Today's Scripture Reading (May 4, 2021): 2 Timothy 4
On July 19, 64 C.E., a fire
started in the shops surrounding the Circus Maximus, the stadium that hosted
Rome's chariot races. The fire burned out of control for six days before it was
finally brought under control. But before the Romans could secure the area, the
fire reignited and burned for another three days. By the time the fire was
finally extinguished, two-thirds of the city had been burned.
The cause of the fire is
officially unknown. Rumors have circulated since the fire that operatives
purposefully set it under Nero's guidance in an attempt to clear away part of
the city so that he could build his new palace. But the veracity of that claim
remains unconfirmed. The modern myth that Nero played his fiddle while the city
burned is just an urban tale. A fiddle was an unknown instrument, so it would
have more likely a lyre that Emperor would have played. In opposition to this
myth are some reports that Nero may not have even been in the city at the time
of the fire.
The cause of the fire is
officially unknown, but Nero blamed the Christians. In the aftermath of the
fire, both Paul and Peter, along with several other Christians, were arrested
and placed in prison, awaiting their trial and sentencing. It is at this time
that Paul writes Timothy once more from within his prison walls. This time,
Paul, along with Peter, found themselves in the cells of the Mamertine Prison, a
jail located on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill that was used for
short-term, VIP prisoners. And as Paul closes his letter to Timothy, he issues
a plea for his friend to come to Rome to see him before winter. It is possible
that Paul sensed that this was possibly the end of his ministry and his life.
We have no idea if Timothy made it
to visit Paul one more time, but we can be sure that Timothy would have done
his best to reach the apostle before winter. Later, in the same year as the "Great
Fire of Rome," both Paul and Peter were executed, possibly on the same
day. Peter was crucified, and legend holds that he was crucified upside down
because he did not want to suffer the same fate as his Savior. Paul was a Roman
citizen, and as a result, could not be crucified; that would have been against
the law. Instead, Paul was beheaded.
Since the Middle Ages, Mamertine
prison has been used as a Christian place of worship and today houses two
congregations, one in an upper area and one in a lower chapel. And the cross in
the lower Chapel is upside down in acknowledging that this was the place where
Peter and Paul spent the last days of their lives.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 1
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