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Lessons in Temptation

Bundled in our coats against the cold on our first day in Rome, Cindy and I walked along the road flanking the River Tiber with maps in hand.  It was my goal to keep our orientation by staying in the open by the river.  A new form of disorientation nevertheless hit us, when a stranger pulled beside us with a powerful temptation.  As we now approach Holy Week and consider the temptations that faced the early disciples that final week that Christ was with them, I am reminded of the lessons in temptation we learned by the River Tiber.  You may find them intrusive for the times temptation tugs at your coat tails.

Our lesson came as we anticipated venturing away from the river  into the deeper confines of the narrow city streets.  We stopped at various intersections to gain our bearings on the map. After one of our orientation checks, a car pulled up beside us and a well-dressed man inside asked in English, “Can you give me directions.” 

I did not realize how disoriented I was in this foreign setting, until I gave him my reply.  “Sorry, I don’t speak Italian.”

“But I speak English,” he responded.  I felt like a fool.  I imagined that since he had spoken with such a strong accent, I would not be able to help him.  He continued by saying, “I need directions to Saint Peter’s.  Can you show me the way?"

Of course I could show him the way!  I knew the answer.  I could help the man.  Although I was a disoriented American pastor in a foreign land, I was being given the opportunity to do the one thing I love best.  I could help somebody.  In that moment I did not consider it strange that an Italian in Rome would ask for directions in English.  Neither did I consider it odd that he didn’t know the location of the largest church in the world, when it was just down the street and around the corner.  I cheerfully gave him directions as I stood on the side walk a few feet from his car.

“I’m from out of town,” he said, leaning across his front passenger seat toward his open window on my side.  “Can you show me on the map?"

“Sure,” I said with only slight hesitation.  “I’d be happy to.”  I could sympathize with him.  I had felt rather disoriented only a few hours earlier, when I was working my way through the maze of cobblestone streets.  I was delighted to have gained my sense of direction, and was pleased to help a lost soul that needed some guidance.  I reached into his car and directed him with my finger on his map.

“Where are you from?” he asked as I gave him directions “I’m from New York”, I said, giving him the closest big city he might know.  I didn’t think he would have heard of Jersey.  “New York!  I have a brother in New York,” he said, his eyes lighting up.  He told me all about his brother, an attorney in New York City.  When I told him that I actually lived on the Jersey Shore, outside New York, he said, “Yes, my brother has been there.”  He continued to tell me about his brother’s family, and his brothers job, and how his brother could help me if I was ever in need.  He then told me of himself.  “I am going to go to New York next year,” he said.  “I work for the fashion industry.  I travel all around.  Look at this beautiful coat that I’m showing at a show today.”  He pulled a folded jacket from a plastic bag and said, “Feel this, it is very fine Antelope leather.  I will be selling these jackets at a fashion show for 2,000 euros.  Here feel it,” he said as he moved it close to my hand.  I drew closer, feeling the soft leather of the jacket. “Isn’t it nice?” he said as I ran my hand back and forth on the soft leather.  He then said, “I hope I can reach the fashion show.  I’ve been driving around and I’m almost out of petrol."  He pointed to the gas gage on his dash.  He showed me his wallet with his credit card.  “None of the petrol stations will take this credit card and I am out of cash.  Could you give me money for some petrol,” he asked.  Reading the growing suspicion on my face he added, “I will give you this jacket, thank you very much."

I looked over at Cindy, who seemed amenable to help him. “How much do you need?” I said, reaching in my pocket for a few coins.  “I need to fill my tank.  Thank you, very much.  I give you this jacket, thank you very much.”  When I paused, his head turned away, and his face carried a look of hurt, distress and indignation at my hesitation to help.

I felt prodded with guilt for my resistance in helping a fellow sojourner in distress.  I had the same feeling I often get when talking to one of the masterful con artist who make the circuit of churches in town. Then in an instant, my foggy brain cleared and it became abundantly obvious that I was in the midst of a con.  I looked around to see if this man had a partner on the street nearby.  We appeared to be physically safe.  “I really don’t want your coat,” I said, “and I don’t have the money to spare.”   We walked away.

He sat with his engine idling saying one last time, “I need petrol. Please, I give you my coat, thank you.”

