26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Contrasting Cultures)

In Paul’s time, Philippi was a major city in the Roman province of Macedonia, in the northeastern portion of Greece, as we know it today. Although it had changed hands through the centuries, it was about 30 years before the birth of Jesus, that Caesar Augustus formally made it Roman colony, which would serve as a settlement for retired Roman soldiers. Gradually, more Romans migrated there, taking over the surrounding farmlands and further attracting wealthy Roman farmers, who saw it as a great financial opportunity.[1]

It's estimated that Paul and his companions arrived there around 50 years after Jesus’ birth, and within the well-established Roman society, they went about their task of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This had me thinking about a book had been reading not long ago, written by Father John Riccardo: entitled Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel. In the book, Fr. Riccardo recounted his fascination in studying a map that showed the growth and expansion of the Roman Empire, starting around the 8th century BC to its high point in 117AD. One of the things he found Rome’s beginnings—way before the time of any empire or Caesar—there was nothing impressive about Rome itself: its location, its climate or its natural resources. And yet, that unlikely, backwater village eventually became the center of the western world for a long span of history. How did this happen? Perhaps the primary reason was its military power. Said another way, it grew by means of “force and violence”.[2]

With that in mind, Fr. Riccardo asks us to picture another map, one that shows what the spread of Christianity looked like from the Pentecost event to the end of the 4th century. Jerusalem—the starting point of Christianity—like Rome, was an unlikely place for a worldwide movement to emerge. To see the Holy Land without knowing its history and what it means to people of faith, you might think it unimpressive. Yet, it was from that unlikely spot that the Church began and quickly spread like wildfire.

To understand why it’s spread was unlikely, consider that beginning in the year 64AD, the emperor Nero began persecuting Christians. These persecutions would continue, off and on, until the year 312AD. Christianity was officially forbidden, and yet it grew and spread. Like the growth of Rome, Christianity was a powerful force that couldn’t be ignored.

So, if it was illegal and likely meant death, how did the Christian movement grow? Instead of force or violence, it grew and spread because the Christian believers were on fire with a truth of Jesus, this man, whom Paul tells us, “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave”, who in human likeness, died on a cross, whom Paul says would be the one to whom “every knee should bend…those in heaven and on earth and under the earth”, because this “Jesus Christ is Lord”.

The Christians who heard this were so enlivened with this belief that they wanted the whole world to know. They themselves spread in every direction with this Good News.

As Fr. Riccardo cites that it’s important to consider that before that time “there was no such thing as mission work. Pagans didn't travel to foreign lands to spread the word about Zeus or Apollo. They may have talked about their gods but they didn't leave home with the intention of sharing their beliefs.”

So, why did Christians take this risk, he asks. Some secular voices today would say that it was just an effort to expand national boundaries or to exploit the resources of others. Sadly, that would be true in some cases, though much later in history. But that was not at all the case of Christians of the early centuries.

The real reason they left their homelands and traveled to foreign and unfamiliar places, learned new languages, ignored the many causes for fear, was so that they could tell the world about the freedom, liberation, mercy and love that came through Christ Jesus, the man who conquered death. These first Christians wanted so badly to tell anyone and everyone that the problems of life and of the world around us were over because someone had fixed it.

But while their message was powerful, what was most impactful was the radical way they lived—a stark contrast to the mentality and worldview from what was typical for those of the Roman Empire. As Fr. Riccardo says, “In a world filled with despair, Christian life was hopeful and joyful, marked by an intense revolutionary love that was evident in action that evidence. Action, not just words, was vital for the growth of the early church…In our day and age it is vital once again.”

It’s so true. On this Respect Life Sunday and in this Respect Life Month, with all its variety of issues it asks us to consider, perhaps it’s fair to say that we must be as differentiated from the culture around us, as the early Christians within the Roman Empire. Maybe considering how our Christian faith differentiates us from those we work with, our neighbors or our classmates, serves as a measure of whether we are living authentically as Christians.

I remind us of St. Paul’s words of guidance to the Christians of Philippi: “Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, (have) the same love, united in heart…Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus…”

[1] Hamm, Dennis SJ. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[2] Riccardo, John. Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel. The Word Among Us Press. Kindle Edition.