The earliest Christian movement quickly got a reputation, which we can see in documents (written at that time) referring to Christ-followers. Most who call themselves Christian today would not be accused of these things!
Early Christians were known for caring for the most vulnerable. Their Roman neighbors left unwanted babies out to die by exposure, so Christians picked them up and nurtured them.
What a wonderful world it would be, if those who call themselves Christians today worried about these vulnerable little ones —whether they are languishing at the border, are homeless or in a refugee camp.
What if those who call themselves Christian cared about children (not only before they are born) – if they worked for great early childhood education, universal medical care or programs promoting healthy food?
What if all who take the name of Christ tried to help women cope with the children they have, through parental leave or find daycare?
What if they worked to make schools excellent across ZIP codes and helped support family planning programs shown to reduce abortions?
What if, by caring for the environment, they invested in a future for those poor who will be most damaged by climate-change?
People derided the early Christian movement for being the religion of women and slaves. Christianity, in its early days, turned all of society’s most dearly held hierarchies upside down and bridged society’s strongest held divisions. Women who joined the movement became leaders and teachers (see Romans 16). Slaves— who were most often refugees from other occupied countries—found freedom to be and led within the movement.
What would it be like if, instead of Sunday morning being the most segregated time of any week, a whole variety of people worshipped and worked together like those earliest churches? Paul writes, “As many of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28).
What would it be like if those who call themselves Christ-followers today focused on bringing together those who are on either side of our vast divides? Could Paul say, “In Christ, there is neither liberal or conservative, gay or straight, un-documented or citizen?”
Christians in those early years were made fun of for their love. “Look at how these Christ followers love each other,” said others in a society characterized by bullying and cruelty. What a wonderful world it would be if those who follow Christ today had that reputation, rather than the (often well-deserved) reputation for being “anti-gay, judgmental, and hypocritical.” No one would say in 2019, “Wow, look at how these Christians love each other!”
The message of those early Christians was radical and disruptive, and they got a reputation for it. They didn’t sit within walls, making up rules to keep others out. They were out in the world, following Christ’s way as they cared for the most vulnerable, shattered societal norms of who’s in and who’s out, and loved each other.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month’s contributor is Mary Ellen Ashcroft, Vicar of Spirit of the Wilderness Episcopal Church.
Leave a Reply