Paul, Silas and Timothy were on quite the odyssey. “Forbidden by the Holy Spirit,” they were somehow unable to preach the Good News in the “province of Asia,” or modern-day southern Turkey. Okay, let’s just move a little further north into Bithynia. But “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” So finally there they were on the Aegean coast in Troas. What now?
Remember that Paul and Timothy were Asians. This land was their home. It was familiar. Any military commander can tell you that to win the battle, you need two things: the element of surprise, and an accurate knowledge of the land on which you’re fighting. They knew this land. Yet circumstances, or perhaps some inner conviction, were frustrating their best laid plans. And here they were on the Asian coast with nowhere to go.
That is, until Paul, perhaps looking out on that expanse of water, heard a voice from the other side: “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Yes, there was Macedonia, on the other side of the Aegean, in northern Greece, on the continent of Europe.
The distance between the two continents was more than the Aegean Sea. For these men of the East, the psychological barrier was even greater. They knew no one in Europe. They had no knowledge of the land. They were the ones likely to be surprised. And yet, they obeyed the vision. Sure enough, when they reached the Philippi, they couldn’t find the familiar town synagogue where they always preached first. Somehow they found a place by the river, which seemed to serve as the “place of prayer” for the few Jews and Gentile God-fearers there. But sure enough, the person who needed their help, and who would become their helper, was there – Lydia. Perhaps it was her prayer that reached Paul in Troas.
I have plans and dreams for what this Parish might be. So do you all. Some of those plans may take off like gangbusters. Others may fall flat, “forbidden by the Holy Spirit.” We all need to cultivate that life of common prayer, where in the combination of dialogue and silence we may hear a still small voice rising in our hearts saying, “Come over here and help us.” May we all have the grace to hear that cry for help.
2 comments:
I agree with the comment of yesterday. I like that you added the link to the Scripture. I also wanted to comment on yesterday's blog. Barnabas is one of my favorite people in the Bible. I wonder what his ministry was like after he left Paul? Would we have had the second gospel if he hadn't stood up for John Mark and took him on his missionary journeys? I wish his story could have been recorded. He was a person of great character. One more thing, I like that you have added pictures to some of the blogs. Keep up the good work. I'm sure that there are a lot of us out there enjoying your blogs, even if we can't always think of something to comment on them.
You can read a little more about Barnabas, the "Son of Encouragement" at http://tinyurl.com/muhbd8
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