Ephesians

In my various travels, I have had the privilege of visiting the ancient city of Ephesus located near Izmir in Turkey near the Mediterranean Sea. It was built in the 10th century by Greek colonists. During the Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. The city flourished after it came under the control of Rome in 129 BC. Ephesus had an estimated population of 33,600 to 56,000 people in the Roman period, making it the third largest city of Roman Asia. This number was deduced from the number of seats in the amphitheater and public latrines that were uncovered during recent excavations.                                      

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The city was known for the Temple of Artemis one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was destroyed in 268 AD by invading hordes of Goths. Today one of its pillars and pieces of a carved frieze remain, other pieces are either at the Archeological Museum at Istanbul or in that institution holding many pilfered items, the British Museum in London…You can see the Rosetta Stone, Cleopatra’s sarcophagus and huge pieces from the Parthenon from Athens, and they have no intention of returning any of it, but I digress.

Only 15% of the entire Ephesus archeological site has been excavated, but even as it is, in this incomplete state, it holds much significance for Christians. Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written here. 

Mary's House Ephesus

A few miles from the archeological site is a lovely stone house said to be the house in which Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived as she was being cared for by St John the Evangelist. It has become a place of pilgrimage for many Christians who leave prayer requests stuck in a wall as you leave the property. I am not sure of the validity of Mary’s place, but I understand three  recent Roman Catholic popes have visited it…which does give it its own special kind of imprimatur.

The most interesting Christian resident of Ephesus has to be St Paul, the author of the letter which we have been reading throughout the summer. Paul was born in Tarsus also located in modern day Turkey but closer to Syria along the Mediterranean coast. While living in Ephesus Paul worked at his craft, he was a tent maker by trade, and proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ, a pastime that got him into trouble with the local statue makers who depended upon the cult of Artemis for a living.  They made good money selling various sized statues of Artemis to locals and tourists who come to the massive temple dedicated to Artemis.  He was prevented from speaking at the amphitheater there by a rowdy crowd of artisans who were Artemis fans, and he later spent some time in the local pokey for his outspokenness.

Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians while in Ephesus; this letter was written while he was imprisoned in Rome. The gist of this letter is rather general in tone. Many biblical scholars feel the pervading theme of this work is the Church as the Body of Christ. I think my favorite description of this letter is from the New Testament scholar Daniel Wallace, who pragmatically stated it as “Christians, get along with each other!”

Additionally, I was struck by the 17^th through 20 verses that say:

” be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This passed Thursday I shared with my boss the various encounters I had commuting by ferry and subway to downtown Brooklyn:

 A mother and daughter arguing on the boat about the suitability of both her boyfriend and the girlfriend of a non-present brother/son.

“You’re always criticizing me! You never criticize him!”, the daughter shouted and pouted as she banged her fist on the seat.

“I am concerned about you making bad choices.”, the Mom replied with a furrowed brow.

My next encounter was with an elderly man with whom I shared the elevator at the Court Street subway station who began singing an improv'd riff on a well-known children’s hymn: “Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves you!”

My boss told me that I had to think of these encounters as a sign from heaven; I thought about it, and so I did.

I began to think of it in the context of Deacon Novella’s sermon last week in which she spoke about the cycle of loss and the all too easy way of dealing with loss by attacking each other, and the upcoming Vacation Bible School, making them mental book ends for continued contemplation.

I know that we are in the midst of change, change we did not want or expect, and many are unable to see the road we are on, let alone trying to get the road map.  There is no road map. This is frightening and scary to be walking into the unknown, but we can do this if we work with each other, depending on the gifts we all bring here working together as the body of Christ.

I know that next week when Vacation Bible School is being held, this space will be filed with moments of laughter, moments of joy and many moments of children singing and making melody to the Lord, not just in their hearts, but with their voices.

Let us pray that their joy-filled spirit can help us at this time of unanticipated change; that all of us can and will everyday give thanks to the Father for everything that was done for us in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  AMEN