Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Monday, July 22, 2013 Read – Acts 16:16-40 As we move on in the story there is one thing that we should notice. Luke tells us that Paul and his companions went looking for a synagogue on the Sabbath day (Acts 16:13). Apparently they never found one – Luke does not mention Jews in the story. Historically, there was a Jewish synagogue in Philippi – Luke’s story does not mention it. Yet, it is important that Paul’s intention was to find a synagogue – the mission always begins with the Jews. On a later day, Luke tells us that once again Paul and his friends were on their way to the place of prayer – presumably the same place they met Lydia earlier. In what is somewhat of a humorous story Luke tells us that Paul became irritated at a slave girl who could tell fortunes because she was possessed by a demon. She was the source of great income for her owners. Luke’s story is dripping with irony – the possessed slave girl knows that Paul and his companions are “slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). The possessed see what the non-possessed cannot! And Paul’s reaction is a bit peculiar – he becomes so irritated that he casts out the demon to be rid of the annoyance – hardly a noble motive. The casting out of the demon causes the owners of the now freed slave – freed from the demon that is – to react by dragging Paul and Silas into the marketplace and before the magistrates. Some reward for a good deed! And the owners betray their true identity – they are simply motivated by wealth. The accusation is meant to veil their true motives – they accuse Paul and Silas of being Jews who are advocating customs contrary to Roman law. So far Paul and Silas have done nothing and said nothing – except that they have freed a woman bound by a demon. When religion and economic wealth are brought together – trouble is not far behind. Paul and Silas are treated shamefully and thrown into prison. Philippian justice is not at its best. In a story that sounds a lot like the story of the freeing of Peter (Acts 12) Paul and Silas are delivered from prison by an act of God. And in the process the Philippian jailer becomes a believer. Once again the story is not without humor and irony – just as the story of Peter being freed from jail is not without humor. The story also reveals Luke’s brilliant writing technique – we should not miss the connection that Luke makes when the jailer washes the wounds of Paul and Silas and then is washed in the waters of baptism. The story ends with the magistrates in total humiliation. First they attempt to free Paul and Silas quietly – Luke gives no reason for their change of heart – but Paul will have none of it. For the first time in Acts we learn that Paul is a Roman citizen. Roman citizens were immune from flogging and the magistrates were guilty of a gross offense. Paul presses the issue and receives the public apology he demands. At that point Paul and Silas are asked to leave the city and Luke tells us they did so after visiting again at Lydia’s house. The one thing that is missing from this story is an encounter with the Jews. Either Luke did not know about such and encounter and consequently there was no story to tell or Paul never found the Jewish synagogue. For Paul to have made no effort to go to the Jews would have been very unusual in the story of Acts. As the story moves forward the Jews will again play a prominent role in the story. Paul’s visit to Philippi was an interesting and unusual one, filled with hardship and success in rather strange ways. Two women and a man were never the same again. Luke does not tell us that the slave girl became a Christian – the others did – and perhaps we can hope in the thought that the church now existed to reach out to her. As with the churches in Galatia we have Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We are going listen to Paul’s letter in the coming days. Once again we will discover some autobiographical information about Paul that is helpful for us.