This
story is about life and death choices. This story shows us what it means to
suffer with honor, and dying with dignity. Tradition also has that the traitor
who jumped into the hot Roman baths after being in icy water immediately died
from the shock of the hot water. His death came without honor or dignity.
Have participants get into
small groups to answer the following questions. You may want to have a copy
of the above story available for each group.
Why were the forty martyrs put to death? [For being Christian, for
refusing to renounce Christ, etc.]
Why
do you think 39 of the 40 accepted their suffering and stayed in the lake?
[They knew they would be saved and receive the kingdom of heaven.]
What does this story say about trust, hope, and not giving up?
[Great rewards come to those who endure; We should trust in God even in suffering;
etc.]
Do you think that there is dignity in their death? Why or why not?
To
be a martyr means to literally be a 'witness'. Their actions are a testimony
to their faith in God and their belief that the kingdom of heaven was worth
the pain. The dignity in their death should not be seen as simple honor or
pride, but the glory of God revealed in His saints.
IV.
Activity #2: What is Euthanasia?
Time: 10-15 minutes.
This is a discussion
designed to clarify the issues and provide important definitions for the participants.
The term euthanasia is misunderstood by many. There is for instance, a difference
between physician assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia are two different
things and two different legal issues. Both result in the death of the patient.
But they are morally quite different from a situation in which life support
is ended because of a patient's wishes or even a family's wishes (in the case
of brain death, for instance)-- this is called passive euthanasia.
Begin
by writing the word "EUTHANASIA" on the board and ask, "What
does this word mean to you?" [Terminal Illness, Dr. Jack Kevorkian,
right to die, etc.] Write down their responses around the word. There will
likely be a variety of ideas expressed, if they are familiar with the word
at all.
The
Webster's dictionary definition of euthanasia is "the act or practice
of killing or permitting death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in
a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy." Euthanatos in the
Greek literally means "easy death." We can also break down euthanasia
into three different "practices":
Active
Euthanasia: a physician performs the act which leads to death, such as administering
a lethal dose of a drug to kill a person.
Physician
Assisted Suicide: a physician provides a patient with the means to terminate
their own life but does not administer it directly.
Psssive Euthanasia/Removal of Life Support: a physician, at the wishes of
the patient or if the patient is unable to make a decision (such as in the
case of brain death), the family, removes whatever artificial
means are being employed to keep someone alive. The patient then expires
'naturally.'
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Epistle
1 Cor 12:27-13:18 “Do all have gifts of healing?” |
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Gospel
Matt 10:1,5-9 “He gave them power” |
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Epistle
2 Cor 6:16-7:1 “You are the temple of the living God”
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Gospel
Matt 8:14-24 Christ heals Peter’s mother
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Epistle
2 Cor 1:8-12 “He will still deliver us” |
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Gospel
Matt 25:1-14 The Foolish and the Wise Virgins |
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Epistle
Gal 5:22-6:1-2 “Bear one another’s burdens”
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Gospel
Matt 14:21-29 Christ heals the daughter of the Canaanite woman
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Epistle
1 Thess 5:14-24 “Comfort the faint-hearted” |
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Gospel
Matt 9:9-14 “Those who are well have no need of a physician” |
Each
one of these passages says something about healing and suffering. Some of
these may seem puzzling at first — that is okay, sometimes Scripture appears
as a riddle.
In
your group, talk about what each passage means and relate it to suffering,
healing, and the choice of to commit euthanasia. Come up with one or two sentences
to apply the Bible to this problem. In a few minutes, we will come together
and share our insights. Take about five minute, then discuss. Some of
these passages are more straightforward. Feel free to add your own selections
that are relevant to the topic.
How
did your epistle and gospel reading relate to each other?
How
would you connect the readings to healing and suffering?
How
would you apply these passages to a situation where a person was thinking
of asking for euthanasia or assisted suicide?
Based
on the Church's teaching through the Bible and
the Saints, we can conclude that there is something definitely wrong
with euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. To give in to this temptation
is like an athlete failing to finish the race, taking a short cut and expecting
to gain the award of those who follow the rules. How can we dare to number
ourselves amongst the Forty Martyrs if we decide the icy water is not for
us and we'd rather take a nice hot bath?
