and who are hated for His Name. Such are the martyrs; they are poor in this world, but rich in grace.” (Expos. Evang. sec. Lucam V.54)
In the light of Ss. Fabian and Sebastian, these words are not abstract. Pope Fabian, a Roman pontiff elected by divine sign—a dove descending upon his head—governed the Church during a time of grave persecution. His fidelity unto death under Decius in 250 A.D. made him a father not only by apostolic succession, but by martyrdom. Sebastian, once a trusted guard of the Emperor, became instead a soldier of Christ, pierced like His Lord, refusing to deny the Truth even under the pain of death.
Their blessedness was not in escaping pain but in embracing it for the sake of Christ. They became, in the words of Hebrews, those “of whom the world was not worthy.” And indeed, the Church preserves their relics, venerates their memory, and implores their intercession—not because they were spared the sword, but because they chose it rather than deny Christ.
Lessons for the Christian Soul
In these readings, and in the lives of the saints we commemorate today, the Church calls us to faith that endures, and to poverty that enriches. The Epiphany season celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the world, but today’s texts remind us: Christ is also manifested in His saints, especially when they suffer for Him.
The Christian today is likewise called to endure—not with grim resignation, but with the joy promised by Our Lord. In a world that increasingly mocks piety, derides chastity, and despises the Cross, we are invited to “leap for joy” when we are excluded and ridiculed for the Name of Jesus.
In the words of St. Augustine:
“The martyrs were bound, imprisoned, scourged, racked, burnt, rent, butchered—and they multiplied. It is not as though the world was unworthy of them, but that they were made worthy of God.” (Sermon 329)
Let us then not shrink from hardship in the practice of our Faith. Whether in the silence of daily fidelity or in the open defense of truth against error, we too must imitate the martyrs. For through them, Christ is glorified, and the world, unworthy though it be, is illumined by their sacrifice.
Prayer
O God, who among the manifold works of Thine omnipotence hast bestowed the crown of martyrdom even upon the strong and upon the meek alike, grant, we beseech Thee, that by the intercession of Thy holy martyrs Fabian and Sebastian, we may be made strong in faith, patient in trial, and joyful in bearing the Cross of Thy Son, in whose Name we triumph. Amen.