Recently, I have been reading and re-reading the Church Fathers. More specifically, I have been reading the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, the early followers of the twelve apostles.
One aspect I’ve always found fascinating appears in the first epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians. There, Clement responds to the issues plaguing—unsurprisingly—the Corinthian Church. The response to their problems is both fascinating and quite compelling, but what warrants our attention today is found at the very beginning.
You see, 1 Clement was most likely written after the deaths of Paul and Peter at the hands of the mad emperor Nero. In light of this, Clement does not start the letter whining or complaining, but rather begins with pure humility, asking for understanding from the Corinthian Church. Asking them to understand why it has taken so long for him to answer them.
Though he had just lost two of the Church’s most influential leaders—Peter and Paul—to Nero’s persecution, and though he now carried crushing new responsibilities amid ongoing trauma and danger, Clement still took time to address the Corinthians’ problems—problems many of us would have considered someone else’s responsibility.
We probably have not been in perils such as the ones Clement found himself in. However, we all know what it’s like to be asked more when we are already in a hole. Clement could have opted out, focused only on his own flock, and let the Corinthians figure it out for themselves. Instead, he followed the example of the Apostle Paul and set aside the desire for comfort, following in the example of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:16-33).
When we are faced with uncertainty, we have wonderful examples of endurance and sacrifice to draw from. What these examples actually say is that in the midst of uncertainty, we can clearly see the example of Christ, who endured the pain of death to bring us life.
As our final encouragement today, let us follow in the path of Christ, Paul, and Clement, and together face the days of our lives in holiness, sacrificial love, and a passion for the saints. See you all in the upcoming posts!
“Let us fix our eyes on the blood of Christ and understand how
precious it is unto His Father, because being shed for our salvation, it
won for the whole world the grace of repentance.” – 1 Clement 7:4
Teach Garcia 
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