Christians have sought to preserve the faith and the Word of God in various ways over the centuries. Around 68 to 70 AD, during the Jewish-Roman war in Israel, the Qumran community near the Dead Sea hid the sacred Scriptures (Old Testament) in sealed clay jars and placed them in remote caves to save them from destruction by the Roman army. We know and appreciate these ancient scrolls today as the Dead Sea Scrolls. During the Roman persecutions of the early centuries, Christians often used the catacombs. We find here frescoes and inscriptions preserved, including the use of the fish symbol, the Chi-Rho monogram as a symbol for the name “Christ,” various scenes from the Bible, and even depictions of Holy Communion.
In northwestern Greece, in the province of Thessaly, there are dramatic sandstone pillars that rise from the valley floor, some to a height of 1,800 feet! Hermit monks began living in caves and fissures in these sandstone formations as early as the 9th century A.D. But in the 14th century, as attacks by the Turks on Greece increased, the monks began building monasteries on top of the pillars. Access to and from these eyries was possible only via ropes and crude wooden ladders. In this way, they joined Christians from ages past in working to preserve Christianity and the Word of God.
Twenty-four monasteries were built by the monks of Meteora. Six of these communities remain active today. The monks secluded themselves to avoid the incursion of the Muslim Turks who sought to overtake and eradicate the Christian faith. Ironically, continued pressure from the Turks two hundred years later allowed the Reformation to take root and establish itself in Germany. As the Turks were threatening and on the doorstep of German lands, Emperor Charles V needed to present a unified front. He needed the cooperation of each of his governing princes, including Prince Frederick the Wise, who was a supporter of Martin Luther and his firm stand against the extra-biblical teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The emperor was not willing to risk disunity by wielding a heavy hand against Prince Frederick and Luther. In this way, the Reformation and its core teaching that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, as revealed in Scripture alone, was able to grow and spread.
In an attempt to save God’s Word, the monks at Meteora made themselves unreachable by the Turks. Who would have thought that God would use that same Turkish threat to free His Word, held so long in obscurity, so that it might reach the people and bring the Good News of God’s saving work in Christ to light!
While Germany feared invasion, Luther made it clear that the Turks were not the greatest threat. In a sermon Luther preached1in 1530 to Philip Melanchthon and those who would present the Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V, Luther said, “Threats abound, but the art of the Christian is to look to God’s Word, and away from all the trouble and the suffering. The devil wants us to forget the Word and look only at the danger from the Pope and the Turks. Let God take care of his cause and fight it out.” He went on to say, “We are in greater peril from our own sin and disobedience to God’s Word than from all the Turks.” Luther fought against the false teaching that ignored God’s Word and relied on our own works and goodness for our justification. He saw that the greatest threat to the Church was not invasion by the Turks, but the suppression of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the monasteries of Meteora are a reminder to us that Christians are not to be removed from the world. Rather, we are salt and light in the world. Psalm 18:2 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” Luther’s sermon speaks to us today, too: “Don’t fear the Turks or the circumstances around you. Fear God, stand on His Word, and keep your eyes on Jesus.”
In the name of Jesus,
Pastor