This post is inspired by a post on Internetmonk.com found here. In that post he quotes from the Epistle to Diognetus, Pros Diognhton Epistolh, a second century product that defends the faith (apologetics). The author is unknown and simply calls himself, a disciple. In it is found the following quote:
“For Christians cannot be distinguished from the rest of the human race by country or language or customs. They do not live in cities of their own; they do not use a peculiar form of speech; they do not follow an eccentric manner of life. This doctrine of theirs has not been discovered by the ingenuity or deep thought of inquisitive men, nor do they put forward a merely human teaching, as some people do. Yet, although they live in Greek and barbarian cities alike, as each man’s lot has been cast, and follow the customs of the country in clothing and food and other matters of daily living, at the same time they give proof of the remarkable and admittedly extraordinary constitution of their own commonwealth. …
They live in their own countries, but only as aliens. They have a share in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and yet for them every fatherland is a foreign land. They marry, like everyone else, and they beget children, but they do not cast out their offspring [i.e. “expose” — commit infanticide]. They share their board with each other, but not their marriage bed. It is true that they are “in the flesh,” but they do not live “according to the flesh.” They obey the established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require. They love all men, and by all men are persecuted. They are unknown, and still they are condemned; they are put to death, and yet they are brought to life. They are poor, and yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute, and yet they enjoy complete abundance. They are dishonored, and in their very dishonor are glorified; they are defamed, and are vindicated. They are reviled, and yet they bless; when they are affronted, they still pay due respect. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; undergoing punishment, they rejoice because they are brought to life. They are treated by the Jews as foreigners and enemies, and are hunted down by the Greeks; and all the time those who hate them find it impossible to justify their enmity.”
This quote reminds me of Saint Augustine when he wrote his famous treatise on the City of God, really called De Civitate Dei contra Paganos or The City of God against [or over against] Pagans. In it he says:
“… the first city is that of the just, the second is that of the wicked. Although they are now, during the course of time, intermingled, they shall be divided at the last judgment; the first, being joined by the good angels under its King, shall attain eternal life; the second, in union with the bad angels under its king, shall be sent into eternal fire. … And thus it has come to pass that, though there are very many and great nations all over the earth, whose rites and customs, speech, arms, and dress, are distinguished by marked differences, yet there are no more than two kinds of human society, which we may justly call two cities, according to the language of our Scriptures. The one consists of those who wish to live after the flesh, the other of those who wish to live after the spirit; and when they severally achieve what they wish, they live in peace, each after its kind.”
In the Epistle to Diognetus, the author is speaking more about how Christians cannot simply be identified by a type of earthly dress, or a language, or a type of cultural behavior. Rather, we are part of our culture, but are not of any culture. What the author to Diognetus begins to unfold is carried out in more detail by Saint Augustine and becomes one of his great works. There are two cities, and while they are currently intermingled, they shall one day be separated. The seminal statements in Diognetus point us to the great statements of Saint Augustine. And, yet, at this point in our lives we cannot tell them apart. So, the wheat is with the tares; the just are with the unjust.
We are called to live in the one city as though we were true citizens. We speak the language of the people. We follow many of the cultures of the people. And, yet, we are called to live in the other city as though we were strangers to the city in which we were born. We are called to love God, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God [see Micah 6]. We are called to be not seen, but seen. When people look at us, they are to see a simple citizen of the country in which we live. When people watch us, they are to see a citizen of The City of God.
To say that this is a hard task to accomplish would be an understatement. To say that we need the help of the Holy Spirit is to admit the obvious. To say that we must take a step of faith as we live out the life of the City of God is to admit that we believe in synergy, in the cooperation of God with man so that we might be saved. To say that we go astray often as we strive to reach our goal is to admit that we need to confess our sins, one to another. To say that we walk together is to proclaim that we are united in Christ. To worship together is to acknowledge that Jesus is our Great High Priest. To die in him is to have faith that He will be standing on the other side ready to welcome his faithful servants.
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