Last post until we get home

We have had an amazing adventure, with only two minor hiccups...both at international airports. In Istanbul, Pastor Dave's IPhone went missing. Then in Frankfurt, his IPad disappeared. The IPad is what we were using to update our blog. It disappeared before we could upload two posts we had written about our driving through Greece and our amazing discoveries made at the ancient site of Phillipi, where Paul baptized Lydia and was imprisoned with his companions. We are now in Germany, in Wittenberg, where Martin Luther lived, taught and sparked the Reformation. Yesterday morning, we worshipped in the church in which Luther and Melancthon preached regularly. We met several of our pastor counterparts from Germany after worship. Today we are touring Luthers home and Melancthons museum. Tomorrow we drive to Menden to visit family friends for a couple of days (their daughter, Ellen, lived with us for 6 months and attended Coronado High School. She was the maid of honor at Jessica and Cades wedding). THIS IS OUR LAST BLOG due to the loss of our IPad. We will update our stories when we get home later this week.

Corinth, Greece

This is a significant week for justice in the world. As the United States and several if its allies consider a response to the chemical attacks of the Syrian regime on its own people, we are aware of significant events in the journey for human and civil rights in the United States. Monday, August 26th, marked a national day of voting rights for women. In 2020, the United States will celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage on August 26th. Many people may say, "so what?" But, do you know how precious this right is for American women AND FOR PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE YET TO ACHIEVE IT? Do you know that Pastor Marta votes in every election after having done a report on women's suffrage for her 8th grade social studies class? Today also marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Our son, Joshua, was baptized 30 years ago today and our daughter, Jessica, was baptized 25 years ago today. The Christian gospel is about freedom for all people...not only religious freedom, but also justice, peace, and mercy for God's children around the world. Today, we give thanks to God that we were raised by Christian parents who loved us enough to point us to Jesus Christ, the true liberator of humanity.

Today, we drove about 80 kilometers to Corinth. (Picture us having the nerve to drive a manual transmission rental car through the streets of Athens where every traffic sign is in Greek letters and find our way south to Corinth...tomorrow we are going to do the same thing, driving north to Thessaloniki.) 

We visited Ancient Corinth where St. Paul set up shop with Priscilla and Aquila, a couple who were recent transplants to Corinth from Rome because of the persecution of Jews under the Roman Emperor Claudius (we consider them the first husband-and-wife clergy couple identified in the New Testament). We don' t know if they had already become Christians before arriving in Corinth, but it is obvious from scripture that Paul shared genuine affection with them. The three of them earned a living through tent making. 

When St. Paul first visited in 50/51 A.D., Corinth had become the capitol of the Roman province of Achaea. It was here, in Corinth, that Paul held discussions in the synagogue Sabbath by Sabbath, trying to convince Jews and Gentiles that Jesus was the Messiah. Interestingly, Crispus, the president of the local synagogue became a Christian (see Acts 18:2-11). Paul remained at Corinth for 18 months. At one point, he was brought before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia in the Bema (public square where important public business was conducted through speeches). Before Paul could speak in his own defense, Gallio dismissed the case as quarreling between Jews. You can read about the situation in Acts 18:12-18. We actually got to stand on the ruins of this Bema in the central market place of ancient Corinth. One of the pictures highlighted for this day shows the plaque commemorating the spot. Paul left Corinth by the port of Cenchreae, near the present-day village of Kechries. There he cut off his hair as an offering to God, in accordance with a Jewish custom. At Cenchreae, a Christian community grew up at an early date, with a woman named Phoebe as its minister (Romans 16:1-2).

Corinth was a major crossroads city. Imagine craftsmen, traders and sailors crossing through this area. They had money to spend...and they spent it visiting the temple prostitutes of Aphrodite. Yes, she had a major "temple" of worship here. It was a place of much drinking, loose living, and questionable morals. Probably a lot like Las Vegas. Interesting that Paul chose to start a church here. He hung here for 18 months the first time and came back two more times during his journeys. He wrote two letters to the Christians in Corinth that got into the New Testament. I guess if Paul could witness in Corinth, then what we are doing together in Vegas and Henderson is a piece of cake...especially as the Holy Spirit is behind it.

During the course of his third missionary journey, while he was at Ephesus in 55 A.D., Paul was informed that the church at Corinth was troubled by various problems and disputes. As a result, he sent with Timothy his First Epistle to the Corinthians. Also, while he was here in Corinth, he penned his Epistle to the Christians in Phillippi, another ancient site in northern Greece we hope to see before our pilgrimage ends. There is much more to share about Paul and Corinth, but this will have to do for now!

After visiting Ancient Corinth, we drove UP...and I do mean UP the mountain to Akrokorinthos, a fortified citadel of ancient and medieval cities. The site was occupied continuously from the Neolithic period to the Middle Ages. It was a challenge for the legs to climb it, but well worth the effort for the panoramic view of greater Corinth and the surrounding area of Greece.

