THE THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED: We’ve spent the last two days hiking and exploring the underground cities and caves (and living in one too!) of Cappadocia – on the periphery of the ancient Roman Empire. Modern-day Turkey is a treasure trove of Biblical history. It’s home to all the 7 churches referenced in the book of Revelation. It is where Noah’s ark rested after the 40 days of flooding. But more than any other historical site, these ancient caves and tunneled underground cities speak volumes into the future, a future that includes our present.

It is June 18th, 64. Rome is up in flames. The fire destroys 10, out of 14 sections of the city. As the city burns, Nero, the blood-thirsty mad man who is also the Emperor is parched on one of seven hills of the city playing the lyre and singing songs about his wanton destruction. And why is that so? I’ll answer by asking another question. A relatable one. What do you do if you wield power and need to redevelop land under shack-grade property occupied by the down-trodden hoi-polloi living on the fringes of society? Simple. You set it on fire. (And blame someone for the arson.) That’s exactly what Nero did. He blamed the Christians. Persecution followed. 11 of the 12 disciples of Jesus all met violent deaths; Peter was crucified on a Roman cross. Feeling so underserving to die like his Master, he asked to be hang upside down. The 12th (John, the beloved – writer of the book of Revelations) was boiled in lava-hot oil but miraculously survived and was exiled to the island of Patmos. This persecution which was sparked off in 49 AD when Emperor Claudias expelled Christians from Rome was now in full throttle. It lasted until Constantine (a Christian convert) came to power in 313 AD and legalized Christianity. In 325 AD, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire. Within 500 years, even temples of Greek gods were being turned into churches.

Throughout these tumultuous centuries, the caves of Cappadocia provided refuge for Christians fleeing persecution from agents of the empire (like Saul, turned Paul) and marauding bands of Arabs from no particular origin. There are dozens of oikos-size churches littered across the landscape; one has a near replica of the Last Supper dining table. Christians gave the main town, Göreme, its name. It’s literal translation is, “You cannot see here.”

Christianity was never meant to be easy. With a few notable exceptions like the Ethiopian Eunuch and the Queen of Sheba, Christianity was spread by the blood of the martyrs. But for Nero, Jesus’ followers were content to settle in Jerusalem. But if you are being fed to the lions as entertainment, and your lot was routinely being used as giant candles for outdoor parties, perhaps you would really have to count the cost of following this Jesus. Peter, Paul and the rest did.

Perhaps a little persecution for today’s universal church wouldn’t do us terribly bad. Perhaps if Christianity was less hip and trendy, just perhaps, all this hunky punky monkey business that the church is much ado about today would not be? Perhaps we would be more impactful, and the salt and light we were called to be. #Sunday