Alban, First Martyr in Britain

Today we remember a legendary person, Alban, the first recorded Christian martyr in Britain. I say “legendary” because history is rather weak for the period of time in which Alban lived. I don’t mean that he did not exist―with as much information as we have about him, there must surely have been just such a person who died for his faith. The date, circumstances, and events surrounding his death have probably been forgotten, embellished, and even invented over the centuries, but the person and his sacrifice are worth remembering.

Here’s what we know about Saint Alban. He lived in the south-eastern part of England, in the Roman colony called Britannia, somewhere near the present-day city of St Alban’s. The place may have been called Verulamium in Roman days. We don’t know when he was born, but his death is associated with a Roman persecution of Christians, so it probably took place in the early or late 200s.

All of the accounts agree on the basic facts: Alban was a pagan who became a Christian. When the persecutions reached Britain, he refused to renounce his faith and was killed for it.

That’s where the stories come into the picture, some of which are reasonable and may be based on true events, and others of which are clearly additions made to make Alban even more significant than he was. That’s a very normal human thing to do. Just think how, only one year after George Washington’s death, when hundreds of people who knew him were still living, an Episcopal minister by the name of “Parson Weems” was able to introduce legends about chopping down a cherry tree and throwing a silver dollar across a river. People are naturally eager to know all that they can about a famous or important person, and unfortunately others are more than willing to add details to the story to make it sound better.

We even know today that there were several “gospels” written about Jesus that were either plagiarized from the actual gospels or contained fanciful legends and sayings. We do not necessarily think that the writers of these pseudo-gospels were deliberately being dishonest. They may have been simply writing down stories that they had heard. But it is clear that the desire to know more about Jesus, and to supply that information, was irresistible to people over the centuries.

Back to Alban, however: his conversion to Christianity, his perseverance in the face of persecution, and his willingness to die for his Lord are what we cling to. Additional details, and there are some wild ones, may make his story more interesting, but they do not change the basic facts.

One such aspect of the history of Alban proposes that a Christian priest, fleeing the persecution, came to Alban’s house. Alban kindly took him in and hid him. Over the next several days, the priest taught Alban all about Christianity, and Alban asked to be baptized. Ultimately, the authorities found out about the priest and came to Alban’s house to arrest him. To protect the priest, Alban put on the man’s cloak and allowed himself to be arrested in the priest’s stead. When the magistrate learned of the deception, he demanded that Alban renounce his Christian faith. Alban refused and was condemned to death. Other, less reliable, aspects of Alban’s story need not be repeated here.

One of the reasons that we remember the saints in our church is because they serve as examples – examples of God’s love for us and of our love for God. God’s love includes giving us many fellow human beings who serve as models of Christian living. When a believer accepts suffering or death, or when a Christian reaches out with extraordinary faith or charity, you and I are reminded that we, too, can show our love for God in such ways.

The saints are a gift to us from God, a gift intended to comfort and sustain us when we face trials and tribulations. They are also living reminders that we might some day be asked to sacrifice all that is dear to us, even life itself, in order to be faithful to God. Alban and other saints show us that God will also give you and me the strength and perseverance to do what is required of us.

Today’s Collect says it all. Only by the grace and power of God was Alban able to triumph over his personal suffering and remain faithful even to death. We do not honor Alban because he was extraordinary. Rather, we see an ordinary man who relied upon God and was able to bear his suffering and ultimately triumph. Alban died. He may have died painfully and with great humiliation, but he also probably had in his mind the image of Jesus doing the same thing on the Cross, and that image may have given Alban the courage to remain faithful to the end.

There are many today who are already spiritually dead. As St John tells us, “whoever does not love abides in death.” [I John 3:14] Alban is our example and witness of how to abide in love. We say that we remember him “in thanksgiving,” and we ask that we, too, may be faithful in our witness to Jesus, so that we may also receive with Alban “the crown of life.” [Collect for Feast of Alban, Martyr]

For us Christians, death is not the end of everything. We naturally avoid and perhaps even fear death, but that is a physical response, not the response of faith. As much as we wish to live, we know that life here is only a shadow of the permanent joy of eternal life. That is the response of our faith, the response of Alban and all the martyrs over time. We have Jesus’ promise: “those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” [Matthew 10:39]

May we join with Alban and all those who have given everything for their faith in Jesus, offering to God the Father ourselves, our souls and bodies, and praying for the grace of the Holy Spirit to comfort and sustain us whenever we face challenges. May we “abide in love” and let God’s light shine through us so that all will see and give thanks. Amen.