23
November. Day of
Remembrance: 1662 Book of Common Prayer: Clement of Rome & Colleague of Paul the
Apostle
Dr. Severance offers her
views.
Severance,
Dianna. “Clement of Rome.” Christianity.com. N.d.
http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1-300/clement-of-rome-11629592.html. Accessed 28 May 2014.
Can you imagine what it would have been like to be
taught personally about Jesus by the apostle Paul or Peter? Clement of Rome was
a first century convert who had that wonderful privilege. If you look in your
New Testament at Philippians 4:3 you will see a Clement referred to who very
well could be the same Clement we are looking at in this issue.
After Paul and Peter were
martyred at Rome, Clement become a leader, in fact, bishop, of the church
there. You can visit the Church of San Clemente in Rome today, thought to be
built over Clement's house. Tradition has it that about the year 100 AD he was
martyred by being cast into the sea tied to an anchor. Not much detail is known
about Clement of Rome, but some of his writings provide valuable insight into
the early church. His letter to the church at Corinth may be the earliest
document we have outside of the New Testament.
Yes, Corinth
Again
Remember how Paul had to write
letters to the church at Corinth dealing with terrible problems tearing apart
the young church in that notoriously carnal city? Well, their problems
persisted, and Clement sent a masterful letter to the Corinthians, reconciling
them in peace, renewing their faith, and proclaiming the doctrine he had lately
received from the apostles.
Get Rid of
Those Old Guys!
Discord in Corinth had
apparently flared up when a group of younger church leaders removed some of the
older leaders; factions and petty arguments had developed around the two
groups. Clement was writing to deal with the squabbles.
Clement warned that strife
within the church is caused by envy, and the Scriptures show what evil envy
produces - envy caused Cain to slay Abel, Joseph's brothers to sell him into
bondage, Saul to pursue David: "Envy alienated wives from their
husbands...have overthrown great cities and rooted up mighty nations." But
the Scriptures also show that in every age the Lord will grant repentance to those
who turn to him. Noah and Jonah, for example, preached such repentance.
With love and compassion,
Clement urged his readers to: be of humble mind, laying aside all haughtiness,
and pride, and foolishness, and angry feelings...being especially mindful of
the words of the Lord Jesus which He spake, teaching us meekness and
long-suffering.
Hurry Up to
Perform
Clement reasoned that since none
of our thoughts are hidden from God, we should seek to obey Him rather than
follow the human leaders of any faction. Because we hope in the resurrection,
we should live lives of purity and righteousness. Clement emphasized that we
are not justified by our own understanding or works or godliness, but "by
that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all
men." Because of our justification and all that God has done for us,
"let us hurry with all energy and readiness of mind to perform every good
work." For the Christian there is no reason for selfishness or
self-promotion; Christians should work
together in all harmony and peace.
Clement then encouraged the
young men in Corinth to repent of their strife and disruption which had
discouraged many within the church. He further urged the Corinthians to "pray
for those who have fallen into sin, that meekness and humility may be given to
them, so that they may submit, not unto us, but to the will of God."
Early Church
Far from Perfect
We can easily tend to idealize
the early church and think that their fellowship was pure and untroubled.
Clement reminds us they struggled with the same temptations we do. In fact his
letter suggests that the deaths of the apostles Peter and Paul were probably
brought about due to envy and strife among Christians: "Through jealousy
and envy the greatest and most righteous pillars (Peter and Paul) were
persecuted and contended unto death." The historian Tacitus commented that
there were occasions when some Christians were arrested based on information
supplied by other Christians.
Clement's letter to the
Corinthians continued to be read in the Corinthian church as part of the
liturgy for many years. The letter was popular among other churches throughout
the ancient Roman world as well. Written by a man who had known Peter and Paul,
who had a pastor's heart for all Christians, it was a great source of strength
and guidance for early churches.
Clement's
Prayer for Then and Now
The prayer at the conclusion of
Clement's letter easily spans the centuries to become a prayer for Christians
today: May God, who seeth all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and
the Lord of all flesh - who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to
be a peculiar people - grant to every soul that calleth upon His glorious and
holy Name, faith, fear, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity,
and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and
Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and
honor, both now and forevermore. Amen.
Clement's complete First Letter to the Corinthians has been reprinted as part of Christian History Institute's
series of Pocket Classics (which can be found under "early church" at
this web site).
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Biblical quotes call to holiness Clement's letter is permeated with Scriptural references (at least 150 quotes from both the Old and New Testaments), and he skillfully wove the Scriptural quotes together to encourage the Corinthians to return to their holy calling, to "attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of Him who formed us." |
