Divine inspiration or desperation? Inquiring minds want to know. Paul had a vision during the night. Was it the Holy Spirit or indigestion?

After all, Paul had just come from a difficult personal management situation with Barnabas, another leading evangelist. They’d disagreed about whether they should let a young man – John Mark – continue with their mission of gospel-spreading after he’d deserted the team in Pamphylia. No reason is given for John Mark’s poor decision although the Mediterranean city Attalia in that region is still an alluring coastal destination in Turkey today.

Barnabas said yes. Paul said no. So Barnabas took John Mark and they got on a boat and left to go gospelling on the island of Cyprus. You have to wonder how Paul felt about that.

So Paul continued on with a few others, one of whom was Luke, author of this book, the Acts of the Apostles. It tells the continuing story of early Christian missions. Paul and his companions soon found another promising young man named Timothy to fill the roster. And they started to make another plan to take the good news of Jesus on the road.

But the road was not so easily traversed. Paul tried to continue the mission trip within Asia Minor but everything kept falling apart. With the weight of failure on his mind, and maybe a smidge of desperation, Paul went to sleep. And then a mystery man from Macedonia (that’s northern Greece to you and me) showed up in a vision, with a personal invitation to come and visit.

It was very good news for Paul and he didn’t hesitate in telling the others. A nighttime spiritual vision and a new direction. How could anyone say no to that? And off they went across the sea,

Arriving in Macedonia, Paul took the lead. They travelled inland from the bustling port of Neapolis. Their destination was Philippi, a newer city established as a Roman colony.

The empire encouraged retired soldiers to populate its colonial outposts. It was a win-win situation with the retirees receiving free land for their homes, and for the colony a national guard of sorts, loyal to the empire in areas where people might have other allegiances.

If Paul’s mission was driven more by desperation than divine inspiration, then perhaps he was now wondering what exactly where to go in Macedonia. Because where is the man from Macedonia now? Certainly not meeting Paul and the others when their boat docked.

Adrenaline can only take you so far. Philippi was a strategic choice. A community with less history and newer social structures. Perhaps more open to a fresh take on an old spirituality.

In Philippi Paul and company did the expected thing. They went on the sabbath day to the city’s synagogue. It was outside the gates which was to be expected as a non-Roman religion.

And there was Lydia. Though not a Jew, she was a deeply spiritual woman. A seeker after God, drawn to the teachings of Judaism, though not choosing to follow the purity laws.

Lydia was a gift to Paul. The phrase “a certain woman” suggests that Paul was specifically directed to her. A successful business owner, catering to the highest social class. Purple cloth was expensive, worn only by people with power and authority.

Lydia listened to Paul and the others, including Luke. She found their witness compelling. She was drawn to this Jesus, an itinerant servant teacher, defender of the poor, the outcast and the alien. She chose to become a follower of his way. She is considered the first European Christian.

What stands out about Lydia is her first act as a new Christian. To give hospitality to the travelers. Her offer was personal – “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And one can only imagine how Lydia used her prominence and wealth to make her city a better place for those who were poor, the ones who were sick, and for the rejected ones on the outside of accepted norms and boundaries.

In the Revelation to John, the writer describes a new Jerusalem. He envisioned a pure city running on the energy of God and the Lamb. Where the unexpected power of willing sacrifice, brings sanctuary, nourishment and healing.

John lived in a desperate time, yet he was filled with divine inspiration. He saw an enlightened community, immune from false gods and all meaningless devotion to invented powers. When John announced that, “Nothing accursed will be found there any more” the word translated accursed is a term meaning anything devoted to destruction.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” To keep Jesus’s word means to be a guardian of his teaching. To guard not scripture, but the way of Jesus. The way of justice, compassion, peace.

This is what Paul, Luke. Lydia, and John signed up to do. To embrace and hold on to the way of Jesus. To help make the world a better place, looking to the lasting peace of God rather than to the false peace of any demigod.

None of them was any better equipped for the task than we are. Nor were their times any less desperate or troubling. As they knew, when your sidekick is the Holy Spirit, anything is possible.