Dedication of the St. John Lateran Cathedral
DEDICATION OF THE ST. JOHN LATERAN BASILICA
Once again we have a Sunday of Ordinary Time being superseded by a Feast Day. Last week, it was the Feast of All Souls taking precedence; this week, we are focusing upon an historical event: the dedication of a cathedral. But it’s not just any cathedral; we are talking about our very first cathedral. It will be named the “St. John Lateran Cathedral.” How did they arrive at that particular title? It needs to be understood that the structure itself, along with the property upon which it stood, was a donation to the Church. Previous ownership can be traced to the highly influential Laterani family. The plan would involve repurposing the palace into a cathedral, and then adding a baptistry on to the complex—a baptistry consecrated to Saint John the Baptist. Putting it all together, you get something called The Saint John Lateran Cathedral. The dedication takes place on November 9th, 324 AD, within the city of Rome.
So it’s a time of momentum for the cause of Christianity. And that momentum will continue well into the succeeding centuries. Less than sixty years later, Christianity will be recognized as the official religion of the empire. The faith goes from being severely attacked, to being tolerated, to finally being elevated to a position of primacy. How do we explain this? First of all, how did the church survive that nearly three hundred year stretch of persecution? Not only does it survive, but it expands dramatically!! And, if surviving wasn’t enough, if expansion wasn’t enough, now Christianity will outrank all of the other religions being practiced within the empire! How do you go about explaining this type of phenomenon?
Perhaps we will be able to resolve these questions by referring to an old fable. It’s a fable that features the Wind and the Sun. We start off with a boast; it’s a boast being made by the Wind. The problem is that nobody wants to listen. The Wind has been making a nuisance of itself, carrying on with one boast after another. At this stage, the only one with any remaining level of patience is the Sun. Generously, the Sun is ready to hear all about it: Tell me about how powerful you are!
With eagerness, the Wind calls attention to a man who is walking along a trail, bundled up in a coat. I’m so powerful that I can blow the jacket clean off of that man’s back! To the Sun, this represents a bold statement: Do you really believe that you are up to the task? In response, the Wind begins to blow and to blow. With each gust, the man shudders, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. After a series of attempts, it becomes clear that the jacket is not going to be relinquished.
The Sun then declares: We’ve tried it your way; now let’s try it my way. With that, the Sun breaks into a broad warm smile, beaming as brightly as it can beam. Suddenly—finding himself bathed in light and in warmth, the man voluntarily takes off his jacket. Therefore, the Sun prevails over the Wind. It doesn’t happen through the use of force. Rather, it happens by way of a warm smile.
Now let’s return to the questions that were posed earlier. How do you survive and prevail in a hostile environment? You do so by borrowing a page from those third and those fourth century Christians. They didn’t have anything in the way of political leverage. They had next to nothing in the way of material resources. They had no practical ability to impose their faith upon the wider population. Nevertheless, they will endure, they will multiply, and they will ultimately prevail. It’s simply about being true: true to their calling. They survive, they attract, and they overcome: How? By being instruments of light and by being instruments of warmth. Be what you know you are supposed to be. And just see where that leads you.
