Email 1
Dear Fellow Travelers,
During the Advent season we anticipate the joy of Christmas by confessing our sins and hearing the ancient prophetic promises of the Messiah.
But what could these Old Testament promises mean to churches with Gentile members in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia? The mistake we make in our current cultural context is thinking that the Old Testament is primarily meant for Abraham’s ethnic descendants the Jews and only has meaning for gentiles in an extended, secondary sense. We might even be tempted to think that it’s illegitimate cultural appropriation for the gentiles to see themselves as included among God’s people described in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Nothing could be further from the truth! When the New Testament was still transmitted from the tongues of the Apostles to the hearts of their hearers, when the apostolic writings were just letters being circulated between the churches, the Scriptures used in preaching and study were nothing other than the writings of Moses and the prophets.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, St. Luke writes that “He opened [the apostles’] minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem”” (Luke 24:45-47). St. Paul also reminds the young pastor Timothy, of mixed Jewish and gentile descent, that at a young age he had become familiar with these ancient writings “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 3:15).
The Old Testament preaches Christ who comes to save both Jew and gentile, not in an extended sense, but directly for those whose hearts have been opened by the Spirit to receive the truth. For this reason, St. Paul set out on his missionary journeys founding churches far from Palestine. “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name”” (Rom 15:8-9).
This Advent, take some time to go through Paul’s epistles to carefully note the Old Testament passages he cites as being about Christ and his salvation that comes to us by grace alone and by faith alone.
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I’m not sure if you’re a fan of Rick Steves' travel shows that usually air on PBS, but I’ve enjoyed watching them for many years. Take a moment to watch his episode on Athens, the first stop on our theological adventure in the steps of St. Paul.
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I also have good news! We’re about two people shy of our bus being officially able to go. So take a moment to think about which of your friends and family might like to join us on our trip. I’m sure we’ll fill up those spots pretty quickly which will mean that we can start looking at plane tickets and travel insurance more closely. I'll be sure to let you know.
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Also, let me know, this week if possible, if you’d like to upgrade to a balcony room on our trip for only $340 more. This is limited by availability on the cruise ship, but I’d like to tell our travel agent with Globus how many travelers from our bus want it so she can get working on it.
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That’s all for now. Blessed Advent, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Pr. Brian Flamme
Email 2
Dear Fellow Travelers,
Like I mentioned in my previous email, we have enough travelers along that we can start solidifying our plans now. This is fantastic news! As I begin sending in your deposits to Globus, I'll need your names as they appear on your passports. If you haven't already filled out the registration form which asks you to provide this information, please take the time to do so by following this link. Thank you to everyone who has already done this.
Also, I'm going to be sending out your final invoices soon which should take into account your desire to have a balcony room if you indicated. If you would like to have an extra day in Athens either before the tour begins or after it ends, which sounds pretty relaxing to me, just let me know and I'll add it in and let Globus know about it.
As a reminder, it's a good idea to purchase travel insurance for your trip. Here are the websites that have been recommended to me. I've heard that folks have been happy with their plans.
· https://www.insuremytrip.com/
· https://www.travelinsured.com/
· http://www.squaremouth.com/
Right now we're in the church's season of Epiphany right now which focuses on how the divinity of the eternal Son is manifested through the flesh of Christ. It's also the time when we rejoice in the 'Mystery of Christ,' to use St. Paul's words, which is God's plan to include the gentiles among his chosen people through faith in the Gospel. St. Paul's words to the Ephisians explain, "This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (Eph. 3:6). St. Paul's special calling as an Apostle was to give the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles in the places we'll be visiting in September.
That's all for now. God's richest blessings on you all!
Pr Brian Flamme
Email 3
Dear Friends and Fellow Travelers,
Everyone should have their final invoices now. The final payment is due anytime between now and June 20th. If you have any other questions or requests, don't hesitate to let me know.
Second, I figure it's about time to start purchasing tickets along with travel insurance. Remember that Globus requires us to have travel insurance, so make sure you save a copy of your receipt so I can pass it along.
Here are a few travel insurance websites to consider. We have no affiliation with them, just recommendations from people who have traveled with us previously and were happy with their plans.
· https://www.insuremytrip.com/
· https://www.travelinsured.com/
· http://www.squaremouth.com/
Here's Jen's and my flight itinerary...
We're getting into Athens on AA flight 160 from O'Hare on September 9th at 11:10am.
Jen and I will be staying an extra day after so we're leaving on AA flight 161 at 11:05am on September 21st.
Next, I just want to remind everyone that we'll be having a Zoom meeting for all our travelers on the 29th of this month at 12pm mountain, 1pm Central, and 2pm Eastern. I'll send a link when we get closer to the day. It'll be good to talk and see each other's faces.
Finally, one of the resources I'll be using to get ready for the trip is Andrew Steinmann's biblical chronology, From Abraham to Paul. It's a great resource for every christian family or church to have in their library. Here's a link if you're interested.
I think that's it for now.
Blessed Lent to you all!
Pr Brian Flamme