Our day begins earlier, as we have a guided tour of Vatican City on the opposite side of Rome. Not wanting to worry about arriving on time, we take a taxi across the city and arrive for our tour at least 30 minutes early. I am excited to be here with Amber. Roughly 25 years ago, I toured the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. I remember being amazed at Michelangelo’s paintings and sculptures. Therefore, I look forward to Amber experiencing it all.
As we begin our tour, the Vatican and museum is huge. There are too many statues, works of art, Roman antiquities to see it all. Our guide takes us to the “highlights”. As she describes Christian history she states, “It’s all about power.” Through the tour, she says this over and over again. “Follow the power. It’s about power.” I wonder if this is true, and sadly Christian history does seem to follow power, desire power. Today, power and Christianity in our society are too closely tied. This seems absolutely contrary to Christ, and the journey of St. Francis. However, church meetings, decisions, church politics after seem to follow, use, or abuse power. This is an absolute contrast to our time in Assisi with St. Francis and St. Clare. Remember, scripture is often surprising, turning things around. The first shall be last, and the last first. Power is found in weakness. We did not learn of God from the wisdom of the world, but from the foolishness of the proclamation. Will, we as Christians, will the church ever learn that Jesus’ “power” is displayed in a cross? This turns everything upside down. Any time Christianity and power (as the world sees power) go together, we should be skeptical of its faithfulness. We follow Christ. The marriage between the gospel and power may be the greatest heresy of the American church. The lens of power has changed the faith, changed what we see. This kind of Christianity worries me today. And maybe what worries me more is when we are caught in this marriage between power and Christianity but don’t see it ourselves.
We finally make it to the Sistine chapel, and it is as stunning as I remembered. The paintings look almost 3D. There is depth to Michelangelo’s work. The only disappointment. We were asked to be quiet and no one is being quiet. The room is filled with noise and commotion. However, with this many people crammed into a room, I am not sure there could be any other outcome but noise and commotion.
Next, we enter St. Peter’s basilica, the largest church in the world. In fact, in the Catholic faith, another cathedral is not allowed to be constructed bigger than this church. This church’s size and ornate surroundings make St. Francis’ basilica seem plain and small. St. Peter’s is stunning! It truly is the grandest Christian church in the world.
As we planned this trip, we discovered that this was Jubilee year, a year for Catholic pilgrims to travel to Rome. Therefore, the crowds will probably be greater than normal years, but also the four “Holy Doors” would be open. These are doors at each of the main basilicas in Rome that only get open for Jubilee or once every 25 years. In the Catholic tradition, if a pilgrim walks through each door they receive an indulgence of forgiveness. Even as we are not Catholic, we believe forgiveness is a great gift from God, so why not? We decide to go through each door. They are only open once every 25 years and I can always use forgiveness from God. The first of these “Holy Doors” that we encounter is here at St. Peter’s basilica. I walk through slowly praying for forgiveness. There is much forgiveness needed.
The other treat at St. Peter’s is Michelangelo’s sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus’ dead body, The Pieta. It’s beautiful and the details amazing. Strangely, this statue is now behind bullet proof glass as years ago, 1972, a man named Laszlo Toth attacked the statue with a hammer while shouting, “I am Jesus Christ, risen from the dead,”. We humans are strange creatures.
After our tour, Amber and I settle at a restaurant for a lunch pizza with a decision to make. Do we get on the subway, take a taxi? What’s next? As there are multiple sites between the Vatican and our hotel, we decide to walk. It seems that everything on this trip goes back to hiking. Our first stop is the Pantheon, a pagan place of worship dedicated to all God’s that was repurposed and dedicated as a Christian church called, “St. Mary and the Martyrs” in the 7th century. The Pantheon, even though it was built in the 2nd century, still has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Again, this structure is beautiful and amazing.
Our next stop is Trevi fountain. The fountain is too crowded to get close. Thus we squeeze in as best we can. There is a tradition at this fountain. If you throw in a coin over your shoulder with your right hand and your back to the fountain, you will return to Rome someday. If you throw a second coin in, you will find the love of your life. A third coin will lead to marriage. I remember throwing coins in last time I was here, and all three came true. I am back here in Rome with Amber, my wife and love. Just to the side, I hear a woman throw a coin and then she gasps, “Oops” as the coin hits another person standing next to the fountain. Remember it’s crowded and we are a short distance away. Her and her companion quickly leave. I wonder what “luck” this will bring her?
This is a fascinating walk back to the hotel. Rome is a beautiful city. We travel through history, culture, unique shops and charming neighborhoods of Rome. However, as we have hiked a great deal on this trip, both Amber and I are excited when we finally make it back to the hotel. I wonder, “How many steps have we taken during this Sabbatical? Hopefully, we are getting into better shape. However, we are also eating rich Italian food with lots and lots of gelato.