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Be a witness, not a control freak

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

When we compare our times as Christians today to those of the first centuries of Christianity within the Roman empire, we tend to imagine a distorted picture. We think of epic persecutions and dramatic successes, remarkable growth and change. And then we imagine ourselves today in an epic story. This is not the point. Roman persecutions were real, but actually quite sporadic. Christians lived in relative peace and were for the most part ignored. Christians were perhaps 10 percent of the population by the time the Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity on his deathbed. And Christians did not become the majority in the Roman Empire until well after Christianity became compulsory. What is the actual lesson? What can we learn from those times and ours? Not that our time is one of anti-Christian persecution like Roman times, nor that our time is one of epic growth like Roman times. We can’t read those things into that actual past for the same reason we can’t read into the history of Judaism that God granted the Promised Land through a series of successful and blood holy wars. Such narratives instead tell us about those who told such narratives—and, yes, the divine truths of accompaniment and faithfulness revealed in the narratives themselves. Yet deep insight can be encountered in the simple comparison between ancient Roman times and our times. We can learn how to live the reality of pluralism, of being surrounded by many options, including religious sensibilities that have little embrace of the transcendent. We can learn to reflect on what it means to be a presence, a witness, but not a controlling or dominating one. And not to covet nor wax nostalgic for control or domination. We can best follow in the footsteps of our ancient Christian ancestors precisely by living in religious pluralism and dealing with diversity in ordinary, non-apocalyptic ways, building up the community without embracing accounts of exclusion or exclusivity. The Reign of God is a mustard seed.

Authors Bryan Froehle

church history early church persecution roman empire

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Word of the Week

17 November 2024

Presider’s Chair

\'pri-sīd-ərs 'cher\

Also known as the presidential chair, the seat in a parish church from which the celebrant leads the assembly during Mass. Its meaning derives from the chair, or cathedra in Latin, from which the diocesan bishop presides (from Latin meaning “to protect” or literally “to sit before”). The chair is a liturgical symbol of authority and pastoral leadership.

Pronunciation Read more

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