Same old, same old (Acts 22)

We have a Welsh Corgi, a funny little short-legged working dog, bred to herd cattle hundreds of times heavier than it is. To make the breed suitable for use as pets, the breeders had to "dial back" on the herding instinct. It's still there, though. Pippin interprets a handful of trigger words -- "Okay, now ..." or "Get ready..." or "Come on!" to indicate that we are about to move from point A to activity B. This flips a switch in his canine brain, transforming us from "pack," the group he belongs to, to "herd," the group he must boss around. Bark, Bark, Bark, with passionate urgency!

Paul, on the public stairs, briefly addresses the Jewish audience in Hebrew. He is attempting to explain to the people the experiences that brought him to this point -- his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, etc. It's a good story, and they listen which interest. Until he pronounces certain "trigger words" that unleash frothing madness, desperate and unreasoning hatred.

Act 22:17, 18 "Ben Yeruşalim'e döndükten sonra, tapınakta dua ettiğim bir sırada, kendimden geçerek Rab'bi gördüm. Bana, 'Çabuk ol' dedi, 'Yeruşalim'den hemen ayrıl. Çünkü benimle ilgili tanıklığını kabul etmeyecekler.' Act 22:19 "'Ya Rab' dedim, 'Benim havradan havraya giderek sana inananları tutuklayıp dövdüğümü biliyorlar. Act 22:20 Üstelik sana tanıklık eden İstefanos'un kanı döküldüğü zaman, ben de oradaydım. Onu öldürenlerin kaftanlarına bekçilik ederek yapılanları onayladım.' Act 22:21 "Rab bana, 'Git' dedi, 'Seni uzaktaki uluslara göndereceğim.'" Act 22:22 Pavlus'u buraya kadar dinleyenler, bu söz üzerine, "Böylesini yeryüzünden temizlemeli, yaşaması uygun değil!" diye seslerini yükselttiler.

Paul recounts another vision he had of the risen Jesus. What did the Lord have to tell him? And what did the crowd then say?

• 'Çabuk ol' dedi, 'Yeruşalim'den hemen ayrıl. Çünkü benimle ilgili tanıklığını kabul etmeyecekler.' -- 'Hasty / be ' / he said, / From Jerusalem / now / flee. / Because / my, mine, the 'with me' / concerning / your testimony / welcome / they will not make.
  
• 'Git' dedi, 'Seni uzaktaki uluslara göndereceğim.' -- 'Go' / he said, / 'You / remote / to nations / I will send,'
  
• Böylesini yeryüzünden temizlemeli, yaşaması uygun değil! -- This kind of person / from the face of the earth / it is necessary to cleanse, / to live / further / he must not!
  

How do we explain the seething hatred the Jewish people had towards other nations? Their screaming demand that Paul, who treated folks of other nations as human beings worthy of God's care, should be killed? Good question. At the time, Israel was a colony of Rome, and maybe people really hate being used for the prestige and economic interest of foreign powers. Did anyone ask the people of Iraq if they wanted to be "liberated?"

I have to ask myself, however. Have mental triggers been embedded in my brain, waiting to be tripped by certain code words and symbols? What kind of reflexive allegiances and hatreds seeth and simmer below the surface? How much power do I have over my own attitudes and behavior? How can I increase that power, so as to not become the tool of agents, or agencies, that do not have the good of humanity at heart?

A repentant US Marine had harsh things to say about his own conditioning, that turned him into a tool of corporate interests, a "gangster for Wall Street" on three continents.

Ominous foreshadowing -- Acts 21

For much of his ministry, Paul had pressed ever further towards the west. Suddenly, at the peak of his effectiveness, of his influence, Paul reverses course and heads back towards Jerusalem. One hypothesis holds that a split was developing that was undermining the heart of the gospel. Jewish Christians were sneering in disdain at their brethren from other nations, while at the same time they were being ostracized by their fellow Jewish Jews. Passionate nationalistic movements were picking up speed in Israel, which would soon lead them into a disastrous confrontation with Rome. Would Jewish Christians shackle their destinies to the fate of that national Israel which had crucified and rejected Jesus Christ? Or to their fellow Christians of other cultures, other nations? 