That well dressed Italian, with his plastic covered coat, expressed the common qualities of many tempting situations.  The personal connection through friendly conversation.  The appeal to my good nature and desire to help.  The family connection with my home. The physical touch.  The promise for me to get something for nothing.  The opportunity for me to do a good deed.  And finally, a prick to my conscience and a stirring of my guilt.  It was all a part of a big Roma con.  I can see it now, but on that misty morning while I was still gaining my bearings, I was almost taken by man whose brother lives in New York. 

There is undoubtedly a man in New York, Seattle or Iowa who came home from Rome with what he thought was an Antelope Coat.  I wish him well.

Crossing to the Other Side

Cindy and I  traveled to Italy on a red eye flight out of Newark.  We arrive in Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport in the early morning fog.  Once we maneuvered through the passport check point, we located the train station and boarded a local line into the city.  As we fumbled through our papers studying directions and trying to determine how far we would go before transferring to a city bus, gypsy women and children wandered through our train car begging for money.  Some gave them coins.  Others stared at them in disgust.  Some shooed them away.  Most people ignored them.  We looked at them like we didn’t understand a word they were saying, which was true.

After a thirty minute ride, we disembarked at a small outdoor platform covered with graffiti and littered with trash.  There were steps leading off the platform in one direction and a tunnel under the tracks going the other way.  The few people populating the station did not look like the type to offer helpful directions.  A couple loitering young men stood smoking and appearing readying to sell something if asked.  I noticed only a man and woman engrossed in conversation who looked like they were actually waiting for a train. I stood by awaiting a break in their conversation for an opportunity to seek directions to the bus stop.  Thankfully they understood me and spoke enough English to direct us into the tunnel to the city street on the other side. 

A vacant tunnel in a strange and foreign way station on the other side of the world is not the most comfortable of passages.  We took a deep breath and crossed under the tracks with a swift clip.  I welcomed the sight of the busy street on the other side.  A ray of sun poured through the clouds and shined on the shops lining the street.  Groups of young people were hustling to schools.  Workers were headed to jobs.  A pleasant middle aged woman dressed nicely for work pointed us in the direction of the bus stop and told us we would need to first purchase bus tickets at a tobacco shop.  After paying a Euro a piece for tickets, we proceeded to the bus stop, oriented ourselves in the right direction, determined the bus we needed to take, and then pack aboard with the local morning commuters. 

We road the crowded bus for twenty minutes to an old section of Rome called Travestevere.  The last leg of our journey to the hotel was on foot.  We followed directions on our map along narrow cobblestone streets towards our hotel.  After numerous twists and turns through ancient alleyways lined with trashy modern graffiti, our narrow path opened into the courtyard for Trastevere’s Church of Santa Maria.  Breaking into this opening was like coming up for air after swimming through an under water tunnel.  The charming church looking down upon the courtyard is one of the oldest in Rome.  It was the location of a house-church around AD 220 and has gone through various reconstructions and expansions over the years.  The bells ring every fifteen minutes.  From the church we reentered the street maze for one more block until we arrived at L’Hotel Santa Maria.  We passed through a gate off the side of the street and walked down a path to an inner court filled with several orange trees and lined with charming little rooms.  Since it was still breakfast time, we were invited to eat. 

After eating, Cindy laid down for a short nap, but I stayed up, chomping at the bit to head out into the heart of the city.  Within Thirty minutes, Cindy had completed a power nap, and we were once again working our way through the labyrinth of ancient streets.  We came out of the graffiti lined cobblestone maze by the River Tiber, and crossed over the Ponte Sistro, a foot bridge leading to streets with a more manageable grid pattern.  An unshaven man in filthy clothes sat in the middle of the bridge like a Troll guard with a threatening canine by his side.  Like the tunnel earlier in the day, we passed without incident.

GOD USES ORDINARY PEOPLE TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

Reflections by Elder Jean Worshington:

 

"GOD USES ORDINARY PEOPLE TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS"  Someone used this phrase several months ago and I thought it would be a good basis for my devotion but wasn't quite sure how to use it.  I did want to bring to mind to  some of the ordinary people in the Bible with whom we're familiar who did extraordinary things.

