A letter to the Church at Ephesus

Yesterday we visited the ancient city of Ephesus, the ruins were quite impressive. We enjoyed putting our Greek and Latin reading skills together when reading the inscriptions on the ancient monuments. 

We picked out "devotions" from this Latin inscription.

Can you find EFESO in the Greek letters?

Later, at St. John's Basillica, Dr. John Yeatts shared this devotion with us.

Listening to the devotion in the apse of the basilica.

The Witnessing Church I: When Being Right Costs Too Much

Revelation 2:1-7

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

            In the mid-nineteenth century, there was a division in my denomination – the Brethren in Christ or the River Brethren as they were known then.  Matthias Brinser had joined the River Brethren at an early age and became a bishop much in demand for his enthusiastic preaching.  Brinser and his followers decided to construct a small building to accommodate the zealous worshippers.  Although the building was quite unpretentious, the River Brethren had always worshipped in member’s homes like the Amish do today, because that is how the New Testament church met.  So the proposed building stirred up opposition from other River Brethren communities.

            On a day of torrential rain, a council meeting was convened to address the issue of church buildings. The debate continued until about two o’clock in the morning, when Brinser left, saying he wanted to avoid being cut off by swollen streams.  The opposition interpreted his leaving to be an act of defiance.  So a statement was formulated and unanimously accepted asking Brinser and his followers to cease construction of the church building.  They refused, and the church proceeded to excommunicate Brinser from the River Brethren.  Brinser’s group formed a new denomination which has come to be called the United Zion Church.  The irony of the schism is that by this time the River Brethren had already constructed several meeting houses in other regions. 

The two denominations created by the controversy have remained separate to the present.  There have been attempts by both groups to reunite, and there has been some cooperation.  A request for forgiveness was formulated by the Brethren in Christ and accepted by the United Zion Church, but only informal fellowship has existed between the two groups. 

            A similar situation existed in the church John addresses in Ephesus.  He says: “you have abandoned the love you had at first.”  That may mean that they have lost the original enthusiasm that they had for their faith in Jesus Christ.  Yet the rest of the letter seems to indicate that there were disagreements among the Ephesian Christians.  Therefore, it is more likely that what they lost was the love that they had for each other.  Disagreement over the truth of the gospel had driven out the love that they once had for their Christian brothers and sisters.

            John’s letter to Ephesus begins like the other seven letters, with a title for Christ.  Like many of the other titles, this one comes from the vision in chapter one: “These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”  Remember that “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (1:20).  Christ’s words remind us that he walks among his churches like God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden that he had created for them.  Moreover, he holds them in his right hand of protection.  What a blessed thought!

            Christ knows intimately each of the seven churches he addresses.  The letters give evidence that they are addressed to real congregations in Asia Minor.  In the case of Ephesus, Christ says: “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance.”  “Toil” refers to “labor to the point of exhaustion” and speaks of missionary activity.  A common theme in Revelation, “patient endurance,” refers to perseverance in the face of persecution.  Ephesus was a town where evil spirits and idol worship were common (Acts 19:8-40).  The Ephesian Christians are praised for their consistent witness even in tribulation. 

            The Ephesians were so zealous for the truth that they “tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false.”  The word “apostles” literally means the “sent ones.”  In the church of John’s day, as at all times, there were both true and false apostles.  The Ephesians were outstanding in their ability to tell the difference.  Ignatius of Antioch, a student of the apostle John, commends the Ephesian church in a letter because no false teaching could gain a hearing among them. 

Although the Ephesians were zealous for the truth, as is often the case, their greatest flaw grew out of their greatest strength.  Their zeal for the truth caused them to be so concerned to be right that they lost the love that they once had for fellow Christians who disagreed with them.  Christ says: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”  Christians can be so concerned to protect the truth that they reject those who differ with them.  Let’s be clear: being right is important, as we will see in the letters to Pergamum and Thyatira.   Being right is important, but more important is the love that we should have for our fellow Christians because that is how the world will know that we are Christians (John 13:35). 

