On our journey to Philippi, we learned of the history of this Roman colony in the first (of the four) sections of Macedonia and specifically of Lydia, the seller of purple. We learned of the color purple - the origins of the dye sources (oak or seashells), the quantity of dye needed to color something, how to process and even the smell of the dye, the costs associated, the different shades of "purple," the sunning process, and the association of the color with wealth.
We also discussed Paul and Silas' mistreatment - the beatings, the public humiliation, and the asking of him to leave secretly. Roman citizens would have felt like having a public outcry. Paul knew this and wanted to make clear to the people at Philippi that he had committed no crime. Afterwards, at Lydia's house, Paul and Silas encouraged their friends. We stopped by the water where Lydia was baptized and reflected on her reaction to Paul's message. We also spent a bit of time inside the church there, which is dedicated to Lydia. The church is in the shape of an octagon and made of marble. Following the ceiling imagines from left to right, paintings and mosaics tell the story of Jesus and of Paul's giving that news to the world. In the middle of the church was a baptistery, which looked like a birdbath compared to our full-immersion baptistry. We discussed the changing of the location of this procedure from streams and rivers to church buildings and the logistics thereof, and we spoke of the change in the age of the person being baptized and the reasons that infant baptism began centuries ago. We stepped into the baptistery floor level, just down a couple steps, with the hope of singing. The echo really was beautiful, and we sang together, even though we know that we honestly won't get first prize in a singing contest! We lifted our voices in song, and I know that God must have been pleased with our praises to Him.
Ancient Philippi was interesting. We saw the ancient churches there that were built at various times and earth levels, including a floor mosaic with a date designed that gives credit to the time of the early church visit and dedication to the good news brought by Paul. We noted the octagon shape of the church, indicating equally of people worshipping, an idea that the Greek people still carry today, unlike the class system ingrained in the people of other European countries. We also saw the alter steps, where the scriptures were read aloud, centered in the aisle of the church; in later churches, the alter shifts to the side instead of the center; does this indicate the shift of the importance of the scriptures in the church as centuries passed?
During or before his beatings, we don't know exactly why Paul didn't say, "I'm a Roman citizen," which would have stopped the beatings immediately. But we do know that people believed afterwards (Philippians 3:20). Maybe God gave Paul a vision. Maybe not. But it seems that Paul had a reason for not saying anything. Regardless, we have the result of the church here and the letter to the Philippians, the happiest church of them all. Paul humbled himself so that the message would advance. He got the beating so that the church wouldn't get it later; certainly years later, church people remembered the unlawful beatings and town leaders left the people in peace. Even though Paul was treated incredibly poorly and likely was low in spirits, he kept the faith. He had an impact on people from this land and all over this area, and through him, the gospel was spread. So one lesson from the example of Paul is that in the face of challenge, trouble, and even fear, we must put our faith not in ourselves but in God, knowing that we are being used by the Lord for His purpose in ways that we may never witness, if that is our prayer - and sometimes even if it isn't. His will certainly is not limited by our prayers and intentions, but that's another thought for another time.
After a rest for the night, we packed up and journeyed on the bus, passing through the area of the largest kiwi producers of Greece. The kiwi vines look like a larger version of the grape vine--without their leaves--taller with a stronger trunk, actually.
The ancient city of Dion, named for Zeus, was a community set up to honor the gods. My favorite part of his city was the ancient trophy cabinet - not really a cabinet, just a display wall. The stone shields and armor indicated that there was leather and bronze decorations, taken from Dion's conquests. The word trophy comes from the idea of a turning point. In battles, there is a turning point when one begins to defeat his enemies, so after a win occurs, you gather the spoils from your enemies at the geographic location of the turning point to say, "this is where we became stronger," and display them; thus, the concept of a physical trophy remains with us today. In the background from the middle of this ancient city, one can see Mount Olympus with its snowy peaks. It's a bulky mountain, with a wide girth - something that I'm fighting as we're served all of this tasty and fresh Greek food and sweets! Ha! On the bus again, we face away from Mount Olympus and head to Thermopylae, where the mountains turn brown, gray, and green, and the silver green color of the olive trees looks like dulled nickel, contrasting with the yellow-green brush of the mottled ground. The cypress trees jut into the air, and we pass villages made up of square, white houses with terra cotta roofs. Throughout Greece, we see the colors of the sky, the trees, the rocky mountains, the houses, and the roofs. Blue, green, brown, white/cream, and rusty orange are becoming our most familiar colors.
On our way to Thermopylae, we heard the history of the Spartans. Their shields were given to the boys when they were young. They were told, in it or on it, meaning, you come home with a victory with your spoils or dead on your shield; there is no cowardice accepted. They trained together, beginning at the age of seven, to be warriors for life. The men ate and slept in the barracks together until the age of thirty, even though they were allowed to marry at the age of twenty; they simply couldn't live with their wives yet. Because of this time and bond formed, there was no army with better teamwork. You fought beside your father, brothers, grandfather, uncles. You won or you fought to the death. And these were the laws of the city. Every man lived by the same code. Thus, the Spartans were the conquerors of the age. We heard of the Persian power rising and of the battle of the 300 Spartans. We then discussed that Persian king Xerxes and of his marrying of Esther. Then in 479 B.C. we have another war with the Persians. We stopped at the memorial to the Spartans and the Thespians and stood on the battleground for a group photo.
