Responding to a revelatory dream, St. Paul sailed to Europe, to Greece. The first place he entered was Philippi, “a Roman colony,” that is an enclave for retired soldiers. Apparently there was no synagogue in city so he went outside the city to find “a place of prayer.” There he met and converted Lydia, “a worshiper of God,” which is to say a Gentile who believed in the God of Israel but did not follower kosher laws. Her home then became the base out of which his ministry was launched. Paul was outside his comfort zone — with Romans, without the customary structures of Jewish society, relying on women. A reminder to us that spreading the good news of Jesus will stretch us as well.
MAY72018
By Church Staff
