The Explorer - Helena

CA. 248-CA. 327

The Holy Land had been under Roman rule for nearly four centuries, but the Roman authorities didn’t care much about the events that made it holy. Several Jewish rebellions had sprung up there before being crushed by Rome’s military might. And then there was this Jesus movement that had started there—but it had been persecuted by Rome almost from its beginning.

Yet now things were different. The new emperor, Constantine, was a Christian, and he made Christianity the official religion of the realm. His mother, Helena, held unusual power for a queen mum, and she took on the challenge of restoring the holy sites of Christianity. This meant travel and research and some excavation, an impressive pursuit for a woman reportedly in her seventies.

The results were also impressive: the building of churches at the site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, resurrection in Jerusalem, and elsewhere. She’s also credited with finding holy artifacts, including pieces of the cross. All sorts of legends surround her regarding the magical power of this “true cross.” (Apparently there were many fake pieces, but supposedly only the pieces of the true cross could heal people.)

If you have difficulty with this, good. The second commandment forbids the worship of any “graven image” (Exodus 20:4, KJV). God knew that we humans like to trust in material things, and indeed many religions throughout history have granted divine power to temples and statues and other things. But history shows that Christians aren’t immune from this temptation either. We can applaud Helena’s efforts to honor the origins of Christianity, but we must remember that God alone deserves our worship, not the sites and trinkets of our faith.

Modern-day believers might take a challenge from this as well. What do we consider holy? The church building, or the worship that goes on there? The leather-bound Bible on the shelf, or the words inside it? The way things have always been done, or the way God wants us to serve him today?

You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

Exodus 20:3-5