蜜芽传媒

As police officer Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame walked into that French supermarket last Friday morning he must have known there was a good chance he was walking to his death. Beltrame had swapped places with a hostage to secure their release. And later, responding to the sound of shots inside, his police colleagues stormed the supermarket and the terrorist shot Beltrame through the throat.

On this programme yesterday the French ambassador described Beltrame as a 鈥淐hristian martyr鈥�. Now, some people might have been a little surprised by this description given that martyrdom, in recent years, has come to be associated more with suicide bombers and terrorists 鈥� more like man who had taken the hostage than the one who had saved her. But the ambassador was right. In Greek, martyr means 鈥渨itness鈥� - it鈥檚 not about religious violence. A martyr is someone who witnesses to their faith, who demonstrates faith in action, even to the point of death.

Originally from a secular background, Beltrame found faith in his thirties, received his first communion in 2010 after two years of preparation, and regularly attended Mass at his local Abbey. Father Dominique Arz, the National Chaplain of the French Police force said of Beltrame: 鈥淭he fact is he did not hide his faith, he radiated it. We can say that his act of self-offering is consistent with what he believed. He bore witness to his faith to the very end.鈥�

That was last Friday. This coming Friday, of course, the church bears witness to the original and archetypal martyrdom of Christianity 鈥� the crucifixion of Christ. And it is hardly a stretch to understand Beltrame鈥檚 choice of action as something directly inspired by the story of Good Friday. 鈥淕reater love hath no one than this, to lay down one鈥檚 life for one鈥檚 friends鈥� was how the ambassador described it, quoting from St John鈥檚 gospel.

For many millions of Christians, the cross is understood very much like that of a hostage swap - Christ exchanges places with humanity, thus to absorb all the horror and violence of the world. The cross is the offer of love in exchange for hate, whatever the cost, whatever it takes. And that鈥檚 why the cross the central image of Christianity. It鈥檚 the pivot on which the Christian narrative turns, a representation of love, absolutely not a celebration of death - even though death is sometimes the cost of love.

The early Christian theologian Tertullian famously wrote in the second century, 鈥渢he blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.鈥� In other words, it鈥檚 through acts of self-sacrifice that other people come to understand what Christianity is really all about.

So, in my view, Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame was indeed a Christian martyr, a hero of selfless commitment to other people and a witness to the courage and love that is exemplified by the cross 鈥� may he rest in peace and rise in glory.

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