Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Thursday, 23 October 2014 "A riot about Artemis (or about money)"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Thursday, 23 October 2014 "A riot about Artemis (or about money)"
Daily Scripture:  Acts 19:23-26 But before he got away, a huge ruckus occurred over what was now being referred to as “the Way.” A certain silversmith, Demetrius, conducted a brisk trade in the manufacture of shrines to the goddess Artemis, employing a number of artisans in his business. He rounded up his workers and others similarly employed and said, “Men, you well know that we have a good thing going here—and you’ve seen how Paul has barged in and discredited what we’re doing by telling people that there’s no such thing as a god made with hands. A lot of people are going along with him, not only here in Ephesus but all through Asia province.
27 “Not only is our little business in danger of falling apart, but the temple of our famous goddess Artemis will certainly end up a pile of rubble as her glorious reputation fades to nothing. And this is no mere local matter—the whole world worships our Artemis!”
28-31 That set them off in a frenzy. They ran into the street yelling, “Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!” They put the whole city in an uproar, stampeding into the stadium, and grabbing two of Paul’s associates on the way, the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the disciples wouldn’t let him. Prominent religious leaders in the city who had become friendly to Paul concurred: “By no means go near that mob!”
32-34 Some were yelling one thing, some another. Most of them had no idea what was going on or why they were there. As the Jews pushed Alexander to the front to try to gain control, different factions clamored to get him on their side. But he brushed them off and quieted the mob with an impressive sweep of his arms. But the moment he opened his mouth and they knew he was a Jew, they shouted him down: “Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!”—on and on and on, for over two hours.
35-37 Finally, the town clerk got the mob quieted down and said, “Fellow citizens, is there anyone anywhere who doesn’t know that our dear city Ephesus is protector of glorious Artemis and her sacred stone image that fell straight out of heaven? Since this is beyond contradiction, you had better get hold of yourselves. This is conduct unworthy of Artemis. These men you’ve dragged in here have done nothing to harm either our temple or our goddess.
38-41 “So if Demetrius and his guild of artisans have a complaint, they can take it to court and make all the accusations they want. If anything else is bothering you, bring it to the regularly scheduled town meeting and let it be settled there. There is no excuse for what’s happened today. We’re putting our city in serious danger. Rome, remember, does not look kindly on rioters.” With that, he sent them home.
Reflection Questions:
When some Ephesians burned their costly sorcery scrolls, they set the stage for real trouble. Some Ephesian silversmiths who made profitable temple and goddess statues were furious. They rioted because Paul taught, "Gods made by human hands aren't really gods." Their leader Demetrius claimed their protest was about reverence for the "great goddess Artemis" (verse 27). But his real concern showed in verse 25: "you know that we make an easy living from this business."
The theater in Ephesus seated about 25,000 people, and it was full of angry people shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Yet Luke wrote, "Paul wanted to appear before the assembly." In this case, disciples and government officials kept him from taking the risk, but Paul wanted to seize any chance to talk to people about Jesus. What risks of any kind are you willing to take for Jesus? Have you ever been like the disciples and government officials, helping someone else avoid a foolish risk?
Demetrius cleverly exploited the human tendency to favor what is "ours" over anything we see as "foreign." To his fellow craftsmen, he talked about profits, but he got the mob to defend "their" local goddess Artemis. Have you ever seen hometown pride or patriotism turn into a mindless, irrational defense of "ours" over "theirs"? How can we love our city and country without absurdly assuming that "ours" is always better, just because it's "ours"?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, keep me from becoming a Demetrius, protecting his profits by appealing to the worst in people. Help me keep growing like Paul, a person passionately committed to serving and sharing you everywhere. Amen.
Insight from Megan O’Neil
Megan O’Neill is the Learn Events Coordinating Assistant at Resurrection.
I’m not sure if you have heard the news: America is in the middle of celebrating a favorite pastime–something called The World Series. Just in case you have not heard the other news: Our very own Kansas City Royals are playing in said series for the first time in 29 years.
Friends, this is a BIG deal.
The hype leading up to The World Series was of hopes and dreams for Royals fans. Then the Boys in Blue made it to the Post Season! The flood gates opened for endless possibilities to make a quick buck.
Over the past few weeks alone you cannot miss the surge of t-shirts, pennants, hats, jerseys, every type of Royals memorabilia imaginable – including Royals underwear. Yes, you heard right. A quick buck! Even local restaurant business sales have increased, with fans celebrating over fried food and beverages with 200 of their closest friends. Let’s be honest, after eight back-to-back wins, everyone in blue is your friend!
This instant fame came as a shocking surprise to Kansas City. The area fountains are turning blue, work productivity is decreasing, sleep is a distant memory, sports clothing stores are hiring people on the spot, and Facebook feeds are nothing short of Royal-dom.
What will happen after the World Series ends? Regardless of who wins? My guess is that the excitement and shock will stay in the hearts of fans for a little while. Most fans will move on with their lives and chalk this up as the October to remember. Some fans may never come down from this mountain-top moment–they may take up residence at the “K” until next season.
In our reading today, we see in Acts 19:25 that Ephesian craftsmen made a business selling silver shrines of the Ephesian goddess Artemis; “you know that we make an easy living from this business.” It is easy to see that the hype surrounding the Royals is an easy living for many people. This hype it is short lived, though. The idolization of baseball will fade quickly after the final game. Heightened sales of clothing, trinkets, food and drink will eventually go back to normal and the metro will get back onto their sleep schedule.
I cannot help but see many parallels with today’s verse and the events of today. The theater in Ephesus seated about 25,000 people and it was full of people shouting “Great is Artemis of Ephesians!” The Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City holds over 37,000 people and is full of people chanting “Let’s Go Royals” (clap, clap, clapclapclap).
Competition is not a bad thing, and neither is cheering on a favorite team, but getting lost in the hype can be. It may be more fun to spend big money on a World Series game ticket than to give $5 to the homeless man on the corner. So as Christians, how are we shining the light of Christ on our celebrations and actions? Do we welcome those outside our walls? Do we live into the Gospel message of loving those unlike us?
With the remaining games in this Series, I challenge you make this experience more Christ-like than “Be Royal.”
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