Kechries

And Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brothers, and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila.

In Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.

And they arrived at Ephesus, and he left them there.

Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

That's a direct trip to the west.

Corinth is like a twin city with Cenchreae.

The two cities are very close to one another, considered to be port cities, even though Corinth's port wasn't necessarily, like, right on Corinth.

It was more kind of in between Corinth and Cenchreae.

So it belonged more to Cenchreae than Corinth.

But because of the port city being so close, there was a lot of trade, a lot of commerce that would come in and out of Corinth, and a lot of different nationalities as well.

Where you have a city that a lot of sailors came into, you often had a lot of sexual immorality, and that was especially the case in Corinth, but also because it had the temple to Aphrodite.

But we start here with Paul departing from Athens.

And in the air her new voice, luting soft, cried, "Lycius, gentle Lycius!" Borne aloft with the bright mists about the mountains hoar, these words dissolved; Crete's forests heard no more.

Whither fled Lamia, now a lady bright, a full-born beauty, new and exquisite? She fled into that valley they pass o'er who go to Corinth from Cenchrea's shore, and rested at the foot of those wild hills, the rugged founts of the Peraean rills.

And on that other ridge, whose barren back stretches, with all its mist and cloudy rack, southwestward to Cleone, there she stood, about a young bird's flutter from a wood, fair on a sloping green of mossy tread, by a clear pool, wherein she passioned to see herself escaped from so sore ills, while her robes flaunted with the daffodils.

Ah, happy Lycius! For she was a maid more beautiful than ever twisted braid, or sighed, or blushed, or on spring-flowered lea spread a green kirtle to the minstrelsy; a virgin purest-lipped, yet in the lore of love deep learned to the red heart's core; not one hour old, yet of sciential brain to unperplex bliss from its neighbor pain, define their pettish limits, and estrange their points of contact and swift counterchange; intrigue with the specious chaos and dispart its most ambiguous atoms with sure art; as though in Cupid's college she had spent sweet days, a lovely graduate, still unshent, and kept his rosy terms in idle languishment.

However, where she willed her spirit went, whether to faint Elysium, or where, down through tress-lifting waves, the Nereids fair wind into Thetis' bower by many a pearly stair; or where God Bacchus drains his cups divine, stretched out at ease beneath a glutinous pine; or where in Pluto's gardens Palatine Marseilles' columns gleam in far Piazzian line; and sometimes into cities she would send her dream, with feast and rioting to blend.

And once, while among mortals dreaming thus, she saw the young Corinthian Lycius, charioting foremost in the envious race, like a young Jove with calm uneager face, and fell into a swooning love of him.

Now, on the moth time of that evening dim, he would return that way, as well she knew, to Corinth from the shore; for freshly blew the eastern soft wind, and his galley now grated the keystones with her brazen prow, in Port Cenchreas from Aegina isle fresh anchored: whither he had been awhile to sacrifice to Jove, whose temple there waits with high marble doors for blood and incense rare.

Jove heard his vows and bettered his desire; for, by some freakful chance, he made retire from his companions, and set forth to walk, perhaps grown wearied of their Corinth talk.

Have a little bit of reading here.

So Romans sixteen and verse one: "I commend unto you Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church which is, which is at Cenchrea: That you receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that you assist her in whatever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many," a supporter or a helper of many, "and of myself also.

Greet Priscilla." So there's two women already.

"Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who gave for my life..." Sorry.

In this verse, Paul mentions a woman named Phoebe who presumably delivered the letter to the Roman church.

The RSV reads, "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae." Paul calls her a diakonos, which can mean servant, but it's widely understood by scholars to indicate some sort of administrative or official position within early Christian communities.

Specifically, he calls her a deaconess at the church at Cenchreae, which strongly suggests that she held some sort of position of authority in this community.

However, the ESV translators chose to translate that same word as servant, closing off the potential interpretation that she held any formal position of authority.

Interestingly, elsewhere in the letters of Paul, the ESV editors translated that exact same word as minister.

A reading from Romans.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you.

For she has been a patron of many, and of myself as well.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.

Hmm

... was a woman named Phoebe, who was the deaconess of the church that Paul was a part of in Cenchreae, which is the port city of Corinth.

And there's a lot to unpack there for your average listener.

Hmm.

It's like, wait, Paul had other churches other than the ones I know about f- that are, have the titles of letters? Like, correct, and one of those was in Cenchreae, and that one was led by a deaconess named Phoebe, who was very wealthy.

She was the patron.

She, meaning she wrote all the checks for Paul's travels, and Paul says, "And of many others." You know? Um, and so you do have this sense-

So this is Romans 16, verses 1 to 2.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in St. Croix.

I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

So these two verses open the final chapter of Romans.

I now return to the course of my narrative.

On the isthmus of Corinth towards the Aegean Sea, there is a small port called Kenchreai.

There, a two-masted vessel, rigged like a bombard, was hired to convey us to Athens, and on the evening of the fourth day, we embarked.

Kenchreai is eight miles from Corinth, and as we crossed the isthmus on post horses, I shall describe the nature of our cavalcade.

Persons of consideration when traveling in Turkey procure from the pasha of the province or the nearest governor an order by which post horses are to be furnished to them, I believe gratis, if the order were complied with to the letter.

Such an order as this the Marquis of Sligo had obtained at Tripolitsa.