So, what should we do if we have allowed concern to root out false teaching to destroy our love for each other?  John gives a three stage process – remember, repent, and do.  “Remember then from what you have fallen.”  We are to be constantly aware that our human nature may cause us to be critical rather than compassionate.  Second, we are to “repent” – change our minds.  We must commit ourselves now to change our minds from judging to loving.  Finally, we are to “do the works [we] did at first.”  We are to love even fellow Christians we believe to be wrong. 

Christ gives a warning to those who refuse to repent: “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.”  The lampstand is the church.  If persons do not repent of their commitment to being right at the expense of brotherly love, Christ will allow their church to be removed from its place.  Do you know of churches that have been destroyed by persons who were sure that they were right – that they were the true church?  That is when being right costs too much.

Yet, being right is important.  Christ says: “this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”  We’ll see the Nicolaitans again in the letter to Pergamum.  For now, it is enough to say that their practices were seen as inconsistent with the Christian faith.  The Ephesians were right to reject such teachings and hold to the truth.  They will be rewarded for this with “permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.”  Revelation teaches that the paradise of the garden of Eden will be recreated in the end.  In symbolic language Christ is telling us that if we repent of our lack of love for Christians who disagree with us, we will receive eternal life in God’s paradise.  Such love is the basis for our worship together with our fellow Christians. 

Sing: We Are One In The Spirit

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored

Chorus:
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride

Pray:  Our Lord Jesus Christ, who holds our church in the palm of your hand, give us renewed commitment to the truth to which we have been called to bear witness.  But help us not to be so narrow in our understanding of that truth that we lose our love for each other, so that in the end we will be given permission to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.  Amen.

Şirince village

Şirince village

On Tuesday the 27^th, we visited the Şirince village. While on our way to Şirince, we were told about the Population Exchange.  The Population Exchange was a Treaty that took place in 1924 between the Turks, Greeks, English, and Italians following World War I. During this time, they were under negotiations about where the lines would be drawn for Turkey.  The Greeks tried to get a part of Turkey’s lands for themselves as they had been under the Ottoman’s Empire for several centuries.  In the end, Greece got almost all the islands.  During the time of the Ottoman Empire, Greeks were free to move about the Ottoman Empire as well as Turks were allowed to do the same, so some Greeks were at that time living in Turkey while some Turks were living in Greece about the same time. Anyways, as the story goes during this population exchange, some of the Greeks had to return to Greece and some of Turks had to return to Turkey, more or less the Christian Greeks moved to Greece while Islamic Turks moved to Turkey.

Şirince Village had been one of these Greek cultures that resided in the Turkey during that time.  Ҁirkince was what the town was originally called, but it was changed to Şirince because of what Ҁirkince meant. It was named Ҁirkince because the Turks didn’t like the Greeks moving into their lands.  Ҁirkince meant “the ugly people town” because all the Greeks had moved there, but when the Turks were populating that village again, the name was changed to Şirince to mean “the cute people town”.  When the town was originally populated, it had three churches by the Greeks who moved to there during the Ottoman Empire.

From this forced population exchange, 1.5 million Greeks had to return to Greece while .4 million Turks had to return to Turkey. The people that resided there were of the older generation since the most of the Greek population that resided there had to go back to Greece so now there were less people in the village so that most of the younger generation wanted to move to Izmir because Izmir was a more populated area. Most of the people that live there now are indeed Turkish though some of their traditions may still have some Greek roots, like the wine production for example. When we visited on Tuesday, it only had the Church of St. John the Baptist. The Şirince Village was also known for its production of sweet wines, as there was a multitude of local fruits and produce in area that they lived. The wine making productions was one the Greek traditions, but when the Greeks left the Turks took over their wine making productions.  

inside of the church

The village had only one main street that ran through it, with other, smaller streets branching off of it.  The Church of St. John the Baptist resided at the top of this singular, main street.  The main street was made of cobble stones and to get to the church you had climb these steep, cobbled stoned steps.  There were shopping markets on either side of you.  

shops along the main street

As we rode the bus to the Şirince Village we got to see a lot of the fresh crops that were grown there.  Pomegranates, olives, and peaches were just a few that we saw in the fields

While Şirince was still a small village, there was still a lot to look at and purchase from tablecloths to soaps to hand creams to spices to dresses and list goes on and on.  Everything we saw was handmade, homegrown or home produced; everything was local.

