AWAIT!

Perhaps the word comes from an old Latin phrase cata tumbas, “among the tombs.” In any case, they are basically underground tombs. I’m standing at the entrance to one of them, the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, on the Appian Way, in the outskirts of Rome. Supposedly Peter and Paul, among others, were buried here.

There are over fifty of them in and around Rome, dating as far back as the 2nd century. Pagans were into cremation in those days, while Christians preferred to be buried, perhaps with an eye towards resurrection when Christ comes for his own.

For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, …
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thessalonians 4:16

(This phenomenon does not seem to be restricted to the buried dead.)

So you have burial-fancying Jesus-followers. Now take shortage of land, combine it with the relative unpopularity of Christians, and the availability of soft volcanic rock under Rome, and you get these secret burial places tunneled underground. A stunning 375 miles of tomb-lined tunnels, as many as five layers/levels deep.
Bodies were simply wrapped in linen, placed in stone sarcophagi, and lined up in niches in the walls of tunnels. Apparently, the survivors figured Christ’s return would happen pretty soon, so there was no real interest in embalming the remains.

Pretty soon, they thought. And we’re still waiting.

For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also we eagerly wait for
a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20

A promise that Jesus made. A promise that He will keep.

“Do not let your heart be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in Me. …
I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and
receive you to Myself,
that where I am,
there you may be also.”
John 14:1–3

Popular legend has it that these catacombs were hideouts for the early Christians. Probably untrue. You see, by the second century, the metropolis of Rome was a bustling place with over a million people. The Christians who formed about 1% of that crowd did not need to secrete themselves in underground caverns; they could hide in plain view, in complete anonymity, as they blended into obscurity with the hordes in the city.

Then, in 380, under the Emperor Constantine, Christianity became officially recognized as the state religion of the Roman Empire. But folks still kept burying their deceased in the catacombs, to keep the latter close to the long-gone martyrs. I’m not sure what good that would do come resurrection time. Anyhow, that practice slowly fell off, and the dead were consigned to standard church cemeteries. The catacombs, in time, became places of pilgrimage.

Not a bad concept, remembering the dead, the ones who have gone on, those who have left legacies, those faithful ones who have pointed us to Christ.

Remember those who led you,
who spoke the word of God to you;
and considering
the result of their conduct,
imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7

But it’s even more profitable to “remember” the future, that Christ is coming again. For us. Soon!

“Behold, I am coming quickly,
and My reward is with Me.”
Revelation 22:12

And there is a special reward for those who have waited eagerly.

In the future there is laid up for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day;
and not only to me, but also to all
who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!