Benedict of Nursia (480-547 AD) by Chris White

St. Benedict

Benedict was born into a world that was slipping into disorganization and chaos.  His life was lived in the aftermath of the fall of Rome and the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire.  Despite the social upheaval of the era, the Church continued to survive and thrive as it always does and as Benedict reached his adulthood and saw his life going down the tubes into immorality, he was touched and converted by the gospel.  As he sought out what this might mean for his life he felt the calling to join a monastery near Rome.  Benedict approached this unique calling with great zeal and as a young believer was chosen to be the leader of his monastery.  Unfortunately his youthful zeal and lack of experience made him an unbending and demanding leader.  Strange but true, his brother monks actually became so desperate to get rid of him that they attempted to poison his dinner one night.  The plot to kill him failed but Benedict did leave (which in that sense it was a success) and eventually started another monastery having learned a few lessons about leadership and having a more tempered zeal.

His new approach (which we call The Rule of St. Benedict) was to actually contribute to the building up of Europe as a largely Christian civilization over the next 1400 years.  Under the Rule monks were called to a life of prayer and work as a means of serving God now and preparing their souls to be with Him in the future.  This was actually quite a radical change because work was seen as something to be avoided at all costs.  At the Benedictine monasteries, everyone worked 4 hours a day doing things to either help the community or further the faith.  In addition to this they spent another 8 hours a day (with breaks for other things) in prayer and worship of the Lord.

It was in this laboratory of work and prayer and community life 24/7 that the Bible was copied, classical learning and philosophy were preserved, farmland was cleared, roads were built, people were educated, medicine and medical care was provided, and advances in agriculture were made which raised food production.  When a monastery became established it was never long before a town would grow up around it. Benedict’s Rule influenced many other groups and has inspired even government leaders in how to lead communities. Even though the Roman civilization and its order had crumbled, the movement of Benedictine monasticism eventually helped rebuild a new Christianized one for all of Western Europe.  Benedictines remain today and continue their rhythm of “ work and pray” and for that contribution we consider St. Benedict of Nursia to be one of the shapers of the Christian faith.

Whatever Happened to the Apostle Matthew? by Chris White

Matthew is an enigmatic figure in the New Testament.  We know much about what he did but virtually nothing of his person.  He was the brother of another Apostle (James the Less) and was called while working as a tax collector in Capernaum.  In movies of the Gospels, the conversion of Matthew is portrayed as a sudden experience from a chance encounter with the Lord.  However, as a tax collector, he would have been well-known to Peter, Andrew, James, and John and probably Jesus since Capernaum was his home base.  As a tax-collector, Matthew would have had few friends in town.  This job was sold by the Roman government to the highest bidder who in turn would repay his investment by charging more taxes than necessary.  This made others consider him an outcast from Jewish society and a traitor to their nation (much like an IRS auditor is in our society).  But the Lord is the friend and champion of sinners and outcasts and it only stands to reason he should have someone like this in his apostolic band.  Writing late in the 1^st Century, Clement of Rome tells of him spending 15 years evangelizing expatriate Jews living in Syria, Macedonia, Persia, and Egypt.  There are two traditions concerning his death.  One suggests that he was beheaded in Egypt during a persecution while the other maintains he died of natural causes.

Whatever Happened to Pontius Pilate? by Christ White

“Pilate said to them, ‘What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let Him be crucified!’” (Mt. 27:23)

Believe it or not, June 26^th is St. Pontius Pilate day in the Ethiopian (Abyssinian) Church.  Did I say Saint Pontius Pilate?  Yes I did.  There are two traditions in the history of the Church about Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia Procula that come down to us outside the pages of Scripture.  Eusebius records in his Ecclesiastical History that Pontius Pilate continued his misguided rule of Judea after the trial of Christ and eventually was recalled to Rome.  Through a series of political misfortunes Pilate ended up getting reassigned to a backwater post in Gaul (modern-day France) where eventually a regime change in Rome dispatched a Roman guard unit to find him and invite him to commit suicide or face a more humiliating death at their hands.  Thus in the Western tradition, Pilate dies in ignominy providing a fitting end to him who washed his hands of any guilt for Jesus’ death.  The Eastern tradition of Pilate is far more generous.  In their extrabiblical writings they record that his wife Claudia (the one who was disturbed in her dream about Jesus) became a disciple of Jesus and eventually converted Pilate to become a Christian too.  Because of Pilate’s political position he was a “secret service believer” but eventually was found out and was martyred by the Romans by death on a cross just like Jesus.  Several locations in present day France, Switzerland, and Germany have legends that they are the burial place for Pilate.  This more positive history also has been attested by Origen, Tertullian, and Augustine, all luminaries in the early Church.  Did Pilate end as a pagan or a Christian martyr?  Such a question will always remain open this side of heaven but in the mysterious plan of God who redeems people like Saul of Tarsus and rascals like me and you, you just never know.

Happy belated Pontius Pilate day!

Pastor Chris