Acts 23: what to do when 40 men want to kill you

I am trying to think of the last time 40 people promised to not eat or drink before killing me.

And I am drawing a blank. Either my enemies hate me too little or love food and drink too much. So against the day when "those who seek to kill you will believe they are doing God a favor," I look at what Paul does in this situation:

1) He pays attention to the warning signs. Paul's sister's son gets wind of the plot and tells Uncle Paul right away.

2) He doesn't turn and run. That's why thugs talk so big and bad - they want us to lose heart and do their work for them. The trick is to realize they are not so tough.

3) He takes prudent, positive action. Like a spiritual martial artist, he turns their strength into a weakness. Paul goes to the Roman authorities (who are probably bending over backwards to help him after their near-mistake of flogging the back of a citizen) and has his nephew tell them about the Jewish "dagger-men" (see last chapter). As is often the case with big-talking activists and other bullies, the 40 Assassins cave when resisted with strength and determination. These fools risked their dignity to gain Paul's death. They lost on both counts. Glory, glory hallelujah, His truth is marching on.

Acts 22: When in Rome, do as the Romans do

The popular cliche "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" was coined by St. Ambrose, a fourth-century bishop of Milan. It's a catchy little tune that goes something like this: si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sicut ibi (“if you were in Rome, live in the Roman way; if you are elsewhere, live as they do there”). We see Paul give a virtuoso performance in Acts 22.

Centuries later God would send an Englishman (Patrick) to evangelize Ireland. Thanks to the wonders of cinematic time-travel, I know that many, many centuries from now, somewhere on the Final Frontier, Mr. Spock will refer to another influential cross-cultural leader: "the Klingons have a saying, 'only Nixon could go to China.'" Which is more unbelievable, the blue-painted druids preserving Roman Christianity in the Dark Ages, the Chinese outpacing the Americans in capitalism or the Gentiles outpacing the Jews in following the God of Israel? Truly God is great. With Him, all things are possible. Yesterday Bishop Salvatore Matano spoke to the Rice graduates about believing God for the impossible. It was a "good word" for the adults listening, too, and would have received a hearty "amen" from Paul, I am sure.

At the end of Chapter 21, Paul has returned to Jerusalem and (predictably ) is accosted by an angry Jewish mob. The Roman officer "protecting" him interrogates him about being the leader of a specific band of terrorists (literally, "dagger-men" or asassins) also mentioned by the historian Josephus. Paul is between the rock(s) of a lynch mob and the hard place of suspicious Roman soldiers.

Paul softens the Roman first by mentioning (in Greek) his Roman citizenship and his prestigious city of origin ("no ordinary city," a term also ascribed to Athens). He then settles down the mob by giving his testimony (in Aramaic) in decidedly Jewish terms:

• "Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers" and ""was just as zealous for God as you are today...I persecuted followers of the Way.....as also the high priest and all the Council can testify."

• He refers to his Damascus protector Ananias as "a devout observer of the law;" mentions "the God of our fathers; and recalls how he "returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple."

Oh vay, what a mensch!

But the strategy falls apart when he drops the "G" word: Gentiles. Remember Jesus talking about how unbelieving Jews will receive only the Sign of Jonah? God drops a new, Gentile-evangelizing Jonah in their midst and they, well, want to throw him overboard. Sounding much like the Iranian president Ahmejinedab who wants to "erase Israel from the map," they say, "rid the earth of him, he's not fit to live!"

The Romans at first treat Paul like just another troublesome slave. Lashed between two poles with his arms and back outstretched, Paul reverts to his Greek-speaking citizen persona: "it is legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?"

Uh-oh. Some Roman has put his hobnailed boot into it now! I love the don't-look-at-me response of the centurion (sort of a high-ranking sergeant) to the Man In Charge: "what are you going to do?" What he does, of course, is let Paul go, and that right quickly.

An abbreviated version of I Cor 9:20-23 describes Paul's serious motivation for this comedy of manners, mistaken identity, and cross-cultural evangelism: "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews, to those not having the law I became like one not having the law,so as to win those not having the law. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel."

