Sermon 14th November 2010
Today our Curate, Gill Tayleur, preaches based on the reading from Act 18: 1-11.
“Paul’s missionary trips round the Med
Were exactly just what he had said
The spread of God’s grace
Was explained in each place
And the synagogue leaders turned red.
At some towns a new church was founded
And then the whole gospel resounded
But when gross opposition
Disrupted each mission
Then outside of that town they’d be hounded!”
From the Limerick Bible, by Peter Wallis.
(In today’s episode of Paul’s “missionary trips round the Med”, they aren’t hounded out of town, we’ll come to that in a bit.)
That Bible reading we’ve just heard is headed up “In Corinth”, following on from in Athens, in Berea, in Thessalonica and so on looking back over Paul’s 2nd missionary journey. “In Corinth” is not the most exciting title; a tabloid headline would probably be more like “Gospel comes to Sin City!” Yes Sin City would be a good description of what Corinth was like in Paul’s day.
Corinth had about quarter of a million free men in it, plus up to 400,000 slaves. Add in women and children and that’s a city bigger than Birmingham. It’s 50 miles West of Athens, just where Greece is almost cut in half by two seas. There’s a little strip of land, an isthmus, less than 5 miles across, between these 2 seas, and that’s where Corinth is. So all north south traffic had to pass through Corinth, and the east west traffic did too, because to sail round the southern tip of Greece was very dangerous. With all that trade and people passing through Corinth, it was a very cosmopolitan city. And it was a very “religious” city, with at least 12 temples, one of which was the Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. It is thought there were a thousand temple prostitutes working there, who cruised the city at night. There was even a Greek verb “to Corinthianise”, which meant to practise sexual immorality. Yes this was Sin City indeed.
When Paul got to Corinth, he met a Jewish Christian couple, Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They had had to leave Rome when the Emperor Claudius expelled Jews and Jewish Christians, around AD49. (A few years later, when Claudius died and Nero became Emperor, they could go back, and we see Aquila & Priscilla were there later on from Paul’s letters.)
Aquila and Priscilla were tent makers like Paul was, and they struck up a friendship that was to last, as well as a working partnership. It may surprise us to hear that Paul earned his living as a tent maker, but in those days all boys were taught a manual trade regardless of how rich or poor they were. And rabbis were expected to earn their living from a trade.
Paul teamed up with Aquila and Priscilla in tent making. Tent making probably meant sewing together goat skins, or woven goat hair, into tents, but also all sorts of leather work. It was a skill Paul could use as he travelled around.
So Paul lived with Aquila and Priscilla, worked with them all week, and on the Sabbath he did what he always did when he got to a new place. He went to the synagogue and preached to the Jews about Jesus. We aren’t told here in Acts 18 what Paul preached in Corinth, but in his later letter to the Corinthian church, in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, he said “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing else while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Paul preached “Jesus Christ and him crucified”. He told them that Jesus was their long awaited Christ, the one they were waiting for to set them free. And Jesus had done this in a very unexpected way. He set them free, not free on the outside, free from Roman rule, but free on the inside, free from their sin, their self centredness, free to know and love God.
Jesus was born to die, for the people’s sins, dying in their place, that they might be forgiven and live a new life. And Paul challenged people to believe in this Jesus, and his death on the cross for them, and called them to repent or turn around from their sins, to turn to God, and start a new life as followers of Jesus.
This was the message Paul preached in the synagogue, trying to persuade them, week in week out. After a while, Silas and Timothy caught up with him from Macedonia, and it’s thought they brought a financial gift from the churches there, because Paul was able to stop tent making and gave his whole time to preaching.
But, as we know had happened in other places Paul visited, the Jews rejected the message about Jesus and Paul turned to the Gentiles, the non Jews. Paul made it very clear to the Jews that he had fulfilled his responsibility to bring them the good news about Jesus, and when they opposed him and his message, that was their responsibility. And the consequences would be their responsibility, not his. He even shook the dust from his clothes to show how serious he was about it.
So where does Paul go? Next door! To the house of a man called Titius Justus, a Gentile who attended the synagogue and became a Christian. And then a synagogue leader became a Christian too, and joined them. Next door! Talk about in your face! It must have made for strained relations with the synagogue, although no doubt it was a good location for influencing synagogue-goers.
And then we read that Paul had a vision.
The last time Paul had a vision, in Troas, in chapter 16, he was told to go somewhere unexpected, to Macedonia. This time he’s told to stay where he is.
