Day 07 - Pisidian Antioch

"As a natural expression of its passion to honor God and all things, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, the church and its people will challenge all structures that dishonor God, dehumanize people, and do harm to creation."

Our day started with a hearty breakfast at the Ramada Inn located in Isparta, after which we had a short devotional with a touching story quote from Brennan Manning: 

Years ago in a large city in the far West, rumors spread that a certain Catholic woman was having visions of Jesus. The reports reached the archbishop. He decided to check her out. There is always a fine line between the authentic mystic and the lunatic fringe...

“Is it true, ma’am, that you have visions of Jesus?” asked the cleric.

“Yes,” the woman replied simply.

“Well, the next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins that I confessed in my last confession.”

The woman was stunned. “Did I hear you right, bishop? You actually want me to ask Jesus to tell me the sins of your past?”

“Exactly. Please call me if anything happens.”

Ten days later the woman notified her spiritual leader of a recent apparition.

"Please come,” she said.

Within the hour the archbishop arrived. He trusted eye-to-eye contact. “You just told me on the telephone that you actually had a vision of Jesus. Did you do what I asked?”

“Yes, bishop, I asked Jesus to tell me the sins you confessed in your last confession.”

The bishop leaned forward with anticipation. His eyes narrowed.

“What did Jesus say?”

She took his hand and gazed deep into his eyes. “Bishop,” she said, “these are his exact words: I CAN’T REMEMBER.’”

(Taken from The Ragamuffin Gospel)

Our first sight today was Pisidian Antioch, a stop along Paul and Barnabas' initial missionary journey. 

First century Antioch was a Roman built city - a small, but very influential city - focused on winning the nearby people of Galatia to accept Roman practices and partner with Rome. 

Some of the highlights for me from Marty's teaching were the similarities between the coronation of Caesar and the crucifixion of Jesus as depicted by the gospel of Mark. Mark was clearly trying to impress his audience that Jesus was the new and better Caesar (Lord of all). 

Another topic that sparked my interest was that of "faith works versus law works," "inclusive love and grace versus exclusive law and justice," and the whole conversation around Gentile inclusion (which was very relevant for first century Jews and Christians) and how we today can learn from and apply these teachings in our lives and churches. 

Another interesting facet of this sight was visiting St. Paul's church, which was built over the original synagogue in which the accounts of Acts 13:13 - 51 happened. It was humbling and yet inspiring to walk over the same places that the Apostle Paul walked nearly 2000 years ago. 

We grabbed a quick lunch of lahmacun (Turkish pizza), bananas, and soda before heading to our next sight. This turned out to be our longest and hardest hike of the trip, about 3 1/2 miles one way with a significant climb in elevation - but it was well worth the climb. The scenery was fantastic, and the historical context of the sight was jaw-dropping. We visited the ancient temple of MenEskenu, of Phyrgian origin dating back between 4000BC and 3000BC. 

For more on the history and the contextual insight we can gain from this place, check out this article written by our trip leader Marty:

https://makingtalmidim.blogspot.com/2014/10/written-in-stars.html?m=1

- Raymond