Acts 21 - the servant and his reward

 Last night, Joe won two awards at the Senior Awards Ceremony at Rice High School. He won the Drama Award for his hilarious performance at the One-Act Festival this spring and even more so for his willingness to help out in any way necessary. He's a trooper (trouper?) in the spirit of theater: do whatever needs doing because the show must go on. He also won the $500 Ellen Pomerleau Scholarship, for academic achievement and, you guessed it, service. Anyone who knows Joe know that he is always willing to help out, no matter if anyone is looking or how unrewarding the task.

In this way he reminds me of Philip, who returns to the Book of Acts for a "cameo" appearance. You may remember him as one of the Seven picked in the heady, chaotic days of the early Jerusalem church (see Acts 6). His job - oh, what status, what fun, what power! - was to divvy up the food so that the Jewish widows didn't get more than the Gentile widows and to try to make everyone happy about it! Then the Spirit promotes him to evangelize the (ewwww......) Samaritans! And after faithfully fulfilling that task (and probably getting some funny looks from the "faithful" back in Jerusalem), Philip is called by the Spirit to run panting alongside a chariot, not unlike a slave, explaining the gospel to a eunuch who is a highly ranked servant of the queen of Ethiopia. This man was the first century equivalent of a transgender, black, politician. Those enslaved to the spirit of racism, pride and religion back then (and today) would refuse to accept the position of lower status with "that kind of person". Philip was less concerned about the other fellow's identity than his own: a humble servant of Christ loving others, spreading the gospel, and obeying God. His work was blessed by the Spirit of the First and the Last.

So, what is Philip doing, about 15 years later? He is living in Caesarea and has four daughters, all unmarried, all prophets. Raising four outspoken daughters to be godly servants: now THAT'S servanthood! Four times as much of it as I have, anyway.

Lord Jesus my Servant, who forsook your lofty place and endured humiliation, separation, abuse, and torture to serve unto death both your Father and Bridegroom, I thank and bless you, and I thank and bless all of your servants, those on earth and those in the Great Cloud of Witnesses (one in particular), who have by deed and example helped bring Joe and all other Christian young people to this momentous point. Like Paul in this chapter, Joe is moving on to a new stage in his life, with its own set of new challenges and blessings. I say to this man of God, as Paul's friends said to him in vs. 14, "The Lord's will be done." For Paul, Philip, Joe and Guy, those five words contain blessings and rewards unknown, abundant, sufficient.

Acts 20: Paul, Eutychus and William Borden

This chapter highlights the tenacity and godly zeal of the Apostle Paul. His unstinting capacity to focus and work…… it is unfathomable to me. How can I say this…..he is not like me. Or, I am not like him. The Spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. In this story I am Eutychus, the tired chap who falls asleep during one of Paul’s late night sermons, tumbles out of the third story window and has to be resurrected by Paul. The poor lad is then taken home (either then or later). Paul pauses to eat and then preaches until daylight.  

I know this about myself. Working on political campaigns, I have found myself exhausted and just wanting to go home to bed. I greatly admire dedicated workers like Heather Sheppard and Vermont Right to Life’s Mary Hahn Beerworth, a pair of godly Energizer Bunnies possessing never-ending enthusiasm and energy. But I am not like them, either. Is it lack of physical stamina? Self-indulgence? Or is it just “by the grace of God I am what I am”? For the moment I suppose I will glory in my infirmities so that when blessings occur, Christ will be glorified (despite my tendency to hog the stage).

Last night, on the way home from our grief support group meeting (I am so thankful to leaders Rich and Karen Parker and for the good, patient listeners that gather there), I was thinking about Acts 20 and what do you know, Woodrow Kroll of “Back to the Bible” on 91.5 The Light began to preach on it! Well, I am no fool nor am I one to not benefit from another’s efforts – I paid attention. Dr. Kroll told of William Borden (see link for photo, full bio), the heir to the Borden dairy manufacturing fortune who brought revival to Yale University in the early 1900’s and then rejected “fame and fortune” for the mission field – only to contract meningitis and die within a year. One could argue that he “would have accomplished more” by staying home and supporting missions with his millions, preaching, etc.  But one would miss the point! William Borden wrote three statements in the back of his Bible. The first two were written during his Yale years as he grappled with family expectations, the lure of the world and the call of God:

“No Reserves. No Retreat.”