Or would they try to do both -- claim allegiance to Jesus, while coasting along with the easy cultural disdain towards the rest of the world? 

Into this mess comes Paul, with a tangible message. The Christians of other nations see themselves as one body with the Jewish Christians -- and have undertaken a major fund-raising effort to "put their money where their mouth is." Paul was bringing a large financial contribution with him to Israel, for the relief of the poor Jewish Christians.  And he is being forewarned -- this good deed will not go unpunished. One prophet acted out a parable:

Act 21:10 Oraya varışımızdan birkaç gün sonra Yahudiye'den Hagavos adlı bir peygamber geldi. 
Act 21:11 Bu adam bize yaklaşıp Pavlus'un kuşağını aldı, bununla kendi ellerini ayaklarını bağlayarak dedi ki, "Kutsal Ruh şöyle diyor: 'Yahudiler, bu kuşağın sahibini Yeruşalim'de böyle bağlayıp öteki uluslara teslim edecekler.'" 
Act 21:12 Bu sözleri duyunca hem bizler hem de oralılar Yeruşalim'e gitmemesi için Pavlus'a yalvardık. 
Act 21:13 Bunun üzerine Pavlus şöyle karşılık verdi: "Ne yapıyorsunuz, ne diye ağlayıp yüreğimi sızlatıyorsunuz? Ben Rab İsa'nın adı uğruna Yeruşalim'de yalnız bağlanmaya değil, ölmeye de hazırım." 
Act 21:14 Pavlus'u ikna edemeyince, "Rab'bin istediği olsun" diyerek sustuk. 

Let's look at a few words:

• Kutsal Ruh şöyle diyor: -- The Holy / Spirit / thus / says:
• Yahudiler, bu kuşağın sahibini Yeruşalim'de böyle bağlayıp -- The Jews, / this / belt / the one who owns / in Jerusalem / thus / will tie up
• öteki uluslara teslim edecekler. -- other / nations / will surrender. 

Well, as it turns out, this prophet got all the details wrong. The Jews did not tie Paul up and hand him over to the Romans. Rather, they attempted to kill him on the street -- and the Romans saved his life from the mob. Still, he did indeed end up in Roman custody.

It's interesting to note how this gift was received in Jerusalem. The leaders gave token appreciation, but then went on to what was really on their minds: the need to kowtow to Jewish public opinion. Paul was invited to subsidize a costly Jewish ritual. It was while following this advice that he found himself in harm's way.

Acts 20 -- a famous saying of Jesus

One of the most famous things Jesus said is not recorded in any of the gospels, but in this chapter.

Act 20:34 Siz de bilirsiniz ki, bu eller hem benim, hem de benimle birlikte olanların gereksinmelerini karşılamak için hizmet etmiştir.
Act 20:35 Yaptığım her işte sizlere, böyle emek vererek güçsüzlere yardım etmemiz ve Rab İsa'nın, 'Vermek, almaktan daha büyük mutluluktur' diyen sözünü unutmamamız gerektiğini gösterdim."

Paul is having one final conversation with the leaders of the church at Efese. He reminds them of how much effort and passion he put into teaching their people, both publicly (in the school of Tyrannus, for example) and house to house. He urges them to stay faithful. And, he gives them a saying of Jesus as a motivating watchword:

• Vermek -- to give
  
• almaktan -- to receive than
  
• daha -- more
  
• büyük -- large
  
• mutluluktur -- a blessing is.
  

I was speaking the other day with a gentleman who spent 15 years in Indonesia, ministering to the Dayak tribespeople -- a culture that had, until recently, been defined by its practice of head hunting. He confessed frustration over how difficult is was for the gospel to take root among these people. As long as a professional Christian was on site, they found it reasonable to "get with the program." Remove the outside influence, however, and the Dayaks soon drifted back to their indolent, pagan ways.