Our final stop was en route back to Athens. A canal was dug at the end of the 19th century linking the Mediterranean Sea with the same sea, but shaving lots of miles off of sailing around the peninsula. (In Paul's day boats were moved across the short land mass dividing the sea by rolling them across logs.) This phenomenal engineering feat allows numerous ships and boats to avoid the long journey around the Peloppeniasn peninsula. It's a wonder to behold!

Athens Greece and the Apostle Paul

Athens, Greece...a city were people have lived for 7,000 years...crowded, old, quaint, and lots of hospitality.  Greek food is wonderful and people sit for hours in outdoor cafes drinking coffee, chatting and enjoying the day.   Today we spent several hours hiking up and down the Acropolis with its temple to Athena and the Parthenon. It's easy to see why the Acropolis became the center of life, especially between 600 BC and 100 AD.  It's on a hill that would have been easily defensible from all sides.  This was the place of philosophers and wisdom, boasting such greats as Socrates and Euripides.  From a Christian perspective, it features big in Paul's story..."Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the market place every day with those who chanced to be there." (Acts 17:16-17 RSV)Athens was the capital of Attica, a region of Greece in ancient times. It was here that the apostle Paul found himself on one of his missionary journeys.Paul discovered that the city was quite idolatrous, but with a great altar to the "unknown God." He then set about to make known to the philosophical "thinkers" of the city the True God - with opposition, and some success."Some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers met him. And some said, "What would this babbler say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities" - because he preached Jesus and the resurrection." (Acts 17:18 RSV)  They apparently caught Paul on one of his better days. Paul had a rather intense personality, and would usually have risen to being called a "babbler" with a response that the name-caller would not have soon forgotten. This day however, he remained (no doubt with the help of God's Holy Spirit) calm and collected. "And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus [also known as Mars Hill ,  saying,

"May we know what this new teaching is which you present? For you bring some strange things to our ears; we wish to know therefore what these things mean." Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new." (Acts 17:19-21 RSV)  With quiet respect, Paul managed to get them to listen:  "So Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And He made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find him. Yet He is not far from each one of us, for 'In Him we live and move and have our being'" (Acts 17:22-28 RSV)  Paul then referred to some of their own writers who managed to realize that the Creator exists:  "as even some of your poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:28-31 RSV)  His strategy of calm logic to present the truth of God began to sow the seeds of success:"Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, "We will hear you again about this." So Paul went out from among them. But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them." (Acts 17:32-34 RSV)

The market place and Mars hill are right at the bad of the Acropolis...and we were literally able to walk through the ruins of a complex city dating from this time.  There is an ancient church dedicated to the apostles near where Paul preached and Dionysius features big in the story of the Christians of Athens. We walked up St. Paul street to get to the Acropolis. Old town Athens, with its many narrow streets, surrounding the Acropolis, are filled with lots of quaint restaurants and gathering places. In this place, people live in apartments that literally blend the ancient with the newer...though nothing is as new as we have in Las Vegas and Henderson. We are continually reminded, as New song celebrates its 10th anniversary, that we need to be patient and see the ministry from the perspective of God's long haul.

Istanbul, Turkey

The Lord's Day - August 25

Today, we awoke to the Port of Istanbul in Turkey. Istanbul is the third largest city in Europe with a population of 15 million people. It is actually a city that lies on two continents, Europe and Asia, divided by the Bosphorus River. Since the total population of Turkey is 17 million people, this means that the vast majority of Turkey's people live in and around this metropolis. Constantinople became the eastern Capitol (instead of Ephesus) of the Roman Empire under Constantine. 

Today we took a tour which began with a visit to Chora Museum, which means "countryside" in Old Greek. It received its name because its location was originally outside the walls of the city. It is a church that was originally built on its site along with a monastery by Emperor Justinian I (527-565). Its mosaics and frescoes are known as a monument to Byzantine art. Throughout the narthex, there are a series of mosaics about the life of Mary the mother of Jesus. And another series about Jesus' life and miracles graces the outer narthex (see the miracle at the wedding of Cana picture below). There is also a spectacular fresco of Jesus breaking the gates of hell and rescuing Adam and Eve. Fortunately, archeologists have been able to uncover a substantial number of the mosaics, because of the plaster that was placed over them to hide them when Turkey became Muslim under the Ottoman Empire. After the bus trip to Chora, we traveled to the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul. It is adjacent to the famed Blue Mosque (pictured below). 

After Constantine I (306-337 A.D.) proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of Byzantium (eastern section of the Roman Empire) in 330, many churches began to be built. The first church built by Constantius II (337-361 AD) was inaugurated in 360 AD. It was known as "Great Church" or "Megalo Ecclesia." It stood for only 44 years and was burned in riots when the Empress Aelia Eudoxia, wife of Emperor Arcadius, attempted to have a statue of herself put in front of the church to the objections of John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople. A second church was completed at the age of Theodosius II (408-450 AD) and was inaugurated on October 10, 415. Beginning from the 5th century, the name "Hagia Sophia," meaning "holy wisdom" or "Holy Spirit," has been associated with this church. Under the rule of Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565), an intense feud erupted in the Hippodrome beside Hagia Sophia, resulting in a fire that spread out to the entire building and burned it down again! After the suppression of the rebellion, Emperor Justinian undertook the construction of the third church which was dedicated on December 27, 537. He had material brought from all over the Empire, including the Hellenistic columns from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The Hagia Sophia suffered a series of misfortunes, both human-made and caused by natural disasters. During the era of the Emperor Andronicus II (1282-1328), it was restored. When the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror ordered the immediate clean-up of the church and Hagia Sophia was converted into a Mosque. It remained so until 1923 when Turkey became a republic after World War I. Since then, it has been preserved as a religious museum.

