Resizing the dimensions of community
This week’s lectionary (Acts 16:11-15) grabs the resize handle and expands the dimensions of what you and I call church, even further.
The Gangites River is a place where Lydia was used to praying and a place where God prompted her to respond to Paul’s message. Here is a place where all the usual human barriers of geography, gender, social standing and background are taken out of the equation. Lydia finds herself at the centre of a new Christ-centred community which transcends all human divisions.
Photo from the BiblePlaces.com entry for Philippi.
Lydia’s house is also the place where Paul and Silas go after prison to join what appears to be a growing community of followers (Acts 16:40). The story of Lydia is a challenge to anyone who continues to deny the role of women in any leadership position in the church.
Your picture is geat However your comments are so far from good hermenutics. You need to rethink how you are drawing your conclusions. Take off the subjective glasses and stop reaidng into passages. To draw a conclusion based upon this passage similar to what you have is not helping your position, but only revealling you have drawn a conclusion without proper study.
Ouch!
Which bit didn’t you like?