V.
Activity #3: The meaning of Unction
Time:
10 minutes.
This
is an introductory look at the Church service of Holy Unction or Anointing.
In many parishes, Unction services
have all but disappeared from liturgical life and are often now confused with
the “last rites”. The fact is, Unction is a service of bodily and spiritual
healing that can be performed for any Orthodox Christians. By looking at the
service in this session, participants can get a sense of how the Church approaches
dying, suffering, healing. The Unction service teaches us to look past our illnesses to what is really and eternally important:
the Kingdom of Heaven. In doing so, it does not provide an "opiate"
or distraction from death and suffering, but rather directs us to a life of
repentance so that our suffering will be made a meaningful part of our life.
To say the least, it is a very different approach than that which dominates
in the West today.
What do
priests do when they come to the bed of a person in the hospital? What are
they there for? [To reconcile the person to God, hear their confession, commune
them, give them “last rites,” often confused with holy unction, which is also
done.]
Did
you know that there are several special prayer services for ill people that
our Church has? What are some special needs that you think might have their
own prayers? [Pregnancy, miscarriage, before surgery, for recovery from
illness, for healing of soul and body, for the departing of the soul from
the body. Look at the Book of Needs for examples.]
Many
of our special needs have prayers established for them. The simplest prayer
is “Lord have mercy.” Perhaps the most elaborate prayer of healing is a sacrament
of the Church known as Holy Unction. Priests are often called to give Holy
Unction when they visit the sick in hospitals. Some times it is confused with
“last rites,” or prayers said upon the departure of the soul from the body.
During
Holy Unction, the priest anoints the ill person with oil. What is the basis
for this action? [James 5:14, also the parable of the Good Samaritan]
The oil itself is blessed through a special prayer.
Besides
anointing, Holy Unction involves the reading of Scriptures over the afflicted.
The readings and the prayers speak of healing the soul and the body.
Who then is able to receive Holy Unction? [Any Orthodox Christians — we
all suffer from sin both bodily and spiritually.]
Several
of the Scripture readings we looked at above are part of the Unction service.
In a full Unction service there are seven priests, who each read seven passages
from the Gospels and the Epistles, followed by a prayer for healing to be
said over the afflicted. There are several variations on how the service is
being performed, depending on how many priests are serving it and if it is
for just one person or a whole parish.
Looking
at the Scripture readings of the Holy Unction service, what can we learn about
healing and suffering? [Healing is not just about physical health, but
includes spiritual well-being. Repentance is the key medicine for the soul
and has bodily effects as well. When we think about healing, we must always
look at a person holistically: soul, body, spirit.]
The
anointing of a person is done in cross-wise manner. Why do you think we are
anointed in the shape of the cross? [We are healed through what Christ
did (by dying) on the Cross.]
The
priest anoints the forehead, below the nose, below the lips, the cheeks below
the eyes, the heart, and the hands on both sides, and sometimes the feet.
Show on the body where it is done.
What
do you think is the meaning of this anointing? Why are these places on the
body anointed? [Our senses (through the eyes, nose, mouth, ears) are healed,
for through them temptation comes; our hands and feet are anointed as Christ’s
were pierced by nails; our hearts are healed so that they might receive Christ,
etc.]
Today,
Holy Unction is a spiritual medicine for us that can heal soul and body. After
all, we describe Christ, after his own words in Matthew 9:12, the ‘physician’
of our souls and bodies.
There
is a lesson about our Church in this: that we do not suffer alone, that all
of us together need healing from sin, the source of death. A follow-up activity
to this would be to accompany the
priest to a hospital for ministry to the sick and to assist him with prayers
and services there. That can really make an impression.
VI.
Activity #4: Get Well Prayer cards
Time:
10-15 minutes.
Participants
will design get-well cards for the sick and the suffering. One of the greatest
factors in leading the terminally ill to choose suicide is the lack of loving,
prayerful support. They may have caring families, but the families are unable
to see the spiritual danger of euthanasia. This activity also emphasizes a
key idea of the unit, that the first part of a solution to life and death
problems is prayer.
