4th Sunday of Matthew
In the Gospel reading for the 4th Sunday of Matthew (5, 14-19), Christ calls his disciples ‘the light of the world’. That Christians have always accepted that they should set an example to non-believers can be seen from, among other texts, the Epistle to Diognetus, which was written some time between the mid-2nd and mid 3rd century. What is particularly interesting is that the man who wrote it (he simply describes himself as ‘the Disciple’) was obviously well-educated and capable of expressing himself in very elegant Greek. The recipient would also have to have been well-educated in order to understand it. So this epistle is an insight into how curiosity about the faith began to spread among the sophisticated upper stratum of pagan society in the Roman empire. [WJL]
- The reason for the epistle
I see, most excellent Diognetus, that you have a great desire to learn how Christians worship God. You have been most careful and earnest in your questions…
