In the 1940’s Ukraine lost millions of people in a matter of weeks. It’s apparent by a black cross by the side of the road marking a gravesite found a couple years ago consisting of 20,000 bodies. The Soviet assault during WWII not only left violence crippling the peacefulness I’ve felt here in Ukraine but a prevalent famine that wasted away the country villages. The Stalin led charge took all the food they could find in storehouses and sent it back to Russia then set fire to the fields. Once all the animals were hunted down there was nothing left for survivors to eat.The early Church found meeting people’s needs so important that they had the audacity to sell property and possessions to meet those needs (Acts 2:45). After leaving Kiev (Capital of Ukraine) a couple days ago I was again skeptical of the Church’s audacity to confront the needs of the body. The Eastern Orthodox churches in Kiev are majestic, nothing like I’ve ever seen before. The shock and awe of the sanctuaries attract many visitors to come and experience its beauty. The question that kept coming up in my mind however was, “With all this gold and silver plastered on the walls, was there not something more the church could have done to help meet the needs of those going hungry and homeless?”
Although these churches were beautiful in structure, 1 Peter 3:3 exhorts that beauty should not come from outward adornment. In context Peter is addressing how wives should present themselves, without elaborate hairstyles, wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes but rather of gentle and quiet spirit. Since the Church is referred to as the “bride of Christ” in the New Testament, would not the Church be subject to the same exhortation that Peter gives to wives? I believe when churches focus on its inner beauty and not their outward, the results end in a healthier church. I think its fitting that of the three churches I visited recently; only one remains a functioning place of worship (another is a museum, the other sits empty with a fence around it).
As the gold resonates off these magnificent structures I continue to think about the possibilities of another way. A way in which the Church goes beyond the walls and physical structures it congregates in. A way in which believers meet the needs of others around them. What if we brought back the audacity of the early Church and focused on the body of believers’ needs, soul, heart and inner restoration
