Perpetua And Felicity
Ephesians 2:19-22 (NRSV)
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Perpetua and Felicity died in 202 AD in Cartage, North Africa. You can read Perpetua’s account of their martyrdom here. (https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/perpetua.asp)
They had recently come to faith in Jesus when Emperor Severus started a persecution against Christians in the Roman Empire. Both women came from non-Christian families and found a new family in the Church. Perpetua refused to give up her faith despite her father's insistence. For a 22-year-old woman this was entirely unusual, but she placed herself first under the authority of her Father in heaven.
After being sentenced to death with her mistress for not renouncing their faith, Felicity, Perpetua’s slave, was faced with a dilemma. She was eight months pregnant and was distressed because Roman Law did not allow pregnant women to be executed. Felicity did not want to delay her martyrdom and be killed alongside criminals rather than with her Christian brothers and sisters. And so she and her new Christian family turn to prayer. Perpetua’s account says this:
‘And so, two days before the contest, they poured forth a prayer to the Lord in one torrent of common grief. And immediately after their prayer the birth pains came upon her.’
Felicity gives birth to a little girl who is then given to a Christian woman in their local church community who ‘brought her up as her own daughter.’ Then, at the appointed time, Perpertua and Felicity enter the amphitheatre as sisters and die because of their refusal to renounce their faith in Jesus.
Often when our natural family are not followers of Jesus, our church community becomes even more important, encouraging and supporting us in times of difficulty. Perpetua and Felicity's story demonstrates the power of family relationship within God's household. How might we behave differently if we embraced more deeply our call to be built together as a dwelling place for God?
Prayer — Dear Jesus, you know my family situation, teach me to honour you in all my interactions. Help us at Gas Street to grow together as members of your household.