Our last stop was to the Spice Market in Istanbul! Wow...what a site and what a scene! We passed pet stores where you scoop the amount of chow you want from huge bins. There are many spice stores with large platters of fresh spices causing an amazing aroma to fill the area. It was fun to experiences the hospitality of the Turks who constantly offer you apple tea and other gestures of hospitality. Our guide was a soon-to-be retiring college professor of Turkish language history. She has been trying to retire for several years, but the university cannot find someone with her expertise to replace her! She told us that only 15 percent of the people of Turkey attend a public university, which makes it a great privilege to have a college education. Tomorrow, we disembark from the boat and fly to Athens to continue our sabbatical journey. More in a few days....

Mykonos, Greece

Today is Friday, the 23rd of August and we are on the Greek island of Mykonos. It is a beautiful desert island on which every dwelling is painted white. It is a vacation destination for many Europeans. Nothing overly religious in terms of its significance other than that many homes seem to have built their own separate chapel or shrine on their property. We spent the day at the beach reading, sunning, and blogging, all with a great bottle of Greek wine.

Ephesus part three

Ephesus is also where Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived out her last years. She and Jesus' youngest disciple, John came here. Mary's home has been rebuilt by Vatican archeologists. The original foundation is of much darker stone. It is a simple stone structure with a small bedroom and a central room, which now holds an altar and shrine. It is at the top of the hill to the left of Ephesus facing the port and is a major Catholic pilgrimage spot...in fact, the new pope is scheduled to visit here in the fall. A unique feature of the area is a natural spring, with "holy" water one can drink even today and a large wall near the water where people have tied thousands of prayers in every language over the years. We lit a candle and said a prayer for New Song and our family there. Now..to John. John was the only disciple who died a natural death...in Ephesus. The church of Saint John, which now is just ruins, was the third largest church in the world. It is said that John wrote his gospel from here about the year 90 AD. While scholars surmise a different John was imprisoned on the Greek island of Patmos, tradition claims this was the same John who wrote Revelation. It is an easy claim to make when you realize that the letters written to the churches, some of whom were lukewarm and others who were on fire or cold all exist within 15 to 20 miles from here. In fact, when Ephesus closed down, most of the Christians moved a few miles north to Smyrna, one of the seven cities mentioned in the book of Revelations. NEEDLESS TO SAY, Scripture comes alive when one makes such a pilgrimage...which is why we hope to lead a tour for interested New Songers next summer.

Ephesus part two

Ephesus was amazing to behold! It's heyday was from about 2000 BC to about 600 AD and it features big in the story of the Apostles Paul and John. It has been under excavation for about 60 years and only about ten percent has been uncovered. Picture an important coast city on the west coast of Turkey. At the time of Jesus, under Roman occupation, it was a chief port of commerce and travel uniting Africa and the Middle East with Greece and Europe. Scripture tells us, Acts 19, Paul took the overland route through Turkey to get here. Using the names of present day countries, he traveled from Jerusalem, through Syria, into Turkey, all the way to the west coast on his second missionary journey. He stayed in Ephesus for three years. The Jewish synagogue and market place is where he preached from about 57 to 60 and it is right in the center of the city. At about 100, the synagogue was razed and a major library that held over 1200 scrolls and books was built. Ephesus was known for the temple and worship of Diana. Today, only one pillar remains of this huge complex...from 300, when Christianity became the religion of the empire, stones from pagan temples were used to build churches. You may recall Paul had a run in with a local merchant in the market place who sold silver shrines in honor of Diana. We could imagine Demetrius' store being set up in the stalls at the edge of the central market area. It seems Paul's preaching had become so effective, that sales of the shrines had plummeted. The vendor ultimately managed to force Paul to move on. But before that, he had helped 12 men experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us Paul was able to do amazing miracles here and that even pieces of his clothing brought healing. Tradition says Paul also wrote a number of his letters from here to churches he began on his first missionary trip. Back to the archeology...the ancient city lost its prominence and was pretty much abandoned as the port silted up and closed (the Mediterranean Sea is now about four miles away) and after a major earthquake. The city rivals Pompei in terms of what has been uncovered...with major streets, lots of residences, temples and bathhouses now revealed. We viewed a major dig of several patrician homes on a hillside with amazing mosaics and plumbing all from the first century. Ephesus was tucked between two low hills with the mouth opening to the harbor. It was a cosmopolitan crossroads at the center of the world at that time...NOW GO ONTO THE NEXT BLOG TO DISCOVER WHAT WAS A TOTALLY NEW LEARNING FOR US AS PASTORS WHO HAD READ ABOUT EPHESUS FOR YEARS...