Begin
by sharing some prayers for the sick from the Book of Needs (prayers mostly
to be done by priests) and prayer books. Have each person design a prayer
card or small prayer book for someone suffering from an illness, be it physical,
mental, or spiritual. Ask your priest for names of parishioners in need of
prayers who might be sick or especially in the hospital.
When
they have written their prayers, using the Church’s prayers as models and
guidelines, have them put them together in a creative fashion as get-well
cards. Use icons, flowers, and art supplies to create uplifting cards that they can give to the ill person directly
or through the priest or hospital ministry. Just knowing that someone cares
enough to take notice often profoundly improves a person’s ability to recover.
Make this activity part of the regular youth ministry of the Church and help
save lives!
An
example of a prayer for the sick:
O
Holy Father, heavenly Physician of our souls and bodies, who has sent thine
Only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to heal all our ailments and deliver
us from death: do Thou visit and heal thy servants, (N.) Granting them release
from pain and restoration to health and vigor, that they may give thanks unto
Thee and bless Thy holy name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit: now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
VII.
Session Conclusions
Review:
What
is euthanasia and what forms are there?
What
should we do when faced with suffering and pain?
What
can we do for others who are faced with suffering and pain?
Orthodox
Christians were among the first people to invent hospitals as we understand
them. They first developed them in ancient Byzantium, the late Eastern Roman
Empire that became Christian in the fourth century. Throughout the middle
ages, they had some of the most advanced medical procedures of the time. They
faithfully followed the Hippocratic Oath which forbade doctors from practicing
euthanasia. Today’s doctors are no longer bound by that ancient tradition.
Part
of success of Byzantine hospitals
was that they knew the soul and the body were intimately tied, and that our
spiritual and physical being are inseparable. Very often, hospitals were built
as an outreach of monasteries first. Treatment was free and supported by the
donations of the faithful.
VIII.
Closing Prayer Include a general prayer for the sick and the suffering.
Just as at the end of Session 2, you might want to lead a brief prayer circle
using the Church’s prayers for the sick. Let each person who has someone to
pray for speak their name at the appropriate time.
The
Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste from
the Prologue- March 9th
These
were all soldiers in the Roman army, but believed firmly in the Lord Jesus.
When a persecution arose in the time of Licinius, they were all taken for
trial before the commander, who threatened to strip them of their military
status. To this one of them, St. Candidus, replied: "Do not take only
our military status, but also our bodies; nothing is dearer or greater honor
to us than Christ our God." Then the commander ordered his servants threw
the stones at the Christians, the stones turned back and fell on themselves,
causing them grievous injuries. One stone fell on the commander's face and
smashed his teeth.
The
torturers, in bestial fury, bound the holy martyrs and threw them into a lake,
setting a watch all round it to prevent any of them escaping. There was a
terrible frost, and the lake froze around the bodies of the martyrs. To make
the torture worse, the torturers built and lit baths by the lake, in the sight
of the freezing sufferers, with the idea that one of them might deny Christ
and acknowledge the idols of Rome. In fact, one of them did abjure, came out
of the water and went into the baths. But lo, during the night a strange light
appeared from heaven, which heated the water in the lake and the bodies of
the martyrs, and with that light there descended from heaven thirty-nine wreaths
for their heads. One of the sentries on the shore saw this, confessed the
name of Christ and went into the lake to be worthy of the fortieth wreath
in place of the traitor. And the fortieth wreath was seen to descend upon
him.
The
next day, the whole town was amazed to see the martyrs still alive. Then the
wicked judges commanded that their legs be broken and their bodies thrown
into the water, so that the Christians should not be able to find them. On
the third day, the martyrs appeared to the local bishop, Peter, and told him
to search beneath the water and bring out their relics.
The
bishop went out on a dark night with his clergy, and saw where the martyrs'
relics were glowing in the water. Every bone which had been broken off from
their bodies rose to the surface and burned there like a candle. They gathered
them, and gave them burial, and the souls of these martyrs went to him who
was martyred for us all and rose with glory, the Lord Jesus. They suffered
with honor and were crowned with unfading glory in 320.
Tropar
to the Forty Holy Martyrs (Tone 1)
