Flipping The Story

There is an interesting thing that happens when we feel that our livelihood is threatened.  We prepare for battle.

A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, "Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her." - Acts 19:24-27

In this excerpt from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul is busy spreading the word that there is only one God and Jesus is the Way to Him.

Meanwhile, back at the marketplace, Demetrius, a silversmith who makes his money manufacturing idols, is seeing Paul as a threat.  His business is being eroded by this new teaching that has the potential to wipe out the source of his fortune.

If this was a modern day tale, he would simply raise the price astronomically to increase profits during a decline in market share, and he would retire a millionaire.  But in Ephesus back in Paul's day, that strategy had not yet been mastered.  Instead, he and his fellow artisans form a cartel and seek to eliminate the competition.

Now before I jump on one or another bandwagon and start singing praises for my position in this battle, I might want to look at the situation with a different perspective.

Suppose we make a few substitutions, replacing Artemis with Jesus, Demetrius with someone high up in Church circles, and Paul with the Prophet Mohammed.  How would the story sound then?

One of the tools we use in our Education for Ministry class is to draw from four sources of knowledge or awareness of the world: Culture, Tradition, Personal Beliefs, and Actions or experiences.  But before we draw on these sources, we take the situation or story and lift it out of its context, replacing it with a metaphor or image that we can all relate to easily.

What I just did, though, appears to be the opposite.  By switching the players in the story, I am inviting greater, and perhaps more personal controversy.  Yes, we may be able to relate to it, but do we want to?

One of the things I love about the Episcopal Church is that it encourages and supports such discussion.  No topic is too radical to be addressed, though not everyone within the church is equally eager to engage in open discussion on any topic.

We are uniquely alike in our willingness to be different together.

Now here's the thing.  If in flipping the story I create an opportunity for insight and new implications, I have succeeded in finding a deeper truth than the one I lived and swore by before.  And if I change as a result, perhaps I become closer to God.

So, if I am willing to acknowledge that the traditions and images of my faith may seem like idol worship to some, maybe I can find a way to explain why I don't see it that way, without fear, without hatred, without ignorance, without prejudice.

And if I can see the story flipped around, I might be able to see more clearly how the followers of Artemis might have felt.

But all that is work, isn't it?  It is so much easier to hang a label on someone and see them as an enemy rather than a brother or sister.

We just blew past World Peace Day this week.  Flipping our stories and sharing them may not lead to world peace, but I didn't hear anyone come up with a better suggestion.

Did you?

More to come...