The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-11-03
SUNDAY MEDITATION.
A Study of the International Sunday
School Lesson Appointed for Nov.
Is, 1892.
Subject; SITS. Paul and Barnabas Set Out OIL
Mission Tour. Acts, 1918.


Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures as
indicated above.i
INTRODUCTION.
Our last lesson left ST. Peter an escaped
prisoner. He drops out of the history known
as the Acts of the Apostles and almost all the
| rest of the book relates to tho travels and
teachings of st. Paul. The Church has sur
| vvod much opposition. Two severe persecu-
| tons have been experienced. just now two
facts are favorable: st. Peter is free and Herod
Agrippa ia dead and can no longer stretch
| forth his hand to yex certain OF the Church"
| as we saw him doing in II: l, and as he did in
the case of st. Peter. (12:3 A. We have an
| account of his horrid death in ~: 20 %. 1t
seems to have been Divine stroke in punish
ment for vanity and blasphemy.
| l. Data
We now study 10: 1-13, inclusive.
9. Tine.
| We may date at about A. D. 45. Christ has
been dead about 30 years. The Church has
| struggled on, not growing rapidly, but yet not
decreasing becoming demoralized. Most
| work had been done for Jews Some advances
had been made toward Genties, as, O. e., in the
case of Cornelius. The Gospel had spread some
| what in Samaria and considerably i'll Syria.
| The time had come for more pronounced effort
at large. We see this turning point well illus
| trated in our lesson.
8. Places.
a. Antioch. ". H. The lesson centers in
| that city. 1t is in Syria, on the south side of
| the Orontes River. We locate thus definitely,
| because there were Is other ties of the same
name. They were all so styled from Antiochns,
| the father of Seleucus Nicator. Constantine
! commenced and Constantine finished q grand
Christian church there. Earthquake and fire
destroyed it, A. D. 526. The Romans made
| province of Syria early as A. D. 81. under
| Pompey. Terrible earthquakes have visited
| that section, leading to great superstition.
| Antioch was the center for many important
religious assem- blies in tho interests of Christ
anity. In 126S A. ID. it was taken by the Sui
| tan of Egypt with serious destructiyeness, from
which it has never survived. There may be
| 10000 inhabitants now. They subsist largely
| on the products from vineyards and mulberry
| trees. They grow tobacco of fine quality.
| The sophist Libanius had school at Antioch
in the time of Julian. The planting of the
| Church there at date so early was due to
great persecution. 1t was not only the first
| place where followers Of Jesus were called
| Christians, but became the start-point for the
| first missionary operations. The Church there
! grew rapidly and strong and was able to send
| help to the prosecuted and destitute Christians
| of Judea. III: 9-30) The modern name is
| Antakie. As late as 1922 it had visitation Of
| its old time and oft-time calamity, an earth
quake. Noted for its attractive situation and
| surroundings, it was often called Antioch the
| Beautiful" and also Antioch the Crown of
| the East" Once, say about the time the Roman
| Empire began, the city was as populous, it is
! thought, as Paris Is now.
An important suburb was the celebrated
| Daphne, with its groves and fountains. and its
| gorgeous temple dedicated to the worship of
| Apollo and Diana.
| 1t was well Christianity made bold strike
| for the con version of Antioch to the new de-
| veopment of the true religion. There could
| have been no better mission field. One has
| written " If we wish to realize the appearance
| and complicated heathenism Of the first Christ
| ian century we must endeavor to imagine the
scene of that suburb, the famous Daphne. with
its fountains and groves of bay trees, its bright
| buildings, its crowd of lCentous yotaries. its
statue of Apollo, where under the climate of
! Syria aud the wealthy patronage of Rome, all
| that was beautiful in nature and in art had
created a sanctuary for q perpetual festival OF
| vice. Thus, if any city in the first century was
| worthy to be called the heather queen and
metropolis Of the East, that city was Antioch"
| Christianity must not be afraid TO attack
| strongholds of sin. We see how important in
missionary work it is to look specially to the
| cities. the centers of population, the points
| visited by people of the interior, and from
| which many go forth into the rural parts carry
| ing ideas and influences which always receive
special consideration by the masses, and which
are made the more effective by the ordinarily
great regard paid by townspeople TO Corners
from metropolis.
b. Cyrene. ". 1.) That city was the Capt.
tai of Cyrenaca in Africa. 1t was a man from
that city who helped Christ bear his cross.
(St. Mt 81: 32) Some of those present at the
Pentecost feast when the Holy Spirit descended
on the 100 were from that section. (2: 1O)
Cyrene was founded by Battus. 1t will always
DO connected with the names of the pupil of |
Socrates, Aristippus, who founded the Cyrenaic
school of philosophy; Callimachus, the poet
Carneades who founded at Athens the New
Academy; Eratosthenes, the learned, and
Synesius, whose pen defended Christianity.
Cyrenaica lies on the south side of the Mediter-
ranean. just about opposite Greece. 1t has been
since the seventh century under control OF the
Saracens.
c. selcucia. VA We have noticed An
tioch is inland. Seleuca its seaport at
the mouth of the Orontes. 1t was founded by
| Seleucus l. 1t will be a matter of interest to
know Seleucia the first point reached in
the first missionary tour ever made.
| d. Cyprus. ". A. 1t was the native place
of Barnabas. a: 36) 1t is the third largest
| island of the Mediterranean. 1t was governed
| by the Turks from 1871 to a recent date, when
| it again became possessed by England. 1t is
about 140 miles long, and varies from five to %
| miles in width. 1t is very fertile. Vineyards IN
special abound. Through the length of the
| island runs a range of mountains the highest
point Doing MI olyiLpuS, Hidu6 ny
| Homer in his Odyssey. From that summit
! Neptune, he said, saw Ulysses sailing toward
| Pbenicia. and as he saw, grew full of rage.
| In early days the island was exceedingly de-
PRAYED Venus was worshipped there, and the
| licentious rites demoralized the inhabitants to
| such an extent that the term Cyprian to-day
means woman lost to virtue.
| 1t was behtting the island fall to England,
| for Queen Elizabeth was once its sovereign. and
| the arms of Cyprus adorn her tomb, the very
| emblazoning of them thereon proving that the
| College of Heralds at that date recognized the
! legitimacy of her reign. Cyprus has been
| called 1.-The last jewel in the British crown"
and the setting of it attributed justly to the
| late Lord Beaconsfeld.
| In 1891 Miss Amy Potter went to Cyprus,
| giving up her life to the vocation OF a nurse in
| the hospital at the City Larnica.
| 1t must have been pleasant mission to
| Barnabas to carry the Gospel to his native
| island. We are not surprised to find he went
there second time Us: 39) Tradition says
he at length settled there and finally died
| there. a martyr to his fate
| e.. Salamis. (V 81 That was city at the
eastern end of Cyprus. After q time it was
| called Constantia.
| f. Paphos. " g. That was city at the
western end of Cyprus. That place will always
be noted as the city in which first occurred the
| conversion and union to the Christian Church