The Reviews Are In…
Episode II of Message From the Margins is out, and I have to admit, your responses are making me very happy.
I told you yesterday that I had been up far past my bedtime getting the new episode of the podcast finished.
What I did not tell you was quite how nervous I was about this one.
Because “How Did the Church Become the Church?” is a fairly ambitious episode.
We begin with a tiny movement of people trying to make sense of what had happened in Jerusalem after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Then we follow those people into homes, cities, persecutions, arguments, meals, baptisms, Eucharists, ministries, and eventually the beginnings of the Church we recognize today.
There is a lot of history in there.
There is a lot of theology in there.
And there are several moments where I found myself thinking, “Rich, you had better know what you are talking about.”
Which made yesterday morning rather amusing.
Before I had even properly woken up, I discovered that my Bishop had already watched the entire episode, beginning to end.
And he had the kindest things to say.
This would have been gratifying under any circumstances.
It became slightly more intimidating when I remembered that the man holds a PhD in History.
So apparently I survived peer review.
More importantly, though, the responses from all of you have begun coming in.
Mary wrote:
“Thank you for this wonderful presentation that brought the history of the church to life. I could actually feel like I was there!”
And then she wrote something that made all those late-night editing hours worthwhile:
“Now when I go to church I have a fuller meaning of what is said and done.”
That is exactly what I hoped this episode might do.
Christy said:
“Thank you for presenting early church history in such an understandable way.”
And in another comment:
“You have opened my mind in so many ways that I feel more a part of the Catholic faith.”
Pilar came away thinking about the women who helped spread the Gospel in the earliest Christian communities, and asking new questions about their place in the life of the Church.
And this is why I love making these episodes.
I do not want Church history to feel like a parade of dates, councils, dead emperors, and men with spectacularly complicated names.
I want you to meet these people.
I want you to understand what they were trying to build.
I want you to see how incredibly strange and fragile Christianity once was.
And then, when you walk into a church, hear Scripture proclaimed, watch someone baptized, see bread and wine placed on the altar, or hear the ancient words of our faith, I want some little part of you to think:
Oh. Now I understand where this came from.
That is the journey we take in Episode II.
And because this is Message From the Margins, we also eventually arrive at Queries From the Margins, where we talk about trusting God when you are afraid, discerning God’s will, cremation, and a question quite a few of you have asked me:
Where exactly did the Old Catholic Church come from?
I have wanted to tell you that story properly for a long time.
So if you have not watched the new episode yet, carve out a little time and join me.
Make a cup of coffee.
Put me on while you are driving.
Watch on the television.
Listen while you are folding laundry.
Whatever works.
But come along.
Watch Episode II: “How Did the Church Become the Church?”
You can also listen wherever you normally get your podcasts.
And if you enjoy it, there is one thing you can do that would help enormously:
Send the episode to somebody who would enjoy it too.
Someone who loves Church history.
Someone who has questions about Christianity.
Someone who grew up Catholic but never really understood why we do half the things we do.
Someone who has wandered away from the Church but remains curious about where all of this came from.
The best way this little podcast grows is one person saying to another:
“You should listen to this.”
I hope you’ll be one of them.
And to everyone who has already watched, listened, commented, written to me, or shared it…
Thank you.
You have made one very tired priest extraordinarily happy.
Come watch Episode II. I think you’ll be glad you did.
And As Always, Let Us Pray…
Gracious God,
You have never called your Church to stand still.
From those first frightened disciples gathered behind closed doors, through generations of ordinary women and men who carried the Gospel into homes, villages, cities, and nations, you have continued to call your people forward.
Give us gratitude for those who came before us, wisdom to learn from both their faithfulness and their failures, and courage to become the Church you need us to be in our own time.
When we are afraid, teach us to trust you.
When we are uncertain, give us patience enough to listen.
When tradition becomes merely familiar, help us rediscover the living faith beneath it.
And when your Church wounds those whom you love, give us the humility to repent, the courage to repair what has been broken, and the grace to make room again at the table.
Draw us ever closer to Jesus Christ, and make our lives a faithful continuation of the story begun so long ago.
Amen.