Creative solutions are often born out of necessity. We found that to be true when we toured one of the Catacomb sites in Rome. The Catacombs are literally the cemetery of their day. In the Calixto Catacombs there are five levels or floors. As need arose they dug underneath the previous layer to create more space.
The need for the spaces were to make room for anyone who needed buriel, not just those who had purchased crypts for their families. There were spaces carved out of the sandstone along the hallways and then rooms carved out for whole families that had a large space in the middle with carved places to lay their loved ones. They would use these rooms in the center to spend time visiting their loved ones and remembering them.
As Christianity became a threat and persecution rose, families would use these rooms in more creative ways. Murals were painted on the walls and ceilings that told the stories of the Bible. The elders in the family would call the youngers together as well as invite unbelieving friends to gather in the family crypt and they would tell the stories, teaching the guests about Jesus and the early Bible stories using the paintings.
You could still see much of the pictures on the walls today.
In places and times when things are difficult, there is always a way to practice faith. Even in the graveyards of life, there are stories to be told and ways to fellowship and encourage one another.
Faith is internal first, then external as it works its way through a person, manifesting in expressions of relationships and care. These particular graveyards, or Catacombs had many stories to tell of faith and courage. May our lives leave behind stories that can be told in generations to come!
Joshua 22.28:
Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’
