ΕPHESUS, MELITUS, AND THE SEA

Ephesus, as ruins, continues to attract people as it did when the great goddess Diana, or Artemis, drew pilgrims and the curious to the magnificent temple and the fabulous city, one of the most important and largest of the region. Janet and I spent a day poking around these ruins, trying to figure out how the story in Acts 19 would have transpired. In the process, we were able to go around the back ways to the exquisite and well preserved roads – one leading from the harbor where Paul landed, and the other leading north out of the city toward Troas where Paul left in a hurry, never to return, the day following the riot.

But it was Melitus that fascinated me the most. I took a scooter the 60 kilometers to the ancient site, up over the mountains in which Ephesus is nestled, through ancient villages, and finally across the flat, lush fields created by the silt carried in by the Meander River. It is a long journey by scooter, far longer by foot or donkey taken by the elders of Ephesus when they hurried down to Melitus to meet with Paul whose ship had landed there from Troas. (Acts 20)

Melitus is a hugely impressive city, typical with its pagan temples, stoa, theater, stadium and other monuments to the achievements and glory of gods and humans. Paul, waiting at least 4 days for the Ephesian elders to arrive, had plenty of time to look around. He saw, before his ship had even landed, a great monument to commemorate the victory of Pompey the Great over the pirates of the Mediterranean in 67 BC. One of the contributions of Rome which Paul must have thought about occasionally, was the military victories over bandits and pirates, making travel safe for everyone, including Paul who was taking the message of the Gospel. What irony. But as we sail the Mediterranean today, and see the occasional patrol boat thunder by, I am reminded that the dynamics of military protection of travelers who cannot or will not protect themselves have not changed since the First Century.

Neither has sailing the Mediterranean. Luke writes with great detail about the sea. The Book of Acts mentions 37 harbors, with a great many detailed comments about the weather, sea conditions, and other bits of information, making the Book of Acts one of the best sources of information about sea travel in the First Century on the Mediterranean that exists. One gets the impression that Luke was not a seafarer until he accompanied Paul, and was fascinated by what he was experiencing. He writes very little about the land travel that Paul did, failing to mention such things as mode of transportation, conditions of travel, places where they spent the night, or any other detail. He wrote about the voyages.

I am not sure if Paul liked to sail that much. He seemed, like most travelers around the Mediterranean in the First Century, to prefer ship travel to travel on land, for obvious reasons. Yet, when he cites the hardships he endures for the sake of the Gospel in various letters, he mentions what he experiences at sea – shipwreck, storm, being lost.

This part Janet and I are beginning to understand better as the sea miles accumulate. The Mediterranean is such a beautiful and awesome place to sail with its crystal clear waters, prolonged periods of sunny weather, the rugged islands jutting out of the sea. Yet it is terrifying as well. Even the modern weather forecasters hardly ever seem to predict exactly what the conditions will be like in a particular area. The winds change direction and speed very quickly, from serene and beautiful to violent and volatile in minutes. The history of the cultures that surround the Mediterranean Sea seem to reflect the sea itself.

Of the 380 sea miles Janet and I have logged so far in SailingActs, at least 250 have been in very challenging conditions, with winds gusting and whipping the waves, slamming us around, or coming from precisely the direction we want to sail. Our old sails began to rip beyond repair a little over a week ago, and we found ourselves in Cesmi, Turkey without a mainsail, and with the working jib threatening to take early retirement. Through Captain Steve, the previous owner of the boat, we ordered new sails and needed to get to Mytilini, Lesbos where they were being delivered, to pick them up. So yesterday, sailing north from Kusadasi, Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, with a nice tail wind we were able to put up the one good sail, the large genoa headsail, and cruise along. Also, after tinkering for hours with the auto helm it started working, and for the next 8 hours it steered the boat on a perfect course allowing Janet and I to read, journal, nap and just enjoy sailing for a change. By the way, we have begun to give biblical names of Paul’s the various components and auxiliary equipment of SailingActs: the dingy is Phoebe, the auto helm Timothy, the outboard, a Tomas brand from Yugoslavia, Thomas.

Today, in Mytiline, Lesbos we picked up the brand new main and working jib shipped in from Thessoloniki, took them back to the boat and tried them out. They fit perfectly. We are ready to go north now to Assos and Troas. When you are following Paul, you got to keep moving through the calm and the storm, the contentment and the terror, the delights and the hardships. Or stay at home. Which is pretty much what Jesus said life would be like for anyone who followed him.