The First Christian Bestseller
Stories
I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old…we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. (Psalm 78:1,4)
The psalmist knows there’s always a call for a storyteller. Stories stick with you. The rest of the prophets, major and minor, filled pages with soaring language, but the only prophet every kid can name and every adult can tell you something about is Jonah. That’s the power of story.
Jesus of course is the greatest storyteller, with his parables grounded in reality. But one of the first Christians had his own story to tell that was so gripping it was copied and recopied for centuries. His book didn’t make it into the New Testament, but judging from the evidence it might have been more popular than many that did.
The storyteller called himself Hermas. He presented himself as a former slave, and his book, which may have been written early in the second Christian century, became known as The Shepherd of Hermas. It is a massive work, consisting of three parts: Visions, Commandments, and Parables.
Hermas weaves together his own story of repentance with economics, family matters, and doublemindedness. That last refers to those believers who want to be seen as a saint yet live like the devil!
And what a story he tells! He begins with his backstory: “The one who brought me up sold me to a certain woman named Rhoda from Rome. After many years I became reacquainted with her and I began to love her like a sister.”
Judging by his freedom of movement he seems to have become a freedman. To say he loved Rhoda like a sister probably meant they were fellow Christians. He came to admire her beauty and later that lady, speaking to him from heaven, warned him that the Lord was aware of his sins, sins he himself was not aware of. In this vision, he was visited by an ancient woman seated on a white chair, holding a book, who he will learn is the church. She teaches him to repent, sets him on the right path, and closes by telling him to “Man up!”
That ancient lady, the church, greets him again in the second vision, though she is not nearly as old. When Hermas meets her again, she is reading aloud from a small scroll. Hermas asks if he can copy the scroll, and having been given permission, scrawls it out letter by letter without understanding, after which the scroll is whisked away.
It is in this vision he learned that the ancient woman is the church, which puzzles him, since the church is fairly new. “Because,” he is told, “she was created first and because of this she is a venerable lady. And it was for her the universe was created.” Hermas is given the task of telling one of the overseers named Maximus that persecution is coming, and to write down the visions so church leaders can send them out to all the churches.
The third vision that same ancient lady shows him a great vision, in which he sees angels building the church from boulders. Keep in mind that the church is both the lady and the tower simultaneously! Stones drawn by these angels from the water fit perfectly together, so that no seams show. Some stones taken from dry land were tossed to the side, unusable. Others fit into the building, but only after a portion had been chiseled away. Some stones rolled into the water. Others stopped short.
Hermas learns some of these stones are those who serve the church and who live harmoniously with each other. Some are dead and some are still living, but together they form the church. Those drawn from the water are those who have endured persecution faithfully. They fit perfectly. Some of the stones, longing to be used, may yet after repentance become part of the building. And others will never measure up.
After she is taken away back into heaven, Hermas reveals that the ancient lady keeps looking younger every time he sees her. At this point her face was very young, although her hair was still grey.
In the fourth vision Hermas hears a voice telling him, “Do not doubt.” Why would he doubt, he wonders. Then he sees a great dust cloud on the horizon. Is it a herd of cattle? He is soon terrified because it is revealed to be a monster rushing towards him, like a beast. It’s a great sea monster, with fiery locusts spraying out of its mouth.
Again he is told, “Do not doubt.” With great difficulty Hermas tries to continue walking in the direction towards the beast. Its roar could destroy a city, he tells us, but he still walks resolutely towards it. Finally the monster collapses, stretched out, and after sticking out its tongue just lies there while Hermas keeps walking by. Hermas notices the monster’s head is black, red, gold, and white. He then meets the ancient lady, only now she is a young woman, dressed in white and veiled, ready for her wedding. She commends him for his bravery and reveals that the colors stand for the darkness of the present world, which must be destroyed in fire and blood (hence the red color). Those who endure will be proven good as gold, with the white standing for the purity of those who make it to the new age.
These stories and the many that follow were both entertaining and instructive for the first Christians, and help explain its immense popularity. It was written, as the psalmist tells us: “…so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments…(Psalm 78:7).
