The Martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia.
On March 10 we celebrate the forty martyrs of the city of Sebastia. Emperor Constantine the great had appointed his friend Lecius ruler for the east and commanded him to treat the Christians with dignity. Upon his arrival though, Lecius ordered his subordinates to worship the idols of the Roman Empire. They refused and cursed the worship of idols. That night in the city of Sebastia, some of these soldiers, and their children, made an agreement among themselves to go to the Governor to confess their faith in Jesus Christ. While they were sleeping the angel of the Lord appeared to them, strengthened them and comforted their hearts.
In the morning they stood before the Governor and openly confessed their faith in Christ. He threatened them but they were unafraid. He commanded his men to stone them, but the stones came back upon those who threw them. He ordered that the confessors be thrown in a nearby lake, which was icy. They suffered greatly because of the excessive cold. One of them whose strength was weakened, went out of the icy water and entered the nearby bath house. The heat in the bath house melted the ice that was on him but he died quickly and lost his reward.
One of the guards saw angels, holding crowns, descend from heaven and placed them over the heads of the remaining thirty nine martyrs. One crown remained in the hand of an angel. Then a guard who witnessed this, went down into the lake shouting "I am christian...I am christian!" He took the crown that was in the hand of the angel and was counted among the martyrs.
Among the martyrs were young men, whose mothers encouraged and strengthened them. They remained in the lake for a long time but they did not die. The Governor, furious, wished to break their legs, but the Lord took their souls and reposed them before he could. The Governor ordered that their bodies be burned and thrown into the sea. As the guards were carrying the bodies out of the lake, they found among them one young man was still alive, so they left him. This young man’s mother took him and tried to throw him on the wagon with his mates but they put him off the wagon again for he was still alive. His mother took him and he died in her bosom, so she placed him back on the wagon. They took them outside the city, cast them into the fire which did not harm them, then the guards cast them into the river.
On the third day those holy martyrs appeared to the Bishop of Sebastia in a vision and told him: "Go to the river and take our bodies." He went with the priests, deacons and the people to the river and found the bodies. They carried the bodies with great honor and placed them in a beautiful shrine, and their faith, strength and struggle was heard throughout the land.

Lessons from this story
God, and by extension the church, calls us to be martyrs daily. To die to the want and greed of this world in the hopes of eternal life. In reading this story we see these young martyrs were not poor men, for they were guards of high rank. And with this position comes prestige and honor. Yet they sacrificed all of that at the altar of the Lord.
This life will shower you with comfort and wealth in hopes this will make you lazy before the Lord. LIttle by little we find it hard to let go of the trappings of this world where we become possessed by our own possessions. And yet we are called every Lent to do just that - be martyrs for the Lord. We fast from desire, from want and from need. We put off the old man to put on the new man that we may shake off the dust of this world and resurrect with Christ.
No one faults us for our pursuits, for family, for comfort for growth of gain. But always be willing to let it all go for a reminder of the truth - that everything we own is temporary except for one thing, our soul. Re-focus the lens of your purview and take time to celebrate with thanksgiving, this life given to you by...