rests on the false distinction between clergy and laity. Such a distinction, while very common among pagan religions, never did have a place in true Christianity; it certainly did not exist in the early Christian congregation. As one religious journal observed in commenting on “Layman’s Sunday”:

“Certainly in the little band of Jesus and his disciples there was no division into clergy and laity. Much as any [clergyman] would like to regard Jesus as his counterpart in the early situation, his manner, speech and mood were what we would today call ‘lay.’ And just so, the disciples who might look from here like a [newly formed] laity were really the preachers who were sent out.

“In the rest of the New Testament the word for clergy (kleros) means not a special order among the Christians but all the Christians. And the word for laity (laós) means not a recipient part of the congregation but, again, all the Christians. All are called to one service, and all are God’s people. Our distinction between clergy and laity was not known to the New Testament, so St. Paul could not have added ‘clergy and laity’ to the list of Jew and Gentile, slave and free, rich and poor, men and women who are one in Christ. Had he lived in the second century, however, he might have so expanded his list.”—The Christian Century, October 12, 1955.

This, however, does not mean that to do right Christian works one must mount the pulpit or the public platform and there preach. One can find many opportunities for bearing witness in his own home, at his place of employment, as well as when shopping or traveling. And one can always make opportunities for himself by going from house to house and by accosting strangers on street corners or in market places, all of which methods Paul and the other apostles used.—Acts 5:42; 17:17; 20:20.

Of course, to be able at all times “to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you,” we must apply ourselves to the study of God’s Word, heeding Paul’s instruction: “Do your utmost to present yourself approved to God, a workman with nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of the truth aright.” Assembling ourselves together is also essential, for both mutual instruction and co-operative effort.—1 Pet. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 10:25.

Thus we see that while Christians must do honest work and may not neglect works of charity, the works that identify them as Christians are those of ministering to the spiritual needs of the people, bearing witness to God’s name and kingdom.

Two Views of Suffering

● Pope Pius XII, speaking to five hundred physicians in the Vatican, told them, according to the New York Times of February 25, 1957: “Suffering will never be completely banished from among men.” That is one view. Another is given in the Bible—by Christ Jesus in the revelation he gave to his apostle John. Says the Catholic Confraternity translation of Apocalypse Re 21:1, 3, 4 concerning the conditions among men after Armageddon: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold the dwelling of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.’”