Surrounded by the Story

Imagine entering the church building to worship and seeing something like this before your eyes--ancient Orthodox icons, painted as frescos, on the ceiling and wall before you. Here are images of the resurrection, Pentecost, and the reigning Christ, from an old church in Istanbul. This is one of the things the Orthodox do well--keep the church's story in front of worshipers, visually, lest any forget where they are, who they are, and why they are in that sacred space. The "Chora Church," as it's called, is filled with beautiful frescos, telling the story of Christ and the saints, inviting the worshiper to contemplate God through the images--and, then, to gladly and faithfully join the rest of the communion of saints and live the story.

The visual stimulation of these images in the Chora Church was overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Here's a sampling of others, including images of Peter and Paul, other important saints and fathers of the church, and images of Christ and the stories about him:

We saw something similar--but a little more primitive--in Cappadocia. There the church existed semi-underground for centuries. Cappadocia is an unusual and haunting region in central Turkey--and it's mentioned in the book of Acts in the Bible--characterized by unique formations caused when soft, volcanic tufa rock is eroded over time by the fierce winds of the area. Formations like this:

See the photo on the left above above? See the caves? People used to live in them, for months at a time. In this particular area of Cappadocia, a Christian community lived for centuries. They had come there to escape persecution, and still found themselves threatened by enemies. So, from time to time, they went underground. And that's where their churches were, too. And, again, we see that, when the people gathered for worship, they were surrounded by the story:

Imagine that--again and again, gathering for worship, surrounded by the story--the story of God's creative and redeeming love, poured out most abundantly in Christ, and embodied in the lives of the saints through the ages. What do you suppose it did for those ancient Christians to be surrounded by the story, visually and in community with each other, over and over and over. I would think one might begin to embody the story in one's own life!

Now, in Western Christianity we don't make such abundant use of icons and visual images as the Orthodox Christians do. But aren't there other ways we can intentionally surround ourselves with the story? Go to worship--and contemplate the art and symbols you see. Live in and with the Christian community. Let the stories of scripture wash over us, again and again. Learn from the experience of the saints of old--and the saints of today, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Surrounded by the story. What a marvelous concept!

Isn't there a lesson here for us? Isn't this the question we must answer: if we want to be followers of Christ today, what are we doing to surround ourselves with the story--the old, old story of Jesus and his love?

Think about that...and watch for more of the story in the next blog post.