 

Noah who argued with God about building an Ark until God said (to paraphrase). . . how long can you tread water? So backed up against a wall, he built the Ark, a very ordinary man who argued with God about what he was called to do. . . sound familiar?

 

Of course there is David, a man after God's own heart so the Bible tells us. Not only an ordinary man but also a flawed man capable of adultery and murder but used by God in such extraordinary ways and a progenitor of Jesus.

 

The disciples, all ordinary fisherman just as we encounter on the Belmar , Brielle, Point Pleasant docks. They were just ordinary men doing their ordinary jobs until God got hold of them and then they walked with Jesus and what extraordinary men they were.

 

What really prompted this devotion is that over Christmas we were at relatives who live in Fair Haven and they were discussing  Holy Cross church in Rumson which is going to be demolished to make way for a new, larger building. It is a beautiful church about 100 years old. The feeling in the community is that this decision has split the congregation. I couldn't help but think of  our congregation and and all the ordinary people who have done extraordinary things, not only to expand the church building but also to expand the church.

 

The long range vision of the Planning Committee, the By Faith We Build committee, the families who have been in this church for many years, generations even who were willing to see this beautiful old building changed because unselfishly they knew it was needed for future generations.

 

A Pastor and a Staff with the ability to help carry out the vision. The Transition Team, who organized and did the leg work for finding storage, all those who dismantled and helped with that project, Bob Burkitt who retired just in  the nick of time, to become the Project Manager. And once we moved Marcello and  the choir, Cathy Gaestel at the 8 AM service the worship committee,  the flowers and all those volunteers who set up and break down each Sunday which has transformed a theater into a place of worship. A special thank you to Sean and Todd. The Children's Committee, Sunday School superintendent (and wife) teachers, parents and children, young and older, who adjusted to tremendous changes. The Finance Committee that keeps our noses to the grindstone. And all members of  Session who for 3 years have made decisions that have effected the entire congregation and  these decisions have not been easily made.

 

 There are also the Deacon's and  the ongoing work of the church while the building project continues. The food pantry,  and their work but especially at Christmas and Easter, the Community Supper, 105 lunches packed by our  youth for the Asbury Park Center and the homeless in Lakewood, the lay Pastors who care for our shut-ins, 157 shoe boxes filled for Operation Christmas Child. Time does not permit mentioning all those who deserve recognition but God knows who they are. Christ's work has not stopped by this project, if anything it has expanded.

 

 Bill Hybels  devotes one chapter of his book to a concept “this is church”. We are expanding a church building but this year we are also expanding a church as he defines it: quote“a community of real people with real, beating hearts who are attentive to each other and responsive to each other and quick to extend grace and mercy and love”. Unquote. In Esther 4:14 Mordecai's answer to Esther's reluctance to go into the king was “. . . . who can say but that God has brought you into this place for such a time as this”. Who can say but that God has brought all of us into this church for such a time as this.

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

 

May God continue to bless our efforts to serve Him.

 

 

First Lunch in Florence

We went to a charming little trattoria for lunch. I had ravioli with a walnut cream sauce.  Cindy had some sort of pasta with herbs.  Great food.  When the waiter gave me back my card and receipt he had over charged me 8 euros.  That's the second time I've been over charged accidentally.  If it happens again, I'm going to think Italian waiters don't know how to add, or that I have some kind of mark on me. 

Florence

Today we arrived in Florence on a fast train from Venice. As all the carnival celebrators were coming into town we were heading out.  Florence is a city famous for Gothic and Renaissance buildings, art galleries, museums, and parks. Michelangelo Park, provides a glorious view of this historic city and all around you can see signs of the influence of Michelangelo who was not only a sculptor and painter, but an architect and poet as well.  The city is dominated by the towers of its many palaces and churches and by the huge dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The Uffizi is a fortress-like building that houses the Uffizi Gallery. The gallery’s large collection includes works by artists such as Raphael, Titian, and Botticelli.  The other major museum of town is the Academia.  It houses Michelangelo's David, one of the artist’s best known creations.  One of Lane’s art professors was commissioned to do restoration work on the Sculpture and as a part of the arrangements was given the opportunity to make a cast of it that is in the cast hall in the Museum at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Art.  The Santa Maria Novella in Florence is one of Florence’s most beautiful churches. The church, built from the 13th to the 15th century, sits on the north bank of the Arno River and houses many famous frescoes and paintings of the late 1400s and early 1500s.

