Day 8 – The Church, the Cross, & the Hope of Resurrection

This morning we entered Vatican City, walking through one of the most vast and awe-inspiring collections of art and history in the world. The halls of the Vatican Museum tell the story of faith, empire, and humanity across the centuries, from the first century through the Middle Ages and into the modern day.

To around St. Peter’s Basilica is to feel the weight of glory and history all at once. It is a breathtaking and sobering spectacle of marble and mosaic that provokes deep reflection about the church’s journey: where it began, how it grew, and at times how it drifted.

Standing outside the Vatican, our group reflected on both the triumphs and the missteps of church history. Through all of it, the glory and the grime, the beauty and the brokenness. Yet, one promise still stands:

“I will build my church,” said the Carpenter from Nazareth.

Even through scandal and empire, through marble and mistake, Jesus keeps His word. The gospel has not stopped. It continues to move forward quietly, steadily, and redemptively. Today, we were reminded not of the church’s power, but of the Savior’s love, the kind of love that sparks not monuments of dominance, but movements of grace. And we were reminded of our role in that unfolding story.

After another incredible lunch of Italian pasta (because what’s a day in Rome without it?), we made our way underground to the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, a labyrinth of tunnels holding the resting places of more than 100,000 early Christians. Here lie the bones of martyrs and merchants, nobles and nameless believers, all buried outside the city walls, awaiting the resurrection.

It was a sobering and sacred space. Here we remembered that our hope as believers is not built on success, comfort, or control, but on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “We do not grieve like those who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:12-18). And to the Corinthians, he declared, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.” (1 Corinthians 15:15-20).

But Christ has been raised. And because of that:

There is forgiveness.

There is restoration.

There is hope.

There is courage.

It was that same resurrection hope that empowered the apostles, most of whom faced martyrdom with faith and joy. Their stories remind us that the road of faith is one of surrender, and that courage is born from resurrection confidence.

From the catacombs, we made our way to the Via Appia, one of the oldest and most famous Roman roads, dating back to the 4th century BC. On this road, countless Jesus followers traveled out from Rome to the world. As we walked that same ancient path, we paused together to reflect on all we’ve seen and learned throughout this journey, from Philippi to Corinth, from Athens to Rome, from one road to another.

Our journey began on the Via Egnatia and ended on the Via Appia. From one forum to another, from one prison to another, the story of Paul became the story of us: the gospel still echoing on, still being carried forward on the feet of ordinary people made extraordinary by grace.

As we closed in reflection, we prayed Paul’s words from Colossians 4:3–4:

“Pray that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ… Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

May that be our prayer too. That we would live lives open to the Spirit’s leading, bold to proclaim His Word, and faithful to walk the road before us, the road that began with a cross and ends in resurrection.

Until the gospel echoes through every road,

Jerrell