Following...

He was seen in the heart of this place of worship; this man who had been stirring up controversy wherever he went, diverting people from the truths of our religion, and bringing in heathens. I could not stand the thought that he had desecrated this place, so I called for help. The response was overwhelming. People from all over helped me catch the man, and drag him out of the building. Others were shouting their support for me and, as we came out into the city, more and more people joined in, showing how detestable this man was. The authorities became aware, arresting him, dispersing the crowd. But now we know where he is, we can deal with him. Through the courts if necessary, by ourselves if not. I’m not sure that all the crowd who appeared will support us in the cool light of day, but enough will. We can keep our plans secret, if necessary.

I was in the building for private prayer, when I heard a shout go up for help. Well, of course, I responded, as did several others. When I heard that help was needed to subdue a man who was subverting our religion and misusing our place of worship, I was right behind them. We caught hold of the man and dragged him out; the crowd got bigger, and we were all yelling for something to be done about him, before the authorities came along and arrested him. But now? I’m not so sure. I feel slightly ashamed. I got caught up in the moment, and totally believed someone I’d never met who was saying bad things about someone else I’d never met. The man who we were all against didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong, at the point when I saw him, now I come to think about it. But had he?

I was outside the building when I heard an uproar. I don’t go in much, I’m not particularly religious, and I was going to ignore it. But there was a crowd gathering, and I got caught up in it. I’ve no idea what the problem was, or why everyone was so angry. But the weird thing was, I became angry, too; and angrier as I became more part of the crowd. I hated it when they rescued him – and it was a rescue rather than an arrest. They’ve kept him in the cells, until they see what happened. But I wouldn’t be surprised if a few others were arrested, and he was released. I can only hope I wasn’t noticed; but I wasn’t one of the ringleaders. I should be okay.

I’d got caught up more in religion since I moved to the city. It became important to me, and I often talked with some of the teachers and leaders, wanting to know more. So when I was with one of them, and he spotted this man he’d told me about, the controversial one, I went right along, to help get him outside. I could feel the crowd getting angry, and I joined in with a few others I knew, shouting out what this man had done. I don’t know what will happen to him now the authorities have him, but I will do what it takes to ensure he doesn’t cause any more damage.

I was spreading the good news, the new knowledge of the messiah, Jesus, who had come. I knew it was controversial, but since my experience on the Damascus road, I had to tell others about him. Unfortunately, it was often those of my own culture who got most angry with me. So when I arrived in the City, and it was suggested I purify myself, along with some others, I did so. Obviously, I went to worship; this was a sacred space. I have no idea what those men thought I had been doing, but I assure you I respected the place. When I was arrested, it was only the fact that I am a Roman Citizen that stopped them from flogging me before investigating further. Thankfully, the plans for my death didn’t come off, and I was able to travel to Rome, although not in the manner I had expected to. My name is Paul: read my story in Acts 21 onwards.

What interested me in reading through Acts was how a near riot happened, merely because Paul had been spotted in the temple, and some people assumed he had taken a gentile into spaces where he wasn’t supposed to be. No-one seems to have checked the facts, but simply reacted against Paul. There must have been huge numbers of