Sarah Trice 

Ephesus, another perspective

            As our group entered into the ancient city of Ephesus, we went through the state agora, which was the entrance for Roman citizens.  To be able to enter through this particular place was considered to be an honor because not everyone could be a Roman citizen.  Paul himself could have passed through here if he would have wanted.  And as one makes their way along the path of the agora, you can stop to see the bulitarium, which was a meeting area where Roman citizens would meet for forums. With the look of a theatre, Romans would occupy the seats, and when they needed to take the platform to speak, there are aisles carved down the steps leading to the platform.  During the Byzantine era when Christianity became accepted, the meeting area was Christianized by the placing of a cross over the entrance. 

Christianization of Roman constructions was common in the Byzantine era.

            As we were passing through this part of the city, we got to see some of the ancient water pipe system that ran through this city.  They were clay pipes placed in the ground that would run water to different parts of the city.  There are still places in Turkey that have a functional clay pipe system.  These clay pipes would start to fill with calcium deposit from the water, and they would need to be replaced, and so they would fix them one little piece at a time. 

Cenkis our archeologist guide (he has worked on this site for 40 years!) holding up a partially blocked pipe.

After we examined the water pipes, we came to the inscription museum, which is housed in the base of the Temple of the Sebastoi.  This temple was dedicated to emperor worship, and was built by Domitian in 89-90 AD, and there was once a large statue of Domitian in the temple.  Now as one enters the base; it is full of the inscriptions that are important to the history of Ephesus.  You will not just find one language on these inscriptions either; there are both Greek and Latin in the museum.  One of the stones in this place held the names of the people who had won the city’s races, while another talks about how Caesar rules over all, he is lord.

An inscribed tablet found in Ephesus

            After we passed from the inscription museum, we moved on to the terrace housing, which housed the wealthy members of the city.  This area is still being worked on now, there were archeologists working as we went through.  To help protect this place from weather damage, there is a Kevlar roof overtop.  The first of the houses that we came to was from a very wealthy member of society.  This can be easily seen due to the fact that this house had its own bath.  The Roman city would have had its own bath as well, where people could have gone, and so it was not common for someone to have a bath in their house, but this house was wealthy enough to.  Not only did they have their own bath, but they also had their own basilica, and this home was also covered in marble.  This was clearly an affluent family.  Having a terrace houses also gave the owners a view over the city.  You could tell that they lived easier and more indulgent lives.

The Basilica in one of the terraced houses, the roof of this room was the floor of the house above.

            We then moved on to the library of the city, which is also a mausoleum.  Julius Aquila built this library for his father Julius Celsus Polemanenus in the year 110 AD.  This library provided educated people of this city access to books and showed that this was not a poor city.  At the front of this library, there are four statues, each in their own niche, which have a different word carved into the stone.  These four words are supposed to show the attributes of Celsus, and they are wisdom, excellence, insight, and understanding.  Not only did this library show off some wealth of the city, but you also had a massive state agora in the beginning, and many wealthy terrace homes, which showed off the wealth of the city.  It would seem that Ephesus was not second hand city, but it was an important place, for more than just the Christian faith.

The Library of Ephesus with statues representing wisdom, excellence, insight, and understanding.

            Speaking of the Christian faith though, we then moved to the site of the riot found in the book of Acts, 19:23-34.  This is a massive theatre has a very apt name, the Great Theatre.  This theatre was had a multi leveled stage, with three different levels.  This was an important place, where many people could gather, for a plethora of reasons.  There is the obvious reason as to why one could come to a theatre, for a show, whether that is musical or theatrical.  They would also hold executions here, so people of the city would come out to see this, for execution meant sport to them.  There were also public meetings held here, a place for all the people to gather to hear what someone was saying.

