LIFT UP THE CROSS August 2013
EPHESUS AND HIERAPOLIS RUINS STILL SPEAK TO VISITORS AND PILGRIMS: LIFT UP THE CROSS Christianity still present in the ruins of Ephesus My Dear Friends, While on visit to the Diocese of Durgapur, India, in February last year, I read a quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson on a sign post near the entrance of the Diocese Office, saying, Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. I did not know that I would see that that had been accomplished by giants such as St Paul and St John in Anatolia Region (Turkey today), but not from scratch. And after hearing from about what Whitefield accomplished in Gloucester and America, on the Bible Day talk in our Coffee Room at Gloucester on the 15 th of June, packed with hearers, just after our experience in Turkey, I felt a sense of shame. I have so far only followed the trails of others and mind you, not even successfully! However I felt that it was not too late and that I was not alone in missing this sense of enterprise for the Kingdom. Many have been here before me! Fortunately we have a chance to dream together during this time of the Local Mission and Ministry Review. I am an eternal student and eager to hear more from your experiences. As I told you during our stay in Turkey from the 3 rd to 13 th of June, Julienne and I felt blessed to be able to visit some important places 2
mentioned in our Bible. From our hotel in Kushadassi (transliterated), the Aegean important sea-port and busy touristic resort, from where St Paul was embarking on ships to, and disembarking from, different areas he served the Lord in, we visited Ephesus and the ruins left by the earthquakes, conquest and religious wars and persecutions of Christians. Stones, pillars and inscriptions are silently loud witnesses of the past. Temple of Artemis. In the background Isa Bey Mosque, St John s Church and the Fortress We visited Mary s House where she supposedly spent her last days. We visited the Island of Samos near Patmos which now belongs to Greece and was a pagan and Christian stronghold. We visited Pamukale (Laodicea) and Hierapolis in Phrygia. Originally we wanted to see the places mentioned in Revelation 2-3. Instead Paul captured us by his precedence and we will return there to meet St John, God willing. The Christian symbols appealed to me almost impressing: Lift up the Cross. On our return, I decided to preach on Lycus Valley and Colossae the Epistle of St Paul to the Colossians because we see in it the Christian fundamental beliefs stated in clear terms. Colossae, in the Lycus valley near Laodidcea (Pamukale) and Hierapolis was one of early Apostolic Churches in the region of Anatolia. It was situated at around 100 miles from Ephesus which quickly gained fame and status as Rome and Alexandria. Colossae has been evangelised by Epaphras who was, as some think, a disciple of St Paul. When St Paul wrote the Epistle to the Colossians, he was probably in prison in Rome between 60 and 62 AD. 3
Hot water with minerals (Pamukale: Laodicea cf Rev 3:15-22) As mentioned in my reflections, on the last 3 Sundays, this Region of Anatolia had known tumultuous religious movements and experiences due to the successive powers that overran it. The Temple of Artemis was built in Ephesus, the Persians brought their religion (mainly Mithraism), the Greeks theirs, and Romans their pantheon including Emperor -worship. The Egyptians brought theirs as well. So the allegiance to Artemis, Zeus, Dionysus, Apollo, Isis, and deified emperors like Trajan, Hadrian and Domitian had made the region a jam of religious practices. When the persecuted Christians left Palestine and fled through Syria to this region, there was a big colony of Jews and disciples of John in this important Roman Colony of Asia Minor. Introducing a monotheistic religion was a relief for some, but a threat for others, and especially the establishment. Teaching faith, love, grace, walking and working before God not as object of exploitation and punishment as was with gods known by them so far, but instead being as co-participant in God s will and purpose for the world and human destiny, was something new indeed. It was revolutionary and subversive. That is why the Apostolic and Catholic Church was persecuted, at least until the reign of Emperor Constantine in the 4 th century. Emperor Domitian Fountain What Paul and John did, was to use the incarnational approach without succumbing to pantheism (everything is god), polytheism (many gods), and 4
syncretism (mixture of all possible religious practices as true religion). They used the moral, ethical and philosophical approaches that could be easily grasped by their hearers. There were concerns there: Teachings about self-denial or ascetism and self-mortification, the invocation of angels, visionary experiences and the scrupulous observation of religious rites. The recurrence of these pre-occupations is not rare in our own time, as the attentive observer can see! St Paul and St John understood the context they were operating in. They understood the core thinking of the highly intellectual minds about religious practices and philosophy and translated it in the language of the ordinary people. In defining the God-Talk (Theology) for all, they always started by telling them about the Unknown God, the Son of God who could be understood in terms of Logos (Word, Creating Wisdom and Spirit) that they could understand when they defined and systematised the Christ-Talk ( Christology. ) In my last sermons we looked at the themes of Faith, Hope and Centrality of Christ in whom the fullness of God was found. This was the foundation believers could stand firm on. The message was to encourage Colossians to keep Faith, grow and mature and be complete in Christ. Jesus is Lord of his Creation, the Lord of the Church he redeemed, the Lord of Salvation. This was to counter all false teachings or heresies they confronted. Believers were exhorted to walk in a way worthy of Christ, their Lord, in order to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (1:10). He is the one through whom God revealed himself to the world: for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together (vv.16-17). What a statement! Submitting emperors, rulers, kings, dominions and all created order under the Sovereign Lordship must have irritated the unmasked and engaged powers of that time. The Lord preached in Ephesus, Laodicea, Colossae and Hierapolis is the Lord of our Salvation. 5
Cleopatra s Swimming Pool Church in Hierapolis (Phrygia) Today visitors and pilgrims in the region may look at the ruins and ask themselves whether they can or could seriously believe in Him as their Lord and Saviour, as the Lord of Creation who is above Science and Philosophy, as the Lord of the Church reconciled to God, even above the doctrines gleaned by scholars out of Scriptures. But those ruins still speak of their stories and the story of Jesus and human history as those heathen and Christians who worked hard to build what was destroyed by human folly. They were much closer to the time of Jesus Christ, the man and God than we are today, but God is just and we may be close to his return! St Mary s Church and baptistries 6
The energy of Christians can be seen on stones and destroyed Churches. Many died for their faith in him. They are rewarded by the streams of visitors and pilgrims in the now. Their trail will not be erased and may lead many to the not yet. Much has not changed in human hearts and minds. Sin has developed and became like clouds appearing and disappearing to reappear again more sophisticated and applauded. Prayer requests to Virgin Mary Celsus Library, Ephesus In our Western World, Christian doctrines and spirituality are slowly being rejected. Our churches in Gloucester and Brockworth are operating within this context and gratefully, they are not yet ruins. But can they become truly incarnational like Jesus, like St Paul and St John? Can they speak and act for the sake of Christ and participate in his saving plan while we still can? Let the opportunity of our Local Ministry and Mission Review (LMMR) process encourage us to build not only mortar and bricks buildings but also the body of Christ in our communities. If we don t, ruins left behind will still speak. Would you like to leave a trail? Peace, Love, Hope and Grace to you all. Malachie 7
The power of water to cut rocks and mountains All photographs taken by the Revd. Dr. Malachie Munyaneza