Our model for community wellbeing has to be as diverse and as extensive as the good news Jesus preached.
The Catechism clearly states: “As Catholics, we commit ourselves to the Christian faith expressed in Scripture and Tradition, and our faith is unequivocal: racism is a sin. There is no grey area here. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). Racism is a rejection of the Gospel that places us at odds with God who created all of us equal in dignity and saved each of us by the Blood of his Son. Catholicism not only teaches that personal and structural racism is “incompatible with God’s design,” it also commands us to work for its eradication.” (CCC §1935).
When Christ commissioned his disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) he intended the message of his reconciling ministry, death and resurrection for all peoples, times and places. The word that came to summarise this reality was the Greek word ‘Katholikos’ – Catholic – meaning universal.
Our model for community wellbeing has to be as diverse as the disciples Jesus called and the places they were sent, as varied as the parables he taught, as extensive as the good news Jesus preached. It is an ongoing encouragement for us today that the early Church was this diverse in her make-up of believers and in her geographical spread. As the Letter of James tells us – God shows no partiality in what he has created.
Fr Maximino Cerezo Barredo, CMF – a Spanish priest and painter, has devoted his ministry to promoting community cohesion. Through his religious art he highlights oppression and injustice alongside the need for reconciliation and salvation. He locates Christ’s suffering and resurrection at the centre of our fragility and struggles – to inspire us with hope amid despair. This solidarity is powerfully portrayed in his many murals such as: “They Carry the Cross” in the Catedral de la Prelatura de São Félix do Araguaia, and “At the Ecological Dinner in the Kingdom.” In the first mural, Christ is not the only person carrying a cross. A line of modern men, women and a child carry a large cross from which Jesus is rising as he ascends to heaven. This is not just the fight for justice or walking with those in need from different backgrounds, jobs and political affiliations, it is the realisation of the kingdom of God. This kingdom-flourishing is central to the second mural in which Christ sits with a group of 12 disciples, including women and a child, to eat in fellowship and harmony amidst all of nature.
Acts 11:19-26 describes the initial spread of the Gospel beyond the Jewish communities, to the non-Jews in Antioch. After Stephen’s death and the ensuing persecution, believers were scattered as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch, Cyrene, and Africa. In recognising God’s grace in Antioch, Barnabas encouraged the believers and sought out Paul living in Tarsus to join him in ministry in Antioch. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians.” (Acts 11:26). This turning point in the book of Acts, highlights the Christian faith’s unique identity and expansion beyond its Jewish origins, and the establishment of Antioch as a major centre for Gentile mission.
Acts 13 continues with this remarkable diversity of early Christian communities. The church now established in Antioch included leaders of different ethnicities and status, including slaves and aristocrats. This multi-racial church of Syrian Antioch, where for the first time Jewish and Gentile Christians worshipped God together equally, is clear from the names of its leaders, teachers and prophets recorded in Acts 13:1‑2.
“Barnabas” – wealthy Cypriot‑born Jewish Levite sold his own land and contributed the
proceeds to the apostles;
“Simeon, called Niger” – probably a black African proselyte to Judaism;
“Lucius of Cyrene” – probably a Greco‑Roman from North Africa;
“Manaen, brought up with Herod the Tetrarch” – a Hellenised Jewish aristocrat;
“Saul” – a comparatively poor Tarsus‑born Jew, with the Greco-Roman name Paul, who
despite his education in Jerusalem supported himself as a manual worker making tents.
Church leaders quickly emerged outside of Palestine yet fluent in Jewish customs and in Greek and Aramaic. They provided significant cross-cultural skills, experience and wisdom reflecting the cosmopolitan, inclusive nature of Antioch. This diversity also indicates the mobility of the early Church. Her leaders could approach any part of this city to promote Christ with a united voice. Simeon spoke to those of colour; Saul debated effectively in the synagogues; Manaen handled the wealthy politicians; Lucius and Barnabas attend to the newcomers. This dynamic team also prevented some of the racial divisions which had already challenged the young church of Jerusalem in Acts 6:1.
Antioch was a large city, with nearly half-a-million people and a rich mix of cultures and
ethnicities. It was first constructed with a dividing wall to keep Syrians and Greeks apart. By the time Luke was writing, at least 18 different ethnic groups were living within the city’s boundaries. Groups often kept to their own communities, yet the church was able to unite her followers in a shared belief in Christ, regardless of their origins and social status. Both the Church in Antioch and Cerezo Barredo’s art of breaking down barriers, model a global church that values community cohesion in God’s name. Each invites us to celebrate our social and ethnic diversities as the means to express the reconciling work of Christ still effective among us, and through us, to the world.
We are called to live in communion with each other without reserve or prejudice
