Written by: CampUs4
11/16/2009 4:18 PM

 Companions on the Journey

by Tera Harmon

Near the end of the fourth century, Gregory of Nyssa, a Christian bishop in present-day Turkey, wrote an account of the saintly life of his sister, Macrina. In the opening of his work, he explained the purpose for writing about her: “At that time, you [Olympius] suggested that a history of her good deeds ought to be written because you thought such a life should not be lost sight of in time and, that having raised herself to the highest peak of human virtue through philosophy, she should not be passed over in silence and her life rendered ineffective.” (1)

For Gregory, and for many of his contemporaries, one of the primary purposes of writing and studying history was to give examples of ideal Christian behavior for people to follow. He wrote about the heroic and virtuous deeds Macrina performed so that anyone who read about her life would be inspired to follow her example.  

Anyone who has spent much time in children’s Sunday school classes is likely familiar with this example-based approach to history: be obedient like Noah; be prayerful like Daniel; be loyal like Ruth. Certainly we can benefit from looking to history for examples of how to live a Christian life, but we can perhaps glean more from history if we take a wider look.

Mining the centuries of church history for people after whom to model our lives can prove quite difficult. While there are many past Christians who deserve our emulation, their lives were so much different from the average American college student that finding points of contact between the two is a challenge. Macrina, Gregory’s sister who reached the “highest peak of human virtue,” for example, expressed her faith by refusing to marry and living a life of austerity, owning only one set of clothing and sleeping on a board. Some colleges may have a few strict rules, but most of their dorms include mattresses and laundry facilities.

Examples, after all, are meant to make a concept more concrete. If the lives of past Christians confound more than they concretize, perhaps it is time to look for other ways to use history.  

If the lives of our religious ancestors are so foreign to ours, how, then, can they be an aid to our spiritual formation? Perhaps, instead of seeing their difference from us as an obstacle, we can see it as a way to cultivate humility. When we look at the differences between our Christian foreparents and ourselves and assume that our views are the correct ones, that we have progressed from where they were, we put ourselves in a dangerous position of breeding arrogance.

However, if we approach them with humility, as conversation partners in our shared faith, we open up the possibility of learning from them. After looking at their lives deeply to find why they believed and acted as they did, we may not agree with or admire all of their views, but we may see what we have in common: an effort to use the knowledge and resources available in order to live faithful Christian lives. Scripture can be opened up to us in new ways as we notice that Christians in the past not only understood some scriptures differently than we often do, but also frequently emphasized different parts of scripture. Discovering the lenses through which they viewed scripture can help us recognize that we, too, see scripture from a particular perspective. We may also find their shortcomings and blind spots; and instead of responding with judgment, we can take the opportunity to reflect on areas in our own lives that future generations may find troublesome.

In doing this, we can place ourselves in the landscape of Christians through the ages. In the end, we may not own just one set of clothing and sleep on a board like Macrina; but if we take the time to learn about her life, we may be able to see her as a companion on the journey.

1 Gregory of Nyssa, Life of St. Macrina. Trans. Virginia Woods Callahan, “The Life of St. Macrina,” in Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Ascetical Works, Fathers of the Church 58.  (Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1967).

Tera Harmon recently finished the coursework for her Ph.D. in Church History from Catholic University of America.  She currently lives in the Dallas area with her husband, David Todd, and 5-month old son, Owen, where she continues to work on her degree.

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