Megabit 13 — March 22

The Forty Brave Soldiers of Sebastia

Long ago, in a city called Sebastia (say it: seh-BAS-tee-ah), there lived forty soldiers who loved God with all their hearts. A new ruler came to their land. The good Emperor had asked him to be kind to the Christians, but instead the ruler told everyone to bow down to idols, the statues that people prayed to even though they could not see or hear or help anyone. The forty soldiers said no. They would worship only the one true God.

One night while they slept, an angel of the Lord came to them in a dream and filled their hearts with courage. In the morning they stood up tall and said out loud that they believed in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wicked men were unkind to the soldiers because they would not give up God. But God watched over them the whole time. A guard standing nearby saw shining crowns coming down from heaven, one for each brave soldier. When he saw it, the guard chose to love God too, and a crown was waiting for him as well.

The forty soldiers were not afraid, because they knew they were going home to God in heaven. We call them martyrs, friends who stayed faithful to God even when it was very hard. Later, the bishop of the city found them and laid them gently in a beautiful resting place. People all over the world heard their brave story and built churches to remember them. God did much good through these forty friends.

In the morning they rose up and said with brave voices that they believed in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Two Friends Named Macarius

On this day we also celebrate two holy friends who were both named Macarius (say it: muh-CARE-ee-us): Macarius the Great and Macarius of Alexandria. They lived in the quiet desert, praying to God every day.

A ruler who believed wrong things did not like them, so he sent them far away to a small island. The king of that island was not kind, and he kept them locked up. But our Lord Jesus came to the two friends and gave them courage to keep trusting Him.

Then the king's own daughter became very sick, troubled by an evil spirit. No one could help her. Only the two Macariuses could. They prayed to Jesus, and the evil spirit had to go away at once, because God is always stronger than anything bad. The little girl was well again.

When the king and all the people saw this, they shouted with joy, "We believe in the God of these holy men!" The friends taught them about Jesus, and many sick people were brought to them and healed. The people tore down their old idol-temple and built a beautiful church in its place, full of gold and silver and lovely things for worshipping God.

After all this, an angel lifted the two friends up on his wings and carried them home in a single night. Their families of monks ran out to greet them, weeping with happiness. Everyone praised God for bringing the two Macariuses safely home after their long journey.

We believe in the God of these holy men, for there is no other God in heaven and earth.— the people of the island

Abba Dionysius, Who Found a Treasure in a Book

Today we also remember Abba Dionysius (say it: dy-oh-NISS-ee-us), who became a great church leader in the city of Alexandria. When he was young, his family did not yet know about God, but Dionysius loved learning and grew very wise.

One day an old woman walked by carrying part of a book, a letter written by Saint Paul, one of Jesus' helpers. She asked Dionysius to buy it. He read it, and the words seemed beautiful to him, full of things he had never heard before. He kept asking for more and more pages until he had the whole book. He even learned it by heart and began telling everyone, "Believe in our Lord Jesus Christ."

Then Dionysius asked a holy teacher to baptize him, and he became a Christian. He learned so much that he was chosen to teach the children of the church, and later he became the archbishop, the leader who cares for many churches.

Being a leader was not always easy in those days, and Dionysius had hard times. But he never stopped praying, and he never stopped trusting God. He told his friends, "We will not give up our prayers, by night or by day." He lived to be very old and full of wisdom, and at last he went home to God in peace.

We will not give up our prayers, by night or by day.— Abba Dionysius