THE ISLANDS OF PAUL AND FLYING FLAGS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY

They are barely mentioned in the Book of Acts, but for the people that live on the islands of Chios, Lesbos, and Samos, the one-night stops of the Apostle on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his third journey (Acts 20:14-15) changed their history and identity.

I’ll explain. We had been moored in Samos for 5 days during which time we explored Samos on a scooter, visiting the ruins of the temple to Aphrodite in Pithagorio (perhaps the anchorage of Paul) and the remains of incredible human achievements that Paul would have seen on every island during those three days.

Then, leaving SailingActs tied to the wharf in Samos, Janet and I took a ferry back to Chios island to do some more extensive explorations, staying overnight with Janet’s sister Dorothy, who is vacationing in a friend’s summer home in the little village of Ano Karamila on the north end of the island. Here I talked to several locals, including the Orthodox priest “Papa” Tsapelas George, about their opinions of Paul.

“What do the people of Chios know about Paul?” I asked. “Everyone knows Paul,” he enthusiastically explained. “He is the greatest Saint. All the children on the island learn about him in school. There are a number of churches named after Saint Paul on the three islands (Lesbos, Chios, Samos) even though in the rest of Greece very few churches are named after Paul.”

Everywhere on the two islands we have explored, are signs of Paul’s legacy: churches, monasteries, and shrines along the roads. But a story from Chios, and our experience in Samos when the Greek football team won the Europe Cup semi-final game against the Czech Republic, demonstrate how deeply the message of Paul is rooted in Greek culture.

Chios: On November 11, 1912 as the Greek army fought against the Ottoman Turks, they liberated the island of Chios after 500 years of Turkish rule. When the Greek army entered the capital city of Chios they were greeted by weeping Greeks with the words “Christ has risen, this is resurrection day.” Everyone went to the cathedral and the army commander was presented with a Greek flag, and the crowd cheered as it was raised. (P. Karkassonis, History of the Liberation of Chios in 1912. Athens, 1928.) Greek national identity is permeated with the theme of the resurrection which Paul developed within the context of the Greek pagan world.

Samos: On July 2 we were asleep on the boat in Samos when Greece won against the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The celebrations jolted us out of sleep and we watched in amazement as the streets filled with delirious celebrants, dancing on everything from scooters to garbage trucks. Most were waving all sizes of Greek flags. It was the flag waving that grabbed my interest, for the Greek flag is beautiful and unusual, blue and white, 9 stripes of blue and white, with a white cross on blue background. The flag, as flags of all nations for their people, symbolizes Greek identity, the blue and white for sea and sky, the cross for the Christian heritage.

Paul would have been amazed to see the cross, which he once said was foolishness to the Greeks, used to celebrate the triumph of Greece in war and football. But I do not believe he would have been negative, at least with the celebration of the football match. He might have used this as he did with Greek sports before, as a metaphor for faith, triumph, identity, celebration. (Greece went on to win against Portugal for the Europe Cup championship on Sunday, July 4. There were fireworks in Greece too this Fourth of July.)

We flew four flags on the Fourth of July, the day we sailed out of Greek waters into Kusadasi, Turkey. We flew, in compliance with international conventions, the American Stars and Stripes from the stern, the Greek flag with Christian cross up the main mast on the starboard side, then, leaving Greek waters for Turkish, the Q flag, a plain yellow flag indicating that the boat has not been cleared through customs, and finally, when cleared, the Turkish flag with the Muslim crescent.

With SailingActs always flying two flags on this journey, I have to think about flags. It seems to me that celebrating a triumph in an international sporting competition with a national flag can be a good thing. International sports are played according to international rules. The defeated are not destroyed. The winners are admired.

It seems to celebrate triumph in war with a national flag can be the opposite. It is impossible to fly the American flag in Turkey on the Fourth of July without noticing that America did not “play” by international rules in its latest crusade. The defeated are destroyed. The winners are despised.

The Q flag indicates that one is a traveler, leaving behind one country, going toward another. It indicates cooperation with the laws of the country being entered, but not allegiance. It is a flag of achievement, intentionality and vulnerability, but not domination and threat. It is a personal, not a national flag.

Flying the Q flag on the Fourth of July in Turkey, I feel that I understand just a little better Paul’s reluctant Roman citizenship and his expanding vision of the Kingdom of God.

Posted on July 5, 2004 11:50 AM