His vision was of Jesus, who said: “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.”
“Do not be afraid”. Presumably Paul had this vision because he was afraid. You remember those verses I just read out from Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, saying that when he preached in Corinth he resolved to preach only Jesus Christ and him crucified? Well in that letter he went straight on to say: “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.”
Fear and trembling. We may think of Paul as fearless in his preaching, but perhaps not always. Corinth, Sin City, must have been daunting. So Paul was given this vision of Jesus, saying “do not be afraid, I am with you.” Knowing Jesus was with him, gave Paul the courage and strength he needed.
And Jesus added some lovely reassurance, and an instruction.
The reassurance was that Paul wouldn’t have to face beatings and floggings for the time being. In fact, he wasn’t even hounded out of town in Corinth!
And the instruction was to “keep on speaking”.
Jesus said that there were plenty of people in Corinth God still wanted to bring to faith, that would be his people, so Paul was to stay put and get on with the work of evangelism.
And that’s what he did. Paul stayed, preaching and teaching about Jesus and his death, for a year and a half. That was probably the longest time he’d stayed anywhere since he began his travels, back in chapter 11.
So what can we learn from all this? Well 2 things strike me, one about listening, and one about speaking.
First about listening. We have responsibilities as listeners!
The Jews heard Paul’s message, about Jesus and his death, and they heard the challenge to repent and believe, and most didn’t accept it. And Paul told them that the responsibility, for the consequences, was theirs. Because Paul knew what Jesus taught, about the reality of sin and judgement. I know this is an untrendy and unpalatable idea, but Jesus – and Paul - made it very clear that there will be a day of judgement, and that how people respond to Jesus plays a vital part in deciding their eternal destiny. Paul knew that people needed to repent, turn to God, for their wellbeing, not just in this life, but forever.
We might come to church from time to time, or week after week, and hear the message about Jesus, his death for us and his offer of forgiveness and new life.
And like those Jews, we might not accept it. We might think, some other time, one day I’ll think more about it, I’ve too much going on in my life right now.
But we have a responsibility as listeners! A responsibility to respond, or bear the consequences. Which may sound harsh – until we understand just what Jesus’ offer is all about, when we realise it’s the best offer ever! The offer of forgiveness and a new start in life, living in relationship to God as He has made us to be, as a follower of Jesus. This news about Jesus and his death for us, really is the greatest news ever.
But we are responsible for hearing and responding to it.
We have responsibilities as listeners.
...
Then, about speaking. If we’ve listened and accepted the news about Jesus and are now his followers, then we have responsibilities as speakers. Jesus told Paul to “keep on speaking” Don’t give up!”
I wonder how you feel about speaking about your faith, speaking about Jesus, to other people?
It’s very tempting to say, “well I live my faith as a Christian, I don’t need to speak about it as well”. But can we assume that people understand what is going on, when we only live and do not speak, about our faith in Jesus? We may hope that people will figure out the reason for the difference in us, but they may just regard us as one more version of human oddity. Everyone’s different! In some situations it is only words that can help towards understanding.
We may be worried that we’ll say something inappropriate that’ll put others off, and of course that is possible, but as long as we choose loving, thoughtful and helpful words, then surely speaking the truth will be something of beauty and power that can bring life and joy. God can take and use our words to great effect!
Does this sound scary? In such a not-Christian environment that we live or work in? Does it sometimes feel like Sin City? Well yes there’s a chance we may be sneered at as naive or losers or weaklings or frauds if we say what we believe. But if Jesus really is the best news ever, then so what if we’re momentarily uncoftable?! At home, at work, in our neighbourhood, people desperately need to hear this good news about Jesus and his death for us.
If we are filled with fear and trembling, as Paul was, hear Jesus’ reassuring words, “do not be afraid, I am with you.” His presence will give us courage. Today, Remembrance Sunday, is a day for thinking about courage, as we appreciate the enormous courage shown by so many men and women over the years, and still today, who risk their all for the peace, security and well being of others. Today we remember their courage, are thankful, and are inspired by it. We can be inspired by Paul’s courage too, in a different way.
“Keep on speaking!” We have responsibilities as speakers.
...
Listening and speaking about this wonderful news about Jesus.
There’s lots more that could be said about both, but for many of us, it’s not more talk we need, it’s simply action. And so I end with the challenge, to all of us, that we take our responsibilities as listeners and speakers to heart, and take the wonderful news of Jesus to heart, and live as listeners and speakers.
