Paul’s journey on the margins continues on Cyprus (Acts 13). Having dispatched the magician Elymas with what sounds like a rather scary stare (‘filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul fixed his gaze on him’) Paul finds himself with a new convert on his hands in the shape of the island’s proconsul, Sergius Paulus. (Why is it that political leaders often like to have a priest-like figure by their side? Think Nixon and Billy Graham; Obama and Rick Warren.)

Proconsuls were powerful people and in order to be one in the first place you had to be pretty high up the Roman political hierarchy. In line with imperial power games, however, they only stayed in post for one year at a time – but for that year they commanded immense power on behalf of the empire in their region, including the power to execute any trouble makers. So a great catch for Paul and the church then and just what you would pray for if you wanted free reign to preach in a region.

Except just as Paul sees Sergius converted he leaves Cyprus. He gets on a boat and eventually settles in Pisidian Antioch and continues with his preaching there. A bit odd, maybe? Well not when you consider what subsequent historians have suggested about Sergius – that he had land and family connections in and around Antioch.

It seems to me that Paul made a choice in regards to this new contact. He was never going to ignore a door-opener like Sergius but rather than making use of his political and military power on Cyprus, he chooses to use his personal connections on the mainland. Could it be that he had two different scenarios in his imagination? In one he goes up to someone in Antioch and says, ‘I know your cousin Sergius. Did you know he’d gone through quite a profound spiritual experience recently? Can I tell you what happened?’ And in the second he goes up to someone on Cyprus and says, ‘I’m friends with the proconsul – you know, the one who executed your neighbour recently. Maybe we can have a chat about Jesus sometime?’

Having the might of Rome behind him would have opened many more doors and ensured that no one picked a fight with him because of his views. But by now Paul had realised that you can’t change the world using the values of the world. Sure, it’s harder on the margins. But it’s where Jesus wants us to be.

The firat post on Paul on the margins can be found here.