What must be done to permanently transform a culture? That's a question of piercing concern to believers who live in an officially post-Christian nation, such as America. Unofficially, and informally, we are free to practice our faith. But powerful forces, who wish to cast off all restraints, are at work to banish God from public life.

Acts 19 -- but who are you?

During one of the most productive (and stressful) periods of Paul's ministry, he spent two years in Efese. Day after day, he taught in the school of a guy named Tyrannus. An early tradition says that he rented the room cheap, in the afternoon, during the heat of the day. During this time, God worked many miracles. People tormented by evil spirits found peace. The sick were healed. Idolators spurned their idols, and burned their books of wicked enchantments.

Well, whenever someone enjoys apparent success, imitators can be counted on to show up:

Act 19:13 Çevrede dolaşıp kötü ruhları kovmakla uğraşan bazı Yahudiler de kötü ruhlara tutsak olanları Rab İsa'nın adını anarak kurtarmaya kalkıştılar. "Pavlus'un tanıttığı İsa'nın adıyla size emrediyoruz!" diyorlardı.
Act 19:14 Bunu yapanlar arasında Skeva adlı bir Yahudi başkâhinin yedi oğlu da vardı.
Act 19:15 Kötü ruh ise onlara şöyle karşılık verdi: "İsa'yı biliyor, Pavlus'u da tanıyorum, ama siz kimsiniz?"
Act 19:16 İçinde kötü ruh bulunan adam onlara saldırdı, hepsini alt ederek bozguna uğrattı. Öyle ki, o evden çıplak ve yaralı olarak kaçtılar.
Act 19:17 Bu haber, Efes'te yaşayan bütün Yahudiler'le Grekler'e ulaştı. Hepsini bir korku aldı ve Rab İsa'nın adı büyük bir saygınlık kazandı.

This is one of the funniest narratives in the Bible. Let's look at a few words:

• Çevrede dolaşıp kötü ruhları kovmakla uğraşan bazı Yahudiler -- The King James Version of the Bible compresses this phrase into three words: "Vagabond Jews, exorcists."
  Around / wandering / evil / spirits / driving / out / some / Jews
  
• Bunu yapanlar arasında Skeva adlı bir Yahudi başkâhinin yedi oğlu da vardı. -- These / doing / around there / Skeva / named / a / Jew / a high priest / seven / sons / there were.
  
• "Pavlus'un tanıttığı İsa'nın adıyla size emrediyoruz!" diyorlardı. -- Paul's / teachings / about Jesus / in that name / you / we command! / they said.
  
• İsa'yı biliyor, Pavlus'u da tanıyorum, ama siz kimsiniz? -- Jesus / I know well / Paul / also / I know / but / you / WHO ARE YOU?
  

Apparently, wandering wonder-workers were a fixture of the Roman empire. Like today's televangelists, they freely copied one another. I am reminded of Simon the Sorcerer, in Acts 8, who wanted a piece of the new action.

Jesus said that dominion over evil spirits demonstrated that God's Kingdom was present, in force. As these seven lads learned, it's not a good idea to meddle with things you don't understand.

Acts 18 -- and encoouraging word

In the most notoriously wicked city of Greece, Paul shows up in the synagogue and begins to teach. When the Jews object, he takes his show next door, to the house of a God-fearing non-Jew, and continues teaching. Unrest simmers beneath the surface, and Paul has reason for nervousness. At this point, he receives an encouraging word:

Act 18:9 Bir gece Rab bir görümde Pavlus'a, "Korkma" dedi, "Konuş, susma!
Act 18:10 Ben seninle birlikteyim; hiç kimse sana dokunmayacak, kötülük yapmayacak. Çünkü bu kentte benim halkım çoktur."
Act 18:11 Pavlus, orada bir buçuk yıl kaldı ve halka sürekli Tanrı'nın sözünü öğretti.

Let's look at a few words:

• Bir gece Rab bir görümde Pavlus'a, -- On a night / the Lord / an appearing / to Paul
  
• "Korkma" dedi, "Konuş, susma! -- "Do not be afraid," / he said, / Speak, / do not be silent." To form the 2nd person singular imperative form of a Turkish verb, just use the stem. Remove the mak/mek. To make a negative imperative, add ma/me.
  
