Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:3
“Let the one who is strong take care of the weak; and let the weak show due respect to the strong. Let the wealthy provide what is needed to the poor, and let the poor offer thanks to God, since He has given him someone to supply his need. Let the one who is wise show forth wisdom not through words but through good deeds.”
Clement of Rome in 1 Clement 38.2 in The Apostolic Fathers, ed. and trans. by Bart D. Ehrman (LCL 24 & 25; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003).
According to Tertullian, the Apostle Peter consecrated the ministry of Clement. Scholars also connect this bishop of Rome to the Clement mentioned by the Apostle Paul in today’s Scripture.
Regardless, Clement served as Bishop of Rome and died a martyr in A.D. 100. In my paper, I found that NT letters like Timothy and Titus called the church to honor the emperor and pray for those in authority.
When you read the bishops among to the Apostolic Fathers, Clement of Rome, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Ignatius of Antioch, the tone changes. They shift to interceding for each other to endure and doing good deeds.
I pause today, as I fly across the ocean to Amsterdam, to pray for Christians everywhere, especially those in persecuted places, to heed the words of Clement and show Christian care through good deeds.
The greatest form of evangelism, in settings hostile to Christianity, is generosity. Remember, there is no law against it and when done with love, there is no match to it.