*****************************************
StoryShare, November 8, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
The psalmist knows there’s always a call for a storyteller. Stories stick with you. The rest of the prophets, major and minor, filled pages with soaring language, but the only prophet every kid can name and every adult can tell you something about is Jonah. That’s the power of story.
Jesus of course is the greatest storyteller, with his parables grounded in reality. But one of the first Christians had his own story to tell that was so gripping it was copied and recopied for centuries. His book didn’t make it into the New Testament, but judging from the evidence it might have been more popular than many that did.
The storyteller called himself Hermas. He presented himself as a former slave, and his book, which may have been written early in the second Christian century, became known as The Shepherd of Hermas. It is a massive work, consisting of three parts: Visions, Commandments, and Parables.
Hermas weaves together his own story of repentance with economics, family matters, and doublemindedness. That last refers to those believers who want to be seen as a saint yet live like the devil!
And what a story he tells! He begins with his backstory: “The one who brought me up sold me to a certain woman named Rhoda from Rome. After many years I became reacquainted with her and I began to love her like a sister.”
Judging by his freedom of movement he seems to have become a freedman. To say he loved Rhoda like a sister probably meant they were fellow Christians. He came to admire her beauty and later that lady, speaking to him from heaven, warned him that the Lord was aware of his sins, sins he himself was not aware of. In this vision, he was visited by an ancient woman seated on a white chair, holding a book, who he will learn is the church. She teaches him to repent, sets him on the right path, and closes by telling him to “Man up!”
That ancient lady, the church, greets him again in the second vision, though she is not nearly as old. When Hermas meets her again, she is reading aloud from a small scroll. Hermas asks if he can copy the scroll, and having been given permission, scrawls it out letter by letter without understanding, after which the scroll is whisked away.
It is in this vision he learned that the ancient woman is the church, which puzzles him, since the church is fairly new. “Because,” he is told, “she was created first and because of this she is a venerable lady. And it was for her the universe was created.” Hermas is given the task of telling one of the overseers named Maximus that persecution is coming, and to write down the visions so church leaders can send them out to all the churches.
The third vision that same ancient lady shows him a great vision, in which he sees angels building the church from boulders. Keep in mind that the church is both the lady and the tower simultaneously! Stones drawn by these angels from the water fit perfectly together, so that no seams show. Some stones taken from dry land were tossed to the side, unusable. Others fit into the building, but only after a portion had been chiseled away. Some stones rolled into the water. Others stopped short.
Hermas learns some of these stones are those who serve the church and who live harmoniously with each other. Some are dead and some are still living, but together they form the church. Those drawn from the water are those who have endured persecution faithfully. They fit perfectly. Some of the stones, longing to be used, may yet after repentance become part of the building. And others will never measure up.
After she is taken away back into heaven, Hermas reveals that the ancient lady keeps looking younger every time he sees her. At this point her face was very young, although her hair was still grey.
In the fourth vision Hermas hears a voice telling him, “Do not doubt.” Why would he doubt, he wonders. Then he sees a great dust cloud on the horizon. Is it a herd of cattle? He is soon terrified because it is revealed to be a monster rushing towards him, like a beast. It’s a great sea monster, with fiery locusts spraying out of its mouth.
Again he is told, “Do not doubt.” With great difficulty Hermas tries to continue walking in the direction towards the beast. Its roar could destroy a city, he tells us, but he still walks resolutely towards it. Finally the monster collapses, stretched out, and after sticking out its tongue just lies there while Hermas keeps walking by. Hermas notices the monster’s head is black, red, gold, and white. He then meets the ancient lady, only now she is a young woman, dressed in white and veiled, ready for her wedding. She commends him for his bravery and reveals that the colors stand for the darkness of the present world, which must be destroyed in fire and blood (hence the red color). Those who endure will be proven good as gold, with the white standing for the purity of those who make it to the new age.
These stories and the many that follow were both entertaining and instructive for the first Christians, and help explain its immense popularity. It was written, as the psalmist tells us: “…so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments…(Psalm 78:7).
*****************************************
StoryShare, November 8, 2020 issue.
Copyright 2020 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