• Ben seninle birlikteyim; -- I / with you / am remaining;
  
• hiç kimse sana dokunmayacak, kötülük yapmayacak. -- nobody / you / will not touch / evil / they will not do.
  
• Çünkü bu kentte benim halkım çoktur. -- Because / this / city-in / my / my people / are many.
  

A great fear can only be displaced by a greater God, and a greater purpose.

Acts 17 -- to praise and paean the unknown

An Australian bishop once lamented, "Wherever Paul went, they had a riot. Wherever I go, they serve me tea and cookies!" The recipe for peace in one troubled town after another was -- put Paul on a boat and send him somewhere else!

Act 17:14 Bunun üzerine kardeşler Pavlus'u hemen deniz kıyısına yolladılar. Silas ile Timoteos ise Veriya'da kaldılar.
Act 17:15 Pavlus'la birlikte gidenler onu Atina'ya kadar götürdüler. Sonra Pavlus'tan, Silas'la Timoteos'un bir an önce kendisine yetişmeleri yolunda buyruk alarak geri döndüler.
Act 17:16 Onları Atina'da bekleyen Pavlus, kenti putlarla dolu görünce yüreğinde derin bir acı duydu.

Paul shows up in the sophisticated metropolis at the heart of Greek culture, and immediately starts making noise. He dialogues with the local philosophers in their own forum, quotes their own poets and writers to them, and mentions an episode out of their own history, the incident of "the unknown god." A few centuries earlier, a plague had visited Greece. It continued despite sacrifices and prayers made to all the known idols. In desperation, they called upon "none of the above," the God they did not know -- and their prayers were answered.

Those who seek, will find. Perhaps, not in the place they anticipated[1], since the creative God delights in surprising those He loves.

________________

[1] Old joke. A man is scouring the ground under a streetlight.

"What are you looking for?"
"My car keys."
"Where did you lose them?"
"Over there, under the hedge."
"Why are you looking for them here?"
"The light's better."

Strange doings in Makedonia (Acts 16)

This chapter begins Paul in his old home territory again, traveling around present-day Turkey. He is meeting with continuous frustration. Encountering stop signs every way he turns. It is at this point, in Troas, near Homer's Troy, that Paul gets "the Macedonian call."

Act 16:9 O gece Pavlus bir görüm gördü. Önünde Makedonyalı bir adam durmuş, ona yalvarıyordu: "Makedonya'ya geçip bize yardım et" diyordu.

Let's look at a few words:

• O gece Pavlus bir görüm gördü. -- That / night / Paul / a / vision / saw.
  
• Önünde Makedonyalı bir adam durmuş, ona yalvarıyordu: -- In front of him / Macedonian-appearing / a / man / stands / to him / he implored:
  
• "Makedonya'ya geçip bize yardım et" diyordu. -- To Macedonia / come / to us / assistance / be / he said.

Note, please that this supernatural leading was a last resort, not a first. Paul had already been energetically exploring his options. Trying one thing after another. A beloved pastor once spoke of "guidance by bloody noses." Run into one closed door after another, until the right door finally turns out to be open. Sitting around "praying for guidance" is a recipe for frustration, most of the time. God guides those who are already doing everything they know they should be doing.

Today, to make up for lost time, we'll add a second sermonette. We will look at a curious thing that happened after the apostles got to the principal city of their destination. Once again, we encounter supernatural channels of information in action:

Act 16:16 Bir gün biz dua yerine giderken, karşımıza, falcılık ruhuna tutulmuş köle bir kız çıktı. Bu kız, gelecekten haber vererek efendilerine bir hayli kazanç sağlıyordu.
Act 16:17 Pavlus'u ve bizleri izleyerek, "Bu adamlar yüce Tanrı'nın kullarıdır, size kurtuluş yolunu bildiriyorlar!" diye bağırıp durdu.
Act 16:18 Ve günlerce sürdürdü bunu. Sonunda, bundan çok rahatsız olan Pavlus arkasına dönerek ruha, "İsa Mesih'in adıyla, bu kızın içinden çıkmanı buyuruyorum" dedi. Ruh hemen kızın içinden çıktı.

