A Great Disturbance

Acts 19:23-41

“About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.” (Acts 19:23)

Ephesus was the second largest city of its time. It was prosperous, sophisticated, and cultured. Some have compared it to New York City. The city worshipped the goddess Artemis, with a temple devoted to her which was considered one of seven wonders of the ancient world. People came from far and wide to pay her homage, and when they came they purchased silver statues with her image, along with other artisan made idols. So it’s not surprising that when “the Way,” the followers of Jesus the Way, insisted that those silver objects were not gods at all, the silversmiths who got rich from their sale incited an uprising.

And an uprising it was! The Ephesian amphitheatre was the world’s largest, with a capacity of 25,000. Imagine that huge crowd yelling in unison for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Honestly, I can hardly imagine it. Luke, the author, simply calls it a “great disturbance” -- a great disturbance that arose about the Way.

I am a number nine on the Enneagram personality assessment tool. The Enneagram Institute calls me a Peacemaker, and notes that my key motivations are to create harmony in my environment, to avoid conflicts and tension, to preserve things as they are, and to resist whatever would upset or disturb them. So, basically, I don’t want to disturb or be disturbed.

The story of the riot in Ephesus rouses me to cheer for my side, the Way, the cause of that disturbance. But as much as I might be roused by that story as I read it from a great distance, I doubt that, had I been there, I would have been happy to see the Way cause such a great disturbance. But it’s good for me that the Ephesian riot causes me to ask some questions that unsettle my peaceful self.

Questions like:

• Is anyone disturbed today because of the Way?

• If not, is it because we, the Way, try too hard not to disturb, not to upset, not to rock the boat?

• To what extent do our lives challenge the dominant idols of our culture, idols like money, sex, power, prestige, etc.?

I don’t think the Apostle Paul, as he taught about the true God in Ephesus, was intending to arouse the ire of the idol makers that rioted in objection. After all, he was teaching about Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Likewise, neither do we, followers of the Way here in the “City of Subdued Excitement,” intend to excite aggressive opposition to us and our savior. We don’t set out to disturb.

But I’m still left with the question: Would it be better if in Bellingham there arose a great disturbance about the Way?