Venice

 

Yesterday we arrived in Venice .  This is a unique town made up of 120 islands and 177 canals.  There is no place like it on earth.  The Grand Canal, is about two miles long, and winds through Venice

as the main traffic route for the city.  There are no motor vehicles permitted on the narrow, winding lanes and streets that penetrate the old city.  Flooding has become a major problem in the city and this has been the worst year ever.  Saint Mark's Square is in the heart of the city with the majestic Cathedral of Saint Mark's towering over this administrative center of town.  There is also the Doges’ Palace with  two famous granite columns erected, one bearing the winged lion of Saint Mark and the other Saint Theodore of Studium on a crocodile.

Vatican City

 

 

Yesterday was a visit to the Vatican City.  Although this is within the nation of Italy in the city of Rome, this region is an independent state under the absolute authority of the pope.  It is situated on a hill and is surrounded by medieval and Renaissance walls. Many of the most renowned artists and architects of the Italian Renaissance worked on the Vatican's buildings. The most imposing edifice is Saint Peter's Basilica. This was built between the 15th and 17th centuries, and designed by artists, including Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini.  Also on this site is the Papal Palace with the Sistine Chapel and its great ceiling frescoes painted by Michelangelo.  There are rooms of the palace with frescoes painted by the Raphael.  The Vatican's museums are also outstanding.  Among them are the Gregorian Museum of Egyptian Art; the Gregorian Museum of Etruscan Art; the Pio Clementino Museum , with a great collection of intiquities; the Chiaramonti Museum ; and the Vatican Pinacoteca, with works from a number of Italian masters. The Vatican Library also has a collection of precious ancient manuscripts.

Rome

We arrived in Rome yesterday.  This is a city filled with great history.  It is an unparalleled repository of monuments from many periods. Roman monuments include the almost perfectly preserved Pantheon which was founded in 27 bc and rebuilt in ad 118-128.  This is considered one of the finest surviving temples of antiquity.  Then there is the Colosseum which was opened ad 80.  Although it is partially destroyed, this huge amphitheater that was the scene of gladiatorial combats and other spectacles, stands as a testimony to the roll of brutal entertainment in western history. Other impressive sites are the great ancient city walls, triumphal arches, great public meeting places, churches, and palaces all about the city.

Airport to hotel

We arrived in Rome this morning. Got 4 hours of sleep on the plane and I'm raring to hit the town. Instead I'm in a little bistro sipping cappicino while Cindy takes a nap. Travel to the hotel from the airport was a lot of fun. We hunted down the train station, caught it to a dumpy graffiti laden stop where we meandered our way around busy streets to a tobacco shop where a bought tickets for a bus. We road that to our hotel area in an old part of the city. Cobblestone streets, bars on windows, graffiti every where. The Hotel Santa Maria is on a long back ally, through a locked wrought iron gate in a charming enclosed courtyard area. We asked several people directions on the way. Real nice people. My friend Tim who lives in Turkey tells me people will give you wrong directions on the streets in Istanbul just to save face. People here gave us great help. Cindy just showed and we are on the road. Yea! something to

ART: Italy and PAFA

I had planned a study leave to Israel for the second week of February, but it was recently canceled.  So I’ve adjusted my plans and will be going to Italy instead.  I’m looking forward to doing a study of the religious art and culture of Rome, Florence and Venice.  If you’d like to follow any of my travels, I will be making some posts on this blog.
  

If you are interested in more local art, our son Lane and fellow artists at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art are opening their studios to visitor on the 13th of February from 5:30 to 8:00.  This is a great way to preview the preparation work of artists for the Spring Exhibit at the Academy.  You may want to go early and visit the Academy Museum.  They have on display many fine early American pieces.  One painting of note is the recently acquired masterpiece called Gross Clinic, by the Academy’s most renowned past teacher, Thomas Eakins. It was recently purchased for $60 million. There is also a side cast hall off the Museum that has a rare cast replica of Michelangelo's David done by a professor who was doing restoration work on the original in Florence.  You can find more information about the Academy at www.pafa.org.