Lydia’s Story
Acts 16:9-15
What an amazing time this has turned out to be! I cannot even believe all that has happened in the last few days. After years of seeking and searching, I have found the God of my restless heart and have found a savior and friend in Jesus of Nazareth.
My name is Lydia, please let me tell you my story.
I was born the only daughter of my father and mother who lived in the town of Thyatira, a town on the Aegean Sea in Asia. My father was a very successful tent maker – known for making strong and reliable tents. He considered my mother an equal partner in the business and worthy of using her own skills and gifts, so I have early memories of my mother selling her own weavings. She made linen cloth and blankets from some of the finest flax and wool. Both my parents worked with fabrics, their hands were always busy creating. Their friends were all artisans – potters, bakers, tanners, and bronze smiths. Mother taught me how to make different dies when I was just a young girl, and I loved seeing the rainbow of colors come to life in her materials.
Once a traveling merchant came to town, selling brilliant purple fabrics and I wanted to know how to make the color myself. They stayed in our town for a few years and his wife took the time to teach me how to make a purple die from a mollusc - which is just a sea snail – if you can believe it. Inside their shells, hidden from view, is a snail and if you learn how to do it properly, a rainbow of purple dies could be created from what was inside that shell.
I developed deep purples dies, some of which were a royal color, others were violet and some a plum color - but all were beautiful to behold. Soon I had started my own business and because purple was a royal color and used in the robes of emperors, kings and leaders all over Asia, Macedonia, Rome, and Egypt, I had many wealthy customers. And so I became known as Lydia, the maker and seller of purple die and I was good it! I loved creating and working. I have never tired of the creative process and I loved talking to my customers and imagining the faraway places where my die might be used. I longed to travel to those places.
For many years my mother and I worked together and she would use my dies to create gorgeous royal looking materials that were striking. And I loved working with my mother. She was a good woman, mother and she was my friend. We would talk for hours while we worked. We talked about the weather, the crops, politics, life and death. We didn’t really like talking too much about sports all that much, but at times that was all the other townsfolk seemed to want to talk about. Those chariot races drew very large crowds and people really took to supporting their favorite team with an intensity that caused fighting to break out at times. Can you believe that people become that intense about a sport? And we heard they were going to build an even bigger and better stadium, a hippodrome I think they called it, for both the chariot and for horse racing.
Mom and I, we preferred going to the music contests and one time she urged me to go up on stage and try to sing, and I got up there, but I just couldn’t do it. I never had much of a voice – but I tried.
What mom and I really enjoyed talking about was spirituality, all the gods and the different beliefs and religions that we heard about from the tradesmen and traveling merchants that came through town. I always had an interest in things that were spiritual. As much as I loved working, something was still missing in my heart, and I didn’t know what it was until shortly after my parents died.
When they passed away, I missed Mother and Father so much that I moved here to Philippi. I continue to work and make my dies. I had my own beautiful home and a household staff. I was passionate about my work still – but something was missing.
Then one year a Jewish family from Judea came through town and told me about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Somehow I knew that the stories they told and the ways they worshipped this God were true. They explained that this God was the one and only God and was so holy, that they would not utter his name out of respect and awe. This family would come through periodically, stay with us and I started to open up my home to travelers. As a result my household and I started to worship the God of Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel.
They would tell us so many stories – stories that they knew by heart! And they would teach us some of the Psalms and I began to recite them myself. I loved to praise this God.
One of my favorites Psalms went like this:
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
Selah (which they said means stop & listen, or to pause and praise)
2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.
Selah
5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him. (Psalm 67)
Philippi was a wonderful city to live in. It had many retired military officers and their families. There were workers, tradesmen, farmers, merchants and their slaves. It was a popular city for guild members to come for trading and learning from one another. There were those who were poor who lived in Philippi and I tried to help them as often as I could.
I loved to go down to the riverside to pray and worship with others who were followers of Yahweh. There were not enough Jewish men in Philippi to have a synagogue, but there were many of us who gathered outside of town by the river. I loved worshipping with the other people and we shared stories and teachings. But today when we came to the river things were very different. It was a day I will never forget!
There were three men who were visiting: Paul, Timothy and a man whose name we never learned. They had sailed across the Aegean Sea, but had come from Jerusalem! They were on a second big trip. Paul was a Jew and a Roman citizen and he was a very learned and respected teacher. He had witnessed many miracles and introduced us all to Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was a Jewish man who loved God and taught the people about God. He was like a Rabbi, but he taught everybody even the people that no one else cared about. He taught and healed the poor, the lame, widows, the blind, women and men. He loved children and welcomed them when he taught. Children made Jesus laugh! He had many women amongst his disciples and he treated them equally with love and respect. That alone moved my heart – because somehow my heart and mind always told me that God loved everyone equally.
Jesus was arrested by those who were threatened by him and they crucified him on a cross outside the city. But…the miracle is that Jesus rose on the third day and appeared to his followers. It was a miracle – a miracle of love! Jesus had paved the way to God for all of us and it was the same God that we had been worshipped down by the riverside. Isn’t that amazing! And then Paul’s own story and transformation was a miracle as well and he was traveling with others who believed to spread the Good news about Jesus and to start new churches.
When I heard Paul tell his story - my heart leapt inside me and I was filled with a joy that I cannot describe. It was as if God opened my heart and the message of Jesus came right in and made itself at home. And just at that moment Paul told us these words from Jesus:"If anyone loves me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” And I knew that to be true.
Immediately I asked to be baptized in the river and many of my household was baptized as well. There was much rejoicing and singing of Psalms.
Paul then said to all of us, “You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3)
And I knew this to be true as well. After all these years I could name the God whom I worshipped and his Son Jesus the Christ. My seeking heart, my believing heart, and my worshipping heart responded with gladness and gratitude. My life was transformed and I was so moved that I invited them all to my house – and I plan on opening my home to all who follow The Way. Right then and there I invited Paul, Timothy and their friend to come to stay with us whenever they came through. And since I can be very persuasive, they came and promised that they would stay in touch. Timothy told me that Paul was a very good letter writer and that I could expect some joyful and encouraging words from him on a regular basis.
And we rejoiced in the Lord.
As we prepared to go from worshipping back to work, Paul repeated these words from Jesus, “My Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
For the Lord your God goes with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Peace be with you.
Selah
Amen
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