Let's look at the message of the fortune-teller:

• Bu adamlar yüce Tanrı'nın kullarıdır, size kurtuluş yolunu bildiriyorlar! -- These / men / the high / God's / servants are, / to you / of salvation / the road / they are making known!
  

There's a cynical old saying, all publicity is good publicity. Apparently, Paul disagreed. Something about this girl's testimony disturbed him. Perhaps, these true words were being uttered in a mocking way that contradicted their denotative meaning. Or, maybe she was kibbitzing in a way that was disturbing, distracting. From time to time, if you go to informal prayer meetings, you may encounter someone who is under the spell of a demonic spirit. That person's words might sound kosher, but something about the way they are said is disturbing, incongruous, inappropriate, and distracting.

Python is more than a computer language. The Greek text informs us that this young woman had a "spirit of python," a spirit of divination. In America, Edgar Cayce, "the sleeping prophet," would go into a trance and generate verifiably factual information concerning things he had no way of knowing. Once he had his audience hooked, he began proclaiming reincarnation and other eastern mystical notions.

I guess the bottom line is, friends, dial back on your lust for the supernatural. God will make His ways known, almost always through routine means. From time to time, He will also provide an extraordinary moment of clarity and direction. But evaluate what you hear, how it is said, and the purpose for which is it said.

"Unless you become like us ... " (Acts 15)

I just finished reading Orhan Pamuk's collection of essays Other Colors. This Nobel Prize-winning novelist has quite a bit to say about a kindred spirit, Feodor Dostoevsky. Like the great 19th century Russian novelist, Pamuk lives with the frustration of being a not-quite European. This sense of rejection, Pamuk suggests, explains the angry bitterness that permeates Notes From Underground, Crime and Punishment, and The Demons. Pamuk's own masterpiece, My Name Is Red, mourns the loss of one's traditional area of artistic mastery while in pursuit of those things an alien culture celebrates.

Acts 15 begins with a conflict. Self-appointed emissaries from the Jewish heartland show up in Antakya with the message -- "Unless you become just like us, you're worthless." Let's look at the text:

Act 15:1 Yahudiye'den gelen bazı kişiler Antakya'daki kardeşlere, "Siz Musa'nın töresi uyarınca sünnet olmadıkça kurtulamazsınız" diye öğretiyorlardı.
Act 15:2 Pavlus'la Barnaba bu adamlarla bir hayli çekişip tartıştılar. Sonunda Pavlus'la Barnaba'nın, başka birkaç kardeşle birlikte Yeruşalim'e gidip bu sorunu elçiler ve ihtiyarlarla görüşmesi kararlaştırıldı.

Paul and Barnabas strenuously objected to this message that demanded cultural conformity in addition to regeneration. God Himself can't please some people, you see. A miracle of regeneration transforms someone's whole life, whole attitude -- and then, "God's little helpers" feel called upon to show up with additional demands. A new believer opens up his heart and soul to older saints, sharing of God's wonderful grace. They see the opening and jump in with their meat axes, flailing away and telling the guy who's just experienced the greatest miracle in the universe that he'll be "more saved" if he'll comply with some extra-biblical cultural mandate. Quit smoking, for example.

I can understand Paul's volcanic rage towards those who belittled God's work, and God's people from a different culture.

In the end, the joke was on the Jews. They chose their culture over their Messiah. Pulled the roof in on themselves soon thereafter, and have obdurately resisted God's mercies ever since. The future locus of Christianity moved to the non-Jewish nations. Some Jewish people have, throughout history, "gotten with the program," and become Christians. Eventually, I expect, the rest of them will "see the light."

Meanwhile, let the dead bury the dead. The living have work to do. The Gospel of the Great King can be embraced by any nation, and will transform that nation, working from the inside out. Aping a foreign culture is a recipe for failure.