He wrote the third as he lay dying in Egypt:

“No Regrets.”

William Borden and Paul were kindred spirits. At their very foundations, they were not Kingdom Builders. Yes, their hearts burned for the Kingdom, in the spirit of John Knox who groaned “Lord, give me Scotland or I die!,” but even hotter burned their desire to say yes to Jesus. In his goodbye to the Ephesian elders, amid hugs and tears, Paul says: “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

To his mission career, William Borden could have added a fourth negative R: “No Results.” At least in the outward, human, observable sense. The eternal “Results” produced by the Holy Spirit through the witness of a person committed heart, mind, body and soul to Jesus are glorious, I suspect, and will learn one day.

There is a sister who has intensely loved Jesus and others for almost 40 years. Her dedicated, risk-taking, gracious, loving lifelong ministry has not produced the tangible results for which she had hoped. This grateful Eutychus comments to her and others the witness of Paul and William Borden: “complete the task the Lord Jesus has given you – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” In the words of songwriter Keith Green, “He’ll take care of the rest, he’s gonna do it, he’ll take care of the rest, the Devil blew it, he’ll take care of the rest!”

Acts 19: competing spirits in Ephesus

In Ephesus, Paul lays hands (v. 19:6) on disciples of John the Baptist, who then speak in tongues and prophesy.  The Spirit is dramatically proclaiming their adoption into the church he established back at Pentecost. He is saying: by my power you will speak my truth to people of different languages. My gospel will be spread throughout the world by many small people endowed with great power.

In Ephesus, Paul is good to his word to focus more on the Gentiles: after trying to speak in the synagogue but facing predictable opposition, he “had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.” Sounds like Greek to me. He’s there for two years, and God blesses so that “all the Jews and Greeks in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”

In Ephesus, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, especially when practiced by your enemies. The Seven Sons of Sceva – even their names have a sssserpenty sssound – are exorcist wannabes who make the still-common mistake of thinking that saying the right words is a substitute for being in right relationship. (“If you don’t say ‘In Jesus’ Name’ at the end your prayer won’t work.”) The demon beats them silly. A mature, well-armed human being has authority and power over scary wild beasts, which is why we are able to cage tigers and stick them in zoos. Likewise do Christians enjoy authority and power over roving, ravening demons. Non-Christians, however, are just children lost out in the jungle, at night.

In Ephesus, perhaps after seeing what happened to the seven sons, many sorcerers come to faith and burn their scrolls. This is not quite the same thing as modern book burning. One can and often does replace a book, which in any case is usually a mass-produced object of little individual worth. By contrast, the scrolls contained the sorcerer's secret words of power. It’s more like a tradesman intentionally breaking irreplaceable tools and saying “I don’t need these anymore because I’m getting out of this lousy business.”

In Ephesus, the locally-favored fertility goddess Diana/Artemis is not so different from Ceres, goddess of agriculture, whose statue sits atop the Vermont Statehouse. Neither is the greed masked as patriotism, as practiced by the Ephesian artisans guild, so different than the squalid practice of our modern day Mystery Religion known as politics. A group protecting its own financial interest paints critics as outsiders who don’t love Vermont or America or or East Frogsquat as much as the rest of us do. The mob they incite disperses only after the City Clerk echoes Gamaliel’s advice to the Sanhedrin back in Jerusalem: let this thing work itself out, don’t do anything rash.  Religious tolerance may not always be smart politics, but it's good government. And in civic terms at least, it's good religion, too.