The great Theater of Ephesus

            It was for this last use that we hear about this place in scripture.  Paul was set to come to this place to speak to the people of the city and to try to convert them.  This would cause the people to stop worshiping gods like Zeus and Artemis.  Demetrius the silver smith saw that Paul would cause a loss in his profits, and so he came to this place to rile up the city against Paul.  He spoke out against Paul and the message that he was bringing, telling other silversmiths what harm Paul would cause and so he caused a riot in this city.  Rioting was not a legal thing though, for it could cause a lot of harm in the city, and so doing this was dangerous.  But the way the acoustics worked in this theatre, pointed the sound away from the city officials, and the streets were probably already crowded with pilgrims, so a two-hour riot could have gone unnoticed.  It was amazing to be in this place were Paul had attempted to go, even in the midst of a riot.  I can say that having seen the inside of this theatre, and seeing how many people it could hold, I would not have wanted to be in the midst of all those people rioting.

- Jared Lorraine 

A group shot in front of the library of Celsus

Food for Thought: Turkish Cuisine, Restaurants, and Dining

Greetings readers of this blog! This is day twelve of our journey through Turkey. It's hard to believe we are over halfway through our trip!

Turkey is an incredible country. By now I am sure many of my fellow students and travelers have elaborated on several of the fascinating things Turkey has to offer. However, there is something I have seen which Turkey consistently does well: food and restaurants! The food in Turkey has certainly lived up to my expectations. My favorite dish so far was a scalloped potato which was drenched in some sort of lemon sauce, cooked by the host mother of our group’s home stay. Wow…those were incredible! (Don’t worry, Mom, your cooking is still the best) I have even been able to taste Turkish macaroni and cheese, which is my favorite food. We’ve been able to taste Turkish meatballs, some of us have tried Baklava, which is a Turkish desert…I could go on and on about the numerous dishes here.

Baklava, a Turkish staple

If I am being completely honest, however, what has impressed me more than the food is the restaurant atmosphere here in Turkey. This may be partially due to the fact I don’t eat a lot of fancy restaurants; as a college student, Lottie Nelson Dining Hall or Fast Food restaurants are my top choices. However, even at more “normal” restaurants I have noticed a trend. Many Turkish restaurants and cafes are very open-air places. There aren’t many decorations all over the walls, there aren’t flat-screen televisions everywhere showing ESPN (but if any Turkish restaurants want to start this trend I would be ok with it), and there aren’t waiters and waitresses who sing happy birthday (although we haven’t asked yet…so maybe they do…) . Besides the food, going to a Turkish restaurant or café is about the people. The open and inviting environment of the Turkish restaurant attracts people to come, slow down, and enjoy each other…and the food, of course. We have experienced this in dining halls of hotel rooms, small mountain cafes, seaside grills…even at a gas station restaurant, efforts were made to create a welcoming and relaxing environment to all people, native Turks or American tourists. This idea of communal dining is very important to our group, as we gather around the table to share stories and experiences from our daily travels, or stop to take a break and enjoy a village coffee or tea.

This reminds me of how Jesus used the dining table as a great equalizer. The meals Christ chose to share with other were partially about nourishment and food, but they also served a greater purpose. Jesus ate with people from all walks of life. He intentionally sought out the “worst” sinners of the day, the tax collectors, prostitutes, and thieves. He invited them to the table, to learn about them, to hear about their experiences. I am sure Jesus had many meals alone with his disciples, in lands which were foreign to them. To further prove it was not all about the food, Jesus’ last…and most important…meal was a very simple one with his disciples. Traveling through Turkey and eating in all different types of restaurants has reinforced my belief in the nature of the dinner table.

Receiving cooking lessons from a professional chef!

Something else I have seen in Turkish cuisine is the service. Please don’t take this the wrong way. I am not bashing how American restaurants operate. There are many places back home which offer quality service. However, I have seen what we consider exceptional or “above and beyond” service in the U.S. is what is considered the norm in Turkey. The waiters and other staff are always ready and on the ball to provide with whatever you need. But here is a more personal example. During our Izmir home stays, our group of four guys did not arrive to our home until late on Friday night…well past normal dinner hours. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly by our host father, Haldair. After bringing us inside and introducing us to his mother, wife, and daughter, he has us sit down at the dinner table. Around 11:00 at night, dinner was served. It was a delicious meal. But as we started eating, I noticed something. Haldair was not eating with us right away. He waited to see that his guests were fed first and made sure we were taken care of. Now on this night he may have eaten earlier in the evening, but he did the same thing at every meal! He made sure we, his guests, were fed. Then he made sure his wife and daughter had something as well, before he ate himself. What an example of servanthood!

