Day 06 - West Central Turkey: Sardis, Thyatira, Pergamum Asclepion

Wake up! The roosters crowed us this message as we made our way under the olive trees into the ancient city of Sardis. Wake up! The call was echoed by the cooing doves, the singing cicadas, and the distant mosque calling the faithful to prayer as morning temperatures neared 100 degrees. Wake up!  The tea, coffee, and ample Turkish breakfast gave us power as we embarked on day six of our pilgrimage into the heart of the New Testament. Indeed, wakefulness would be the theme of our day.

Jesus reminded us of the need for wakefulness as we heard His message to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3. Sardis was known in old times as the invincible city due to its strong fortifications. This reputation was tarnished, though, when the city fell first to Persian invaders and later to Alexander the Great's forces, both times as a result of unwatchful guards. The readers of Revelation would have known this history, and understood the importance of vigilance at all times. 

We considered the children of Israel who built a synagogue in Sardis. They were far from the Promised Land, but still attentive to the goodness of Yahweh and celebrated through gorgeous mosaics that the local people are still protecting and restoring. 

We were humbled by the size of the columns at the temple of Artemis. We reflected on how the building was designed to make visitors feel small, and how the priests imbued the goddess with false power by devising a mechanism to make the great brass doors open seemingly at her command. We considered the early Christians, some of whom built a church close to the ruins of the temple, and the vigilance they would have needed to protect their young faith from the deception offered at the temple.

From the bus that is now like a home to us, we viewed the city of Thyatira and read Jesus' letter to the church there. We celebrated the courage that some in that congregation had to stand up against sin. They were awake to truth.

Arriving in Pergamum, we had hoped to ride a gondola to the acropolis. Strong winds prevented our ascent, but our resourceful guide Ozan (always vigilant!), efficiently rearranged our schedule.

We proceeded instead to the temple of Asclepios, god of healing, which also served as an ancient spa and wellness center. Aspiring patients were required to demonstrate their worthiness for treatment by carrying large rocks for some distance outside the temple entrance. When admitted, they would have to pay a fee to the priest, and go to a darkened dormitory to sleep (often with pharmaceutical assistance) and commune with the god who would prescribe treatment. There was also a spring whose waters were considered to be healing, but that we were warned not to drink from as it now contains high levels of arsenic!  

Pastor Kent led us in a meditation on John chapter 5, remembering when Jesus healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda...another water source, surrounded by colonnades, inaccessible to those most in need of healing. We remembered that Jesus does not require us to carry stones, or pay admission, but instead beckons us through grace into his new creation.

Our journey has carried us for hundreds of miles, and we are tired. Yet we remain vigilant to what Jesus continues to tell us of Himself, and ourselves. Like the church in Sardis we will fight to stay awake, and hope you do too.

In Christ,

Tim