For the remainder of the drive, we told riddles, laughed together, and reflected on our adventures in northern Greece. What a wonderful group of young people this is at HUG!
We also discussed Paul and Silas' mistreatment - the beatings, the public humiliation, and the asking of him to leave secretly. Roman citizens would have felt like having a public outcry. Paul knew this and wanted to make clear to the people at Philippi that he had committed no crime. Afterwards, at Lydia's house, Paul and Silas encouraged their friends. We stopped by the water where Lydia was baptized and reflected on her reaction to Paul's message. We also spent a bit of time inside the church there, which is dedicated to Lydia. The church is in the shape of an octagon and made of marble. Following the ceiling imagines from left to right, paintings and mosaics tell the story of Jesus and of Paul's giving that news to the world. In the middle of the church was a baptistery, which looked like a birdbath compared to our full-immersion baptistry. We discussed the changing of the location of this procedure from streams and rivers to church buildings and the logistics thereof, and we spoke of the change in the age of the person being baptized and the reasons that infant baptism began centuries ago. We stepped into the baptistery floor level, just down a couple steps, with the hope of singing. The echo really was beautiful, and we sang together, even though we know that we honestly won't get first prize in a singing contest! We lifted our voices in song, and I know that God must have been pleased with our praises to Him.
Ancient Philippi was interesting. We saw the ancient churches there that were built at various times and earth levels, including a floor mosaic with a date designed that gives credit to the time of the early church visit and dedication to the good news brought by Paul. We noted the octagon shape of the church, indicating equally of people worshipping, an idea that the Greek people still carry today, unlike the class system ingrained in the people of other European countries. We also saw the alter steps, where the scriptures were read aloud, centered in the aisle of the church; in later churches, the alter shifts to the side instead of the center; does this indicate the shift of the importance of the scriptures in the church as centuries passed?
During or before his beatings, we don't know exactly why Paul didn't say, "I'm a Roman citizen," which would have stopped the beatings immediately. But we do know that people believed afterwards (Philippians 3:20). Maybe God gave Paul a vision. Maybe not. But it seems that Paul had a reason for not saying anything. Regardless, we have the result of the church here and the letter to the Philippians, the happiest church of them all. Paul humbled himself so that the message would advance. He got the beating so that the church wouldn't get it later; certainly years later, church people remembered the unlawful beatings and town leaders left the people in peace. Even though Paul was treated incredibly poorly and likely was low in spirits, he kept the faith. He had an impact on people from this land and all over this area, and through him, the gospel was spread. So one lesson from the example of Paul is that in the face of challenge, trouble, and even fear, we must put our faith not in ourselves but in God, knowing that we are being used by the Lord for His purpose in ways that we may never witness, if that is our prayer - and sometimes even if it isn't. His will certainly is not limited by our prayers and intentions, but that's another thought for another time.
After a rest for the night, we packed up and journeyed on the bus, passing through the area of the largest kiwi producers of Greece. The kiwi vines look like a larger version of the grape vine--without their leaves--taller with a stronger trunk, actually.
The ancient city of Dion, named for Zeus, was a community set up to honor the gods. My favorite part of his city was the ancient trophy cabinet - not really a cabinet, just a display wall. The stone shields and armor indicated that there was leather and bronze decorations, taken from Dion's conquests. The word trophy comes from the idea of a turning point. In battles, there is a turning point when one begins to defeat his enemies, so after a win occurs, you gather the spoils from your enemies at the geographic location of the turning point to say, "this is where we became stronger," and display them; thus, the concept of a physical trophy remains with us today. In the background from the middle of this ancient city, one can see Mount Olympus with its snowy peaks. It's a bulky mountain, with a wide girth - something that I'm fighting as we're served all of this tasty and fresh Greek food and sweets! Ha! On the bus again, we face away from Mount Olympus and head to Thermopylae, where the mountains turn brown, gray, and green, and the silver green color of the olive trees looks like dulled nickel, contrasting with the yellow-green brush of the mottled ground. The cypress trees jut into the air, and we pass villages made up of square, white houses with terra cotta roofs. Throughout Greece, we see the colors of the sky, the trees, the rocky mountains, the houses, and the roofs. Blue, green, brown, white/cream, and rusty orange are becoming our most familiar colors.
On our way to Thermopylae, we heard the history of the Spartans. Their shields were given to the boys when they were young. They were told, in it or on it, meaning, you come home with a victory with your spoils or dead on your shield; there is no cowardice accepted. They trained together, beginning at the age of seven, to be warriors for life. The men ate and slept in the barracks together until the age of thirty, even though they were allowed to marry at the age of twenty; they simply couldn't live with their wives yet. Because of this time and bond formed, there was no army with better teamwork. You fought beside your father, brothers, grandfather, uncles. You won or you fought to the death. And these were the laws of the city. Every man lived by the same code. Thus, the Spartans were the conquerors of the age. We heard of the Persian power rising and of the battle of the 300 Spartans. We then discussed that Persian king Xerxes and of his marrying of Esther. Then in 479 B.C. we have another war with the Persians. We stopped at the memorial to the Spartans and the Thespians and stood on the battleground for a group photo.
For the remainder of the drive, we told riddles, laughed together, and reflected on our adventures in northern Greece. What a wonderful group of young people this is at HUG!
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