Feast of understanding

      When the Gospel spread, it came to areas that were no longer primarily Jewish. Not just gentile but also a new civilizations like the Greeks. So you had there, recipients of the Good News trying to understand in terms they knew.  They thought Barnabas and Paul were Zeus and Hermes. We all seem to have little imagination for things that are different than what we are accustomed to. We all try to understand things in familiar, common terms.

         It was a formidable challenge to relate the Good News to a group of people who had altogether different ways of thought. The Greek world and their philosophies and philosophers represented quite a challenge to the fledgling Christians.

         I recall a time when I was adamant that my son eat one vegetable or another and all he was interested in was that it was not Pizza and it was not macaroni and cheese - his standard and understanding of what real and enjoyable food was.  Forcing someone to expand their palate, culinary or in thought, rarely meets with success.

         The Apostles found the way to convert was to educate themselves to the others' way of thought. It actually worked to fight heresy as well. The best 'weapon' was to fully understand your opponent. How wonderful would the world be if we all tried to understand the other from their own viewpoint?  How often do we fail and create problems of great magnitude by simply demanding that others see things from our bloated viewpoint or worse, dismiss the 'other' as unneeded, unwanted or inferior.  This will only come back to bite us on the ass and it does, and it has.

           Imagine in our human, infantile way - imagine how God has to deal with us. Infinitely superior than us, God reaches down to touch us, live with us and understand us. Perhaps this is one of the greatest lessons of Jesus life.  The willingness and desire to understand. The realization that we are not the be all and end all.

       The wisdom of the ages is locked inside every 'other' we can think of, from people, races, sexual orientations, nationalities and religions.  We all have a piece of the pie, lets have a feast that the world has never seen the likes of. Let us try to truly understand our brothers and sisters everywhere.

Acts 14:1-18

The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them. But the residents of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to maltreat them and to stone them, the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country; and there they continued proclaiming the good news.

 In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And the man sprang up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways; yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.’ Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.