Friday 19 May 2023
- Bible Book:
- Acts
That night Paul had a vision in which he saw a Macedonian standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us!' (v. 9)
Background
It is so easy to come to this verse and say things like, "I wouldn’t be a Christian today if Paul hadn’t received this call to go to Macedonia." It's a key moment in church history, when the Christian message was first taken from Asia into Europe. Though I suspect that the Christian message was spreading throughout the Mediterranean and into Europe anyway. Here we have an account of how the Christian message spread and became a multicultural faith. There is something about the Christian message that transcends geography, nationalism and culture. There is also something about Christianity that allows the Christian faith to be planted in different cultures and take expression in different ways.
The Early Church was in a state of flux, in many ways making up the rules as it went along, as experience and guidance from the Spirit of God dictated. The development of the Church and the early controversies in the Church show the development of thought and practice and we need to be careful with our timelines to ensure we don’t jump to wrong conclusions.
As a side issue this passage switches from being a report about Paul and his travels to a diary: Luke (the author of Acts) begins to use ‘we’, suggesting that he was travelling with Paul as they went into Macedonia.
To Ponder:
- There is an argument that overseas mission from the British Church was colonial in nature – to be a Christian you had to do things as we do, and look like us. What is the essential Christian message that needs to be shared so it will thrive in whatever culture and context it is shared in?
- What does it mean when we say we are a diverse and welcoming Church?
- How do we encourage proper self-expression rather than expecting conformity with what we are comfortable with?