going new places

Good morning friends,
Today's reading is interesting, first because of the direct guidance about travel that Paul experiences. The text doesn't give any reason why they were "forbidden" by God to preach in Asia, but the vision of the Macedonian man is a key image for missionaries everywhere. The other part of this passage that intrigues me is that in Philippi, instead of going to a synagogue on the Sabbath like he usually does, Paul goes outside the city to a place he thinks people might pray. I see this as a progression in the ministry to the gentiles; Paul isn't just looking for gentiles who already worship God. It's also a reminder that if we want to reach people, we need to go where they are, not just where we are most comfortable.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 16:6-15

6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; ⁸so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. ⁹During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ ¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

11 We 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 worshipper 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.

a new empire in the picture

Good morning friends,
The next few readings take us out of the Bible we know, but into an important historical time for our faith. After the return of Judah from exile (late 6th century BCE) the Greek city states gained strength. As with other times in Jewish history, much of the fate of Israel Palestine was determined by outside empires. In this case, the Greek civilization had been in conflict with Persia for some time. In 335 BCE, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon and general of the Greek forces, invaded Persia, eventually conquering it. At that point Greece ruled Judah along with the surrounding area.

Alexander tried to unify his giant empire through tolerance and the spread of Greek culture. He left his subject peoples free in most ways but wanted Greek culture to provide a common language. Assimilation was a threat to Jewish culture and faith, because it came with polytheism. In the Jewish community there were different responses. Regardless, it was a fairly humane occupation during Alexander's reign and immediately afterwards. Jews were free to worship God and life was manageable. Later rulers would be harsher, eventually leading to a Jewish revolution. Our readings today and the next couple of days come from the Book of Maccabees. This book (actually 4 books) was written in the second of third century BCE and tell the story of oppression and rebellion by Jewish leaders. Protestants generally do not consider these books as part of the Bible; Catholics and some Episcopalians do. The term for this book and several others is the Apocrypha. At the very least, it gives insight into history that is important for us. Our reading starts with Alexander the Great.

God bless,
Sam

1 Maccabees 1:1-15

After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated King Darius of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. (He had previously become king of Greece.) ²He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. ³He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he was exalted, and his heart was lifted up. ⁴He gathered a very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, and princes, and they became tributary to him. 

5 After this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying. ⁶So he summoned his most honoured officers, who had been brought up with him from youth, and divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive. ⁷And after Alexander had reigned for twelve years, he died. 8 Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place. ⁹They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their descendants after them for many years; and they caused many evils on the earth.

10 From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

11 In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, ‘Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.’ ¹²This proposal pleased them, ¹³and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. ¹⁴So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, ¹⁵and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.