This also reminded me of Jesus’ teaching on leadership as service. The parable of the banquet comes to mind, where the servant at the end of the table is invited to the head of the table to be served and treated as royalty. Jesus’ instructions to put others first also come to mind here. It’s been incredible to see the service. So tonight (or tomorrow, depending on when you read this) take advantage of the time around your dinner table. It could be your personal home table, a table at a nice restaurant, a table at a fast food restaurant…maybe tonight you are traveling and your “table” is your lap while you drive in the car. Whatever the case is, take some time to sit down and enjoy your time with other at the table. 

Michael and Dave at a restaurant for lunch

And of course, your conversation can be about how what the food on the table is (seriously, did I mention how delicious the food is here? It’s so good!)

Tastefully yours (see what I did there?)

-Logan Shellenberger

The Greek Island of Samos

We set sail Wednesday to the beautiful Greek island of Samos. After a little longer than expected ferry ride we made it to the port to begin our journey. 

Our first destination: The Herion. As we drove along the mountainous terrain with our interesting (to say the least) tour guide, we could see both the luscious greenery and the crystal clear ocean from our bus windows. When we arrived at our first site we walked the Sacred Way to the Great Temple of Hera, which is one of the three most important temples of the ancient world. According to myth, the temple was erected to the goddess Hera because she was born on the island under a willow tree not far from the land on which it sits. As an example or reminder, a willow tree sits within the walls of the ruins to show the appreciation and significance of Hera. Dr. Ramey informed us that the myth comes full circle because ironically Hera lost her maidenhood under a willow tree to her brother and husband Zeus. She later becomes known as the “jealous wife” because…well… Zeus is Zeus and sleeps with many women. 

One of the famous willow trees at the site

            According to Mark Wilson and other archeological experts the importance of Hera stems from fertility. For instance, if a couple in the ancient times were unable to become pregnant they would bring a sacrifice to the Temple of Hera, and pray that the goddess would provide them with a baby. The first temple was built around 570 B.C.E., and was destroyed and rebuilt about 30 years later. There have been numerous temples built on the same fertile land, most of which were built upon one another. In a similar way, there were many altars constructed in the very same place, the first of which dates to the Late Bronze Age (3^rd millennium B.C.). Apparently this structure was fairly impressive since it is estimated to have been about 110 feet by 50 feet!

            The biblical significance of this Island is its appearance in Paul's travels during his third missionary journey. The island is referenced in Acts 20:14-15 which states, “When he [Paul] met us at Assos [a coastal city where we were last week!!!], we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene [harbor on Lesbos island]. The next day we sailed from there and arrived opposed Chios [another island]. On the day after, we sailed to Samos, and on the following day we came to Miletus [another city in Asia Minor near Ephesus]. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he wouldn't need to spend too much time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by Pentecost Day" (CEB).

            After the Great Temple, we ate an authentic Greek lunch at a small restaurant overlooking a harbor. With full bellies and satisfied palates palates, we drove to an old fishing village where the mathematician Pythagoras was born. For all of you out there who enjoy Geometry in your spare time, this is the man who invented the Pythagorean theorem. I’m not particularly mathematically inclined; however, it was pretty interesting to be in the birthplace of an individual who came up with such an integral part of mathematics.

In addition to this, we had the opportunity to visit a Greek Orthodox church called St. Nicholas. The walls were adorned in iconic murals, and from the ceiling hung intricate chandeliers and lanterns. It was such an incredible visual depiction of the Bible through unique paintings along the walls. Before our arrival to the church we noticed shrines on the side of the road which we placed there as memorials to those who were in automobile accidents. Friends and family donate money to erect these small shrines to commemorate those whose lives were cut short. In a similar way, all of the money used to build the church of St. Nicholas was donated entirely by a family. Thus, a life-size “shrine” was constructed as a place of Christian worship to commemorate Christ Jesus who paid the ultimate penalty for us. Although the church is merely 100 years old, it was an interesting juxtaposition to the thousand-year-old ruins we had just walked on only a few villages away.

 - Chrissy Brown