And so let’s pray...
“Paul’s missionary trips round the Med
Were exactly just what he had said
The spread of God’s grace
Was explained in each place
And the synagogue leaders turned red.
At some towns a new church was founded
And then the whole gospel resounded
But when gross opposition
Disrupted each mission
Then outside of that town they’d be hounded!”
From the Limerick Bible, by Peter Wallis.
(In today’s episode of Paul’s “missionary trips round the Med”, they aren’t hounded out of town, we’ll come to that in a bit.)
That Bible reading we’ve just heard is headed up “In Corinth”, following on from in Athens, in Berea, in Thessalonica and so on looking back over Paul’s 2nd missionary journey. “In Corinth” is not the most exciting title; a tabloid headline would probably be more like “Gospel comes to Sin City!” Yes Sin City would be a good description of what Corinth was like in Paul’s day.
Corinth had about quarter of a million free men in it, plus up to 400,000 slaves. Add in women and children and that’s a city bigger than Birmingham. It’s 50 miles West of Athens, just where Greece is almost cut in half by two seas. There’s a little strip of land, an isthmus, less than 5 miles across, between these 2 seas, and that’s where Corinth is. So all north south traffic had to pass through Corinth, and the east west traffic did too, because to sail round the southern tip of Greece was very dangerous. With all that trade and people passing through Corinth, it was a very cosmopolitan city. And it was a very “religious” city, with at least 12 temples, one of which was the Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. It is thought there were a thousand temple prostitutes working there, who cruised the city at night. There was even a Greek verb “to Corinthianise”, which meant to practise sexual immorality. Yes this was Sin City indeed.
When Paul got to Corinth, he met a Jewish Christian couple, Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They had had to leave Rome when the Emperor Claudius expelled Jews and Jewish Christians, around AD49. (A few years later, when Claudius died and Nero became Emperor, they could go back, and we see Aquila & Priscilla were there later on from Paul’s letters.)
Aquila and Priscilla were tent makers like Paul was, and they struck up a friendship that was to last, as well as a working partnership. It may surprise us to hear that Paul earned his living as a tent maker, but in those days all boys were taught a manual trade regardless of how rich or poor they were. And rabbis were expected to earn their living from a trade.
Paul teamed up with Aquila and Priscilla in tent making. Tent making probably meant sewing together goat skins, or woven goat hair, into tents, but also all sorts of leather work. It was a skill Paul could use as he travelled around.
So Paul lived with Aquila and Priscilla, worked with them all week, and on the Sabbath he did what he always did when he got to a new place. He went to the synagogue and preached to the Jews about Jesus. We aren’t told here in Acts 18 what Paul preached in Corinth, but in his later letter to the Corinthian church, in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, he said “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing else while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Paul preached “Jesus Christ and him crucified”. He told them that Jesus was their long awaited Christ, the one they were waiting for to set them free. And Jesus had done this in a very unexpected way. He set them free, not free on the outside, free from Roman rule, but free on the inside, free from their sin, their self centredness, free to know and love God.
Jesus was born to die, for the people’s sins, dying in their place, that they might be forgiven and live a new life. And Paul challenged people to believe in this Jesus, and his death on the cross for them, and called them to repent or turn around from their sins, to turn to God, and start a new life as followers of Jesus.
This was the message Paul preached in the synagogue, trying to persuade them, week in week out. After a while, Silas and Timothy caught up with him from Macedonia, and it’s thought they brought a financial gift from the churches there, because Paul was able to stop tent making and gave his whole time to preaching.
But, as we know had happened in other places Paul visited, the Jews rejected the message about Jesus and Paul turned to the Gentiles, the non Jews. Paul made it very clear to the Jews that he had fulfilled his responsibility to bring them the good news about Jesus, and when they opposed him and his message, that was their responsibility. And the consequences would be their responsibility, not his. He even shook the dust from his clothes to show how serious he was about it.
So where does Paul go? Next door! To the house of a man called Titius Justus, a Gentile who attended the synagogue and became a Christian. And then a synagogue leader became a Christian too, and joined them. Next door! Talk about in your face! It must have made for strained relations with the synagogue, although no doubt it was a good location for influencing synagogue-goers.
And then we read that Paul had a vision.
The last time Paul had a vision, in Troas, in chapter 16, he was told to go somewhere unexpected, to Macedonia. This time he’s told to stay where he is.
His vision was of Jesus, who said: “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.”