Acts 18: Facing opposition alone

It's been a long time coming, but finally the break has come. Paul, who would give his very soul if only Israel could be saved, stands in the synagogue of Corinth, shakes out the dust from his clothing and gives up on directly evangelizing this antagonistic people group: "from now on I will go to the Gentiles". The rejection, the hatred is too much. The call of God has separated Paul from his ancestral, spiritual "mother" Israel. Hear his consolation from the Lord:

"Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. for I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."

Did the attacks stop? No. Did Paul stop? "May it never be!" Did God keep his promise to provide friends for emotional, physical, and ministry support? Yes! Aquila and Priscilla work with him making tents. Appollos and others join him in ministry.

(Parenthetical thought question: why did Paul choose this line of menial work: Well, who needs tents? Pilgrims. Travelers. People fleeing pogroms. Every one a potential broadcaster of the gospel seed "unto to the ends of the earth." As Paul would later say, "all things work together for good for those who love God and called for His purpose." There's a reason why Christians and communists alike focus on the college campus. And speaking of tentmakers: there is a brother who reads this blog who is not only a carpenter AND a tentmaker but who also lives alone on an island from which he shares his insights [dare I call them Revelations?] with the brethren. His name is not John.)

God's comfort to Paul reminds me of His comfort to Elijah, who complains in I Kings 19, "I am the only one left." God responds: thousands have not bowed to Baal; kings will abolish Baal worship; Elisha will join him in ministry. "And as the Lord spake, it came to pass....." As Father's Day and other family-related annual landmarks come and go, it is easy for me to feel like "I am the only one left." As predicted in all of the grief books, there has been a subtle but real realignment in friendships and relationships, sometimes painful to discover. Thank you to Joanne Carter for finding me a copy of "Facing Loneliness," by J. Oswald Sanders, the great Christian preacher and writer who lost his wife and was a widower for 18 years. And thank you too, to the God Who Sees for his kind intervention in the lives of my brothers Elijah and Paul as recorded in scripture and in the lives of countless brothers and sisters before and since.

I am also beginning to think of some creative ways for other unmarried Christians to spend edifying, enjoyable time together in groups, hopefully without the matchmaking awkwardness.

Acts 16: Timothy, "us," one annoying demon, and lots more

So many interesting events happen in Acts 16. Here are the highlights:

I meet Timothy, Paul's son in the faith. I have a son Timothy by adoption, and another (kind of) son in the faith Timothy. And he's a newspaper publisher - go figure! The name means "honoring God" and praise be to Him that describes both of my Timmers. The Guy Page Translation says that his mother was a Norwegian and his father was a geek. No wait, a Greek. I don't remember pledging anywhere......

I see the Spirit tugging Paul to Macedonia. First he stops him from going the wrong way, then he sends a vision of a Macedonian begging him to come. I guess even Paul needed the equivalent of an angelic tap every now and again.

I see Luke introduce "we" into the narrative. Luke has joined his story. Interesting that his first account is about Lydia, a godly woman (Luke's gospel talks more about women than any other). The second is about a demon who tells everyone that Jesus is the son of God, but repeats itself so often that Paul becomes annoyed even though the content of the preaching really can't be faulted. Repetition, bad delivery, and above all the character of the preacher will spoil even the best sermon.

I see "Paul and Silas went to jail, had no money for their bail," as we used to sing in Rescue. Their crime is depriving slaveowners of a very profitable demon. How upside down is our world, that greed can cause lead to the imprisonment of men who are trying to set the world free. But hold on: what they meant for evil God meant for good: salvation for the jailer and all his household.

I see Paul refusing vehemently the "offer" of the judges to drop all charges once he has discovered Paul is a Roman citizen. Not for his own honor, but keeping his eye on the prize of the furtherance of the gospel, Paul humiliates the magistrates by forcing them to personally escort him out of the city. It reminds me of the end of the book "Lord of the Rings," where Frodo and Sam allow the self-important "sheriffs" to accompany them back to Hobbiton, but it is pretty clear just who is leading who. Paul would allow the Holy Spirit to tell him where to minister, but woe to the human authority who tried to do likewise.