Sunday Feb 16th was our final full day of our Briarwood Retreat Center/Briarwood Leadership Center leadership journey Paul and Beyond: Early Church Leadership. My day began pre-dawn as I got a short jog in as I continue to prepare for running the Capital 10K in Austin with our LuMin Campus Ministry at the University of Texas. A jog in Athens always includes historical sites and mine took me by the arch of Hadrian and the 1896 Olympic Stadium.
We then headed over early to the Acropolis for our tour. We visited the Mars Hill site where Paul preached his famous sermon in Acts 17. We then toured the acropolis site and marvelled at the work done restoring it after the desolation of the Venetians in the 17th century and the removal of marbles by Lord Elgin to the British Museum almost 200 years ago.
From there we journeyed 100 kilometers to the southwest to Corinth. We enjoyed a view of the Corinthian canal connecting the Aegean and Ionian seas. A 19th Century marvel of technology. We also visited the site where Paul set foot first in Corinth. Having traveled from Berea (where we were recently) to Corinth by sea.
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The ruins of Ancient Corinth include a number of interesting sites including the Bema where Paul, having been a tent maker for many months, addressed the people in Corinth. We also took a moment, as it was a Sunday, to share Holy Eucharist (literally the Greek word for thank you) in the Ancient Corinthian site. Eucharistic sharing was an issue in Corinth (1st Corinthians 11) so it was appropriate we shared in this feast where all receive at this site. Dr. Mohn also shared with us thoughts on how the word of the Gospel challenged prevailing notions of servanthood and slavery. And in the museum there was a pediment of a column with menorahs carved onto them. A sign of Corinth’s once thriving Jewish community.
We then returned to Athens for our final evening meal. We depart from Athens very early in the morning. Praying for all impacted by Cyclone Dennis and hoping we will be unaffected as we journey home transformed by this experience. #NTNL #BWTX #InMissionTogether