travel and proclamation

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's travels bring Paul and his companions to Philippi, where they spend some time preaching the good news. You may notice that the narrator's voice has changed. Most of Acts is written in third person, talking about how "they" did this or that to spread the message. Today's passage is all in first person plural: "We remained in the city for some days." The switch happened suddenly in the passage from yesterday, but there's nothing in the story to tell us why. We know Paul was traveling with Silas and Timothy, but neither one of them was thought to have anything to do with the writing of Acts. Instead Acts was written by Luke, who has up 'til now told everything from a distance. Some believe that Luke must have also joined the group at this point, but he doesn't say so clearly. There are several sections of Acts that are told this way, but each time the voice changes abruptly and then changes back to third person just as quickly.

More importantly we see how Paul and his companions worked in Philippi. They went to a place of prayer to share their message, probably because they might expect to be well received there. In this case their message takes root with a woman named Lydia who invites the travelers to stay with her family while they are in Philippi. We see that it is God's work to open her heart to hear the word eagerly, and we pray now and each time we come to scripture that God would open our hearts to hear the word eagerly.
weekend blessings,
Sam

Acts 16:11-18
11We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. 13On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.

16One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” 18She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.