Exploring the good news of the kingdom of God
If you are familiar with Roman history, you may know that the Ancient Romans believed the Roman Empire would last forever.
Rome, even today, is still called the “eternal city.”
I think it’s ironic then that the Lord planted the flag of the kingdom of God–a kingdom that will last forever–in the midst of the Roman Empire.
It’s proof to me the Lord has a sense of humor. GS
“In the midst of the flame and the rack I have seen men not only not groan, that is little; not only not complain, that is little; not only not answer back, that is too little; but I have seen them smile, and smile with a good heart.”
Seneca, Stoic philosopher (1 B.C. – 65 A.D.), speaking in amazement of the faith and courage of Christians he witnessed being martyred.
I like history, and since tomorrow is Halloween, I thought you might be interested in how Halloween came to be.
A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away there lived a people named the Celts. The Celts originated in what is now Europe but later migrated to what is today Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and parts of England. They later migrated from Ireland to Boston, Massachussetts where they founded an NBA franchise that would go on to win 17 championships under such greats as Bill Russell, John Havlicek and Larry Bird.
The Celts believed in a spirit called Samhain, meaning “Lord of Death.” At the end of their year (October 31), they believed Samhain came to the earth to collect the spirits of all the people who died during the year and lead them to the afterlife. They also believed demonic spirits roamed the earth.
To appease the evil spirits, or trick them, the Celts would dress up in costumes and masks to look like demons, hoping the real demons would mistake them for one of their own and not destroy their crops or act in other uncivil ways toward them. Apparently the Celts didn’t believe these evil spirits had good eyesight, or maybe they are a lot like people today and didn’t believe what they were celebrating at all.
In the eighth century Pope Gregory III, in an effort to snuff out the pagan celebration, moved All Saints Day from May 13 to November 1, making October 31, “All Hallows Eve.” Unfortunately this was about as effective as the Inquisition.
Later the Irish version of English, as it is, resulted in “All Hallows Eve” being shortened to “Halloween.” In the 1840’s, the Irish brought Halloween with them as they immigrated to the United States.
Today, Halloween is the second biggest holiday in the United States in terms of money spent. Just two years ago, Americans spent $5.1 billion on Halloween, more than Easter, Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving.
So, there you have it. The history of Halloween. If you have any other questions, please direct them to the Celts’s front office in Boston. GS
Seneca (Lucius Annaeus Seneca or Seneca the Younger) was a Stoic philosopher and writer who lived during the first century A.D. (3 B.C. – 65 A.D.) just as the kingdom of God was taking root throughout the Roman Empire. Seneca was a respected and influential man in Rome, as is evidenced by his being selected as Nero’s tutor. Unfortunately, Nero wasn’t as good a student as Seneca was a philosopher because as Roman Emperor Nero would initiate the first great Roman persecution against the Christians. One of his sadistic acts was to use Christians as human torches to light his garden parties at the palace.
Seneca, however, was a different story. When Nero seemed intent on killing every possible contender for his throne, Seneca told him, “However many people you slaughter, you cannot kill your successor.” He was a smart guy. He was also well-respected by the Christians, and his writings aligned so often with Christian teaching, many Christians believed Seneca was secretly a Christian.
Seneca’s brother was Gallio, the Roman governor of Achaia who refused the Jews’ request to punish the Apostle Paul for preaching the Gospel in Corinth. (Acts 18:12-17).
With that introduction, here are some quotes from Seneca’s writings, so you can decide for yourself whether a Stoic can sometimes stumble onto truth:
(On discipleship): “…the road is long if one proceeds by way of precepts but short and effectual if by way of personal example.”
“Man’s ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpose for which he was born.”
“A guilty person sometimes has the luck to escape detection, but never to feel sure of it.”
“He needs but little who desires but little. He has his wish whose wish can be to have what is enough.”
“With afflictions of the spirit, the opposite is the case: the worse a person is, the less he feels it.”
GS
Well, we are back home, and this Byzantine journey is completed. Each place we went, at one time, was part of the Byzantine Empire (with perhaps the exception of Odessa), a Christian empire that abided for 1,120 years, and, as the kingdom of God should do, brought the gospel to pagan lands, redeemed and elevated culture and left a residue of churches as evidence of the faith of the people who resided and still reside there today.
Since this is my last entry of this travel journal and I like lists, I wanted to rank the places we visited in order of preference. We enjoyed every port and that a place is listed near the bottom here is not a suggestion it’s not a great place to visit. It’s just that some places are “more great” than others.
1. Istanbul, Turkey. We spent 4 days touring and as much as we saw I think we could have spent 4 more days and still not seen everything. Hagia Sophia, the Theodosian Wall and an unplanned visit to Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, were highlights.
2. Athens, Greece. Walking the path of the Apostle Paul from the Ancient Agora up to the Areopagus and standing where he delivered his Mars Hill sermon was inspiring. The visit to the Byzantine & Christian Museum at the end of the day was a fitting end to the trip.
3. Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey. Walking through these extensive ruins gives one a great feel for what Apostles Paul and John would have seen in the first century. The tomb of John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” was also a highlight.
4. Cappadocia, Turkey. This has to be one of the strangest most fascinating places on earth. The frescos in caves inhabited by first century, and later Byzantine, Christians add the substance of history to the esthetic beauty of this place.
5. Sevastopol, Ukraine. The visit to Chersonesos where Vladimir I was baptized bumped Sevastopol up the list a few notches.
6. Nessebar, Bulgaria. There are a number of Byzantine era churches on this little peninsula, which, combined with interesting shops and restaurants, made this a wonderful day trip.
7. Odessa, Ukraine. Beautiful period architecture. We enjoyed the old city and Architectural Museum but would have enjoyed the museum more with air conditioning.
8. Volos, Greece. We didn’t get to visit the actual city of Volos, which may have been very nice. Meteora was fascinating (Byzantine monasteries on top of mountains), but we had to drive 2 hours to get there and that is all we saw in an 8-hour day.
9. Yalta, Ukraine. The scenery is terrific and the Yalta boardwalk is wonderful, but when you have temperatures of 95-100 degrees, the dearth of air conditioning detracts from the experience for us pampered Westerners. Old guys treading the boardwalk in nothing but Speedos and flip-flops is also a negative. Not a Kodak moment. That said, there is a huge potential in Yalta for Western tourism. GS