“Do not be afraid”. Presumably Paul had this vision because he was afraid. You remember those verses I just read out from Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, saying that when he preached in Corinth he resolved to preach only Jesus Christ and him crucified? Well in that letter he went straight on to say: “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.”
Fear and trembling. We may think of Paul as fearless in his preaching, but perhaps not always. Corinth, Sin City, must have been daunting. So Paul was given this vision of Jesus, saying “do not be afraid, I am with you.” Knowing Jesus was with him, gave Paul the courage and strength he needed.
And Jesus added some lovely reassurance, and an instruction.
The reassurance was that Paul wouldn’t have to face beatings and floggings for the time being. In fact, he wasn’t even hounded out of town in Corinth!
And the instruction was to “keep on speaking”.
Jesus said that there were plenty of people in Corinth God still wanted to bring to faith, that would be his people, so Paul was to stay put and get on with the work of evangelism.
And that’s what he did. Paul stayed, preaching and teaching about Jesus and his death, for a year and a half. That was probably the longest time he’d stayed anywhere since he began his travels, back in chapter 11.
So what can we learn from all this? Well 2 things strike me, one about listening, and one about speaking.
First about listening. We have responsibilities as listeners!
The Jews heard Paul’s message, about Jesus and his death, and they heard the challenge to repent and believe, and most didn’t accept it. And Paul told them that the responsibility, for the consequences, was theirs. Because Paul knew what Jesus taught, about the reality of sin and judgement. I know this is an untrendy and unpalatable idea, but Jesus – and Paul - made it very clear that there will be a day of judgement, and that how people respond to Jesus plays a vital part in deciding their eternal destiny. Paul knew that people needed to repent, turn to God, for their wellbeing, not just in this life, but forever.
We might come to church from time to time, or week after week, and hear the message about Jesus, his death for us and his offer of forgiveness and new life.
And like those Jews, we might not accept it. We might think, some other time, one day I’ll think more about it, I’ve too much going on in my life right now.
But we have a responsibility as listeners! A responsibility to respond, or bear the consequences. Which may sound harsh – until we understand just what Jesus’ offer is all about, when we realise it’s the best offer ever! The offer of forgiveness and a new start in life, living in relationship to God as He has made us to be, as a follower of Jesus. This news about Jesus and his death for us, really is the greatest news ever.
But we are responsible for hearing and responding to it.
We have responsibilities as listeners.
...
Then, about speaking. If we’ve listened and accepted the news about Jesus and are now his followers, then we have responsibilities as speakers. Jesus told Paul to “keep on speaking” Don’t give up!”
I wonder how you feel about speaking about your faith, speaking about Jesus, to other people?
It’s very tempting to say, “well I live my faith as a Christian, I don’t need to speak about it as well”. But can we assume that people understand what is going on, when we only live and do not speak, about our faith in Jesus? We may hope that people will figure out the reason for the difference in us, but they may just regard us as one more version of human oddity. Everyone’s different! In some situations it is only words that can help towards understanding.
We may be worried that we’ll say something inappropriate that’ll put others off, and of course that is possible, but as long as we choose loving, thoughtful and helpful words, then surely speaking the truth will be something of beauty and power that can bring life and joy. God can take and use our words to great effect!
Does this sound scary? In such a not-Christian environment that we live or work in? Does it sometimes feel like Sin City? Well yes there’s a chance we may be sneered at as naive or losers or weaklings or frauds if we say what we believe. But if Jesus really is the best news ever, then so what if we’re momentarily uncoftable?! At home, at work, in our neighbourhood, people desperately need to hear this good news about Jesus and his death for us.
If we are filled with fear and trembling, as Paul was, hear Jesus’ reassuring words, “do not be afraid, I am with you.” His presence will give us courage. Today, Remembrance Sunday, is a day for thinking about courage, as we appreciate the enormous courage shown by so many men and women over the years, and still today, who risk their all for the peace, security and well being of others. Today we remember their courage, are thankful, and are inspired by it. We can be inspired by Paul’s courage too, in a different way.
“Keep on speaking!” We have responsibilities as speakers.
...
Listening and speaking about this wonderful news about Jesus.
There’s lots more that could be said about both, but for many of us, it’s not more talk we need, it’s simply action. And so I end with the challenge, to all of us, that we take our responsibilities as listeners and speakers to heart, and take the wonderful news of Jesus to heart, and live as listeners and speakers.
And so let’s pray...
posted by Parish Administrator at 1:12 pm
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