Roman Holiday: mixed cultural and religous messages

Greetings! I was lucky and blessed to spend my summer vacation mostly in Italy, a place I had dreamed of experiencing. It was the trip of a lifetime and I got to share it with my spouse, our 17 year old daughter and one of her friends. If you’ve ever been to Italy, you might know that there is a lot of art to see (my daughter doesn’t care to see another Madonna and Child for quite some time); there’s yummy food; ancient ruins; and lots and lots of churches (at some point my daughter was done with seeing those, too.)

To me, Italy presented many commentaries on religion and culture - some of it good and some of it quite disturbing.

In a small Tuscan town, my spouse and I waited for a bus in front of the “Torture Museum,” with medieval helmets and chastity belts staring us in the face. While waiting around, I read that torture was more often practiced on women than men. I hadn’t really thought about that fact, but I guess it makes sense. I thought of women who had been burned at the stake and tortured for being witches. I also considered that women today are far more often the victims of domestic violence than men. Certainly our smaller size may play a role, but misogynistic beliefs coupled with authoritarianism and twisted religion have dealt some cruel blows. The scary helmet in the museum window had screws in it to silence women who spoke out against their husbands or other authorities, including the church. Sadly, certain biblical scriptures were used as justification for this type of torture that could leave a woman’s tongue mutilated. Torture is a topic I tend to avoid and I would have avoided the museum, if I could have.

With some of those insights stuck in my brain, we arrived in Roma, first stop: the Coliseum. Yeah, another place tricky to really think about. Of course I wanted to see it - take a selfie or two - but the longer I took it all in, the more grossed out I became. Yuck. This was a place with magnificent theatrical trappings to stage gruesome deaths. My daughter and I kept thinking about parallel death-as-entertainment themes in the modern movie series, “The Hunger Games.” We grieved for the unfortunate victims martyred by the power of the empire.

I had no reluctance leaving the Coliseum. I was excited about visiting the Vatican early the next morning. We were so smart. We got up early and had the outdoor square nearly to ourselves. Never have I seen it so void of people. Then I remembered that I had committed a grievous sin: I forgot to bring along a copy of The Loop magazine on our trip. The Vatican with few tourists would have made a perfect background. Forgive me, The Loop editors. At least I knew I was in a place that could offer me some forgiveness.

It was a Thursday morning and we could see the chairs still set up outside from the day before. The Pope usually addresses the outdoor crowd on Wednesdays and I imagined how precious that was for those who came to hear his words and receive his blessing.

It was a very hot day, but I and the girls had dressed modestly, which is required at many churches. However, I couldn’t help thinking after seeing the torture instruments just days before, that the church should give women free passes to wear sleeveless tops on hot days, imprinted with apologies, rather than judge if my arms are somehow inappropriate. Alas, we went inside magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica. Wow; what more more can I say? We were quite impressed. My humble little church looks nothing like that. My spouse and I wanted to linger longer, but the girls were ready to move on, so we made our way through the Vatican museums en route to the Sistine Chapel. Perhaps, I should not have visited the Vatican museums. I was caught off guard by the enormity of the collections. I appreciate the church’s ability to house and protect so many ancient works of art, but after a while, the vast amount of earthly treasure was overwhelming. It seemed out of place with the religious teachings of a simple man from Nazareth. No offense to my many Catholic friends and cousins, but I felt if Jesus were there, he’d be uncomfortable. It did not seem to be his kind of place. My husband loved the Sistine Chapel, but by the time we got there, I was feeling less inspired by my religion and rather like an invisible outsider as the male God touches the male human. Patriarchy ruled. I left feeling less inspired by Christianity, something I doubt the Vatican had hoped to accomplish. I know the current Pope resists some of the trappings of the Vatican that troubled me and I greatly appreciate his conscientiousness in doing so. None-the-less, I didn’t like feeling less inspired spiritually by what I had encountered. I grieved for my sisters and my daughter.

Inspiration came a couple days later, when we visited one of the catacombs in an ancient part of Rome. A kind English-speaker from Kenya, named Mark, was our guide. Mark wore very simple clothes and treated each of us with courtesy and respect. He took us below ground where the temperature was much cooler and he described one of the chambers that was about 8x10 foot or the size of a small room. He showed us a sculpture of a 16 year old girl who had been martyred for her Christian faith. This caught my daughter’s attention. The girl could have renounced her convictions and lived, but instead she was killed.

Mark explained how early Christians would gather in this underground room, with martyrs buried around them and they would have church there. It was powerful to imagine being surrounded by those who gave their lives. My husband whispered to me, “And to think, we can’t even get people to make coffee for the church today.”

I think it is perplexing for modern people to consider why people gave their lives, rather than renounce their faith. After the tour, Mark gave us some of his personal insight into this. He said, “I want to leave you with two things: 1) These people believed there was only one God and the emperor was not God. They refused to worship the Roman political authorities. Their resistance got them killed. 2) Jesus’ message was radical and inspiring: claiming that all people - slave or free; male or female; Jew or Greek; ALL people were equal before God.”

Later, my daughter said that seeing Cecilia’s sculpture, combined with hearing Mark’s short sermon, was the most inspiring Christian message she had ever considered. Mark, I wish I could thank you for redeeming our faith. It was wonderful being in your presence.

May you encounter those who inspire and renew your spirits.

~Pastor Nancy

About Tehachapi Congregational Church:

No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here!

The Tehachapi Congregational Church is an open and welcoming community of faith that believes that each person, created in the image of God, holds a piece of the truth. Therefore we respect each person’s unique spiritual journey. We invite you to experience the difference that religious freedom in a caring community can make in that journey.

We are located at 100 East E St., in Tehachapi. Worship and Sunday School are at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. Please join us for coffee and fellowship at our Friendship Hall after worship (approximately 11:30 a.m.).

All are welcome.