Have you ever wondered why the Coptic Orthodox church chose the first day of the Coptic Calendar year to commemorate her martyrs? We all learned in Sunday School that our beautiful church was built by the bloodshed of our saints and fathers that were martyred in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But why celebrate this on the first day of the year? Why not use a repentance theme or have a resolution plan for a new beginning and practice some spiritual exercises that would get us closer to God by the end of the year? Makes sense, right? After all, we talk about our new year’s resolutions in December and our goals for a better life; eat healthier, exercise more, travel more, end some bad habits, etc.

To answer this question, we must look at what the liturgical readings talk about before the feast of Nayrouz. The general theme of the liturgy readings is the Second Coming of Christ, also commonly known as the Parousia of Christ. The church fathers, in their wisdom, portrayed for us a beautiful scene in which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is coming with the clouds in all His glory (Revelation 1:7), triumphant, opening the gates of Paradise to those who loved Him and who kept the faith, waiting to spend eternity with Him, where it’s a new day and a new beginning, where there is no more night, nor darkness, nor hardships, nor trouble.

When we celebrate the feast of Nayrouz with the martyrs, we are all sharing this eagerness for a new beginning, living with our Lord Jesus Christ in Paradise. We celebrate the victory of our church saints and martyrs and reflect on their lives, having them at the forefront of our minds. They left everything big and small behind. They sacrificed their lives to achieve one goal only; to live in unity with Christ. This is our goal. This is our ultimate new year’s resolution.

But there are no more Roman Emperors, no Diocletian, Nero, or Decius, then how can we achieve martyrdom without the physical act of being martyred? How can we attain martyrdom in a world of indifference?

We talked about how our church saints left everything behind, big and small, for the sake of Christ. If we reflect on our own lives, we will find many ways to develop a martyr’s attitude, starting with the small things. We can take advantage of every small opportunity to demonstrate our love for Christ. At school, we must stay faithful to our true image as God’s children and not blindly follow what might seem to be the “cool” thing. It’s simple! It’s in the words we speak, the clothes we wear, the friends we accompany, and the ethics we apply when studying and writing an exam. At work, we must stay true to our Christian identity and not let it blend with the world’s view of the “ideal” employee/worker. At home, we sacrifice our selfish desires and compromise on what we want for the safety of our spouse’s needs and our children’s benefits. When we accept the negative consequences of our actions in the previous situations, we are oppressed, tormented, and martyred. Every time we are martyred for the sake of Christ, whether at work, in school, at home, or even on the street, we hold a testimony for our Lord Jesus Christ and our church, proclaiming the right faith and shining light to the world.

Have you ever heard the expression: “it’s your cross” or “take up your cross”? Those who live their lives accepting their crosses in thanksgiving are living martyrs. We are called to take up our cross and follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us all learn to offer ourselves as a true living sacrifice for Christ and join our saintly fathers and martyrs in the quest for eternal unity with the Lord.