{"id":42944,"date":"2021-06-10T12:16:07","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T17:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/?p=42944"},"modified":"2021-06-10T12:16:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T17:16:10","slug":"galilee-of-the-gentiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Galilee of the Gentiles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Read: Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many years now, I have found myself meditating on the words of God\u2019s messengers to the women disciples at the empty tomb: \u201cHe has gone before you into Galilee.\u201d  Seemingly simple words, but there is a world of meaning in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah Chapter 9 refers to \u201cGalilee of the Gentiles,\u201d from which a king would come, who would cause the \u201cpeople who walked in darkness\u201d to \u201csee a great light.\u201d  Scholars say the people of that time would likely have thought of the righteous King Josiah, who restored the faith of the nation, but who died in battle at Megiddo (also known as Armageddon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galilee was a place, both in Isaiah\u2019s time and in the time of Jesus\u2019 ministry, where the Jewish people were a minority\u2014the Gentiles (or the nations) predominated.  It was an especially fertile land and a crossroads of international travel.  Not too many years ago, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a large city in Galilee from the time of Jesus\u2019 life and ministry. From that, many have begun to think that Jesus and his neighbors spoke several languages\u2014at least Aramaic and Greek, and possibly more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when the Risen Christ \u201chas gone before you into Galilee,\u201d all of the above could be part of the meaning.  I used to think it simply meant that the disciples were to go \u201cto all the nations\u201d and be witnesses to the Good News.  Now I believe it also means that the Risen Christ is everywhere \u201cthe people\u201d are.  To me, it means that no matter where I go, Christ will meet me there, having gone before me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I shared this with the congregation at Wattana Church here in Bangkok.  In this very place, we are \u201cGalilee of the Gentiles,\u201d a fertile and productive land, as the ancient Thai song has it: \u201cin the water there is fish, in the fields there is rice.\u201d  We, especially Bangkok, are a crossroads for the world\u2014at least when COVID-19 has not shut down so much travel, and a coup next door has not suddenly shut down some of our trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple languages are spoken here.  The front-desk guard in my apartment building, Mr. Free (his English nickname), is from southern Thailand.  He speaks the language of his province, the standard Central Thai he learned in school, Malay (the language of our southern neighbor), and he is trying very hard to learn English.  Our Pastoral Assistant for English-Language ministries, Mr. Motan Konyak, speaks his own Naga dialect from the hills of northeast India, as well as English, Hindi, and Thai.  Some of our building-and-grounds church workers are Christians from the Karen tribe in Burma or northern Thailand.  They speak their own Karen dialects, Burmese, Northern Thai, Central Thai, and a few words of English.  Our church Board Chair speaks the Chinese dialect of his immigrant parents (Teochew), Thai, and fluent English.  My paltry two languages just can\u2019t compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in Galilee of the Gentiles, and the Risen Christ was here before any of us arrived.  And just as Jesus taught his disciples to \u201cfish for people,\u201d Christians here are conscious of striving to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand has been under very strict regulations since last March.  Things eased up some from August through November, but then there was an outbreak in December at Thailand\u2019s largest wholesale fish market in Samut Sakhorn, the province just west of Bangkok.  Christmas and New Year celebrations were much subdued because of that, and Christian churches went back online.  Yes, many Thai people celebrate Christmas according to the world of retail.  Christmas trees and major shopping everywhere.  No Jesus, though.  At least, not in the larger culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I write this, at the beginning of February, the government has announced an easing of restrictions again.  We will again worship in person beginning this month (no more than 100 people at a time indoors), and we will even observe Holy Communion with little sealed pillboxes for the wafers and little vials with screw tops for the cup.  And yes, the plan is to sterilize these items and re-use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christians here are very alert to any news from the U.S.A., just as people in almost every nation.\u00a0 We pray for you constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne Gregory serves with the Church of Christ in Thailand. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church\u2019s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make a gift that supports the work of Anne Gregory<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read: Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7 For many years now, I have found myself meditating on the words of God\u2019s messengers to the women disciples at the empty tomb: \u201cHe has gone before you into Galilee.\u201d  Seemingly simple words, but there … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[],"topic":[20299,20322,20246],"region":[20017,20096],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGalilee of the Gentiles - Global Ministries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Galilee of the Gentiles - Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read: Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7 For many years now, I have found myself meditating on the words of God\u2019s messengers to the women disciples at the empty tomb: \u201cHe has gone before you into Galilee.\u201d  Seemingly simple words, but there … Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-10T17:16:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-10T17:16:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Global Ministries\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/\",\"name\":\"Galilee of the Gentiles - Global Ministries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-10T17:16:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-10T17:16:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fd55f1d77b4604c30516841d557532c5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/galilee-of-the-gentiles\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Galilee of the Gentiles\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/\",\"name\":\"Global Ministries\",\"description\":\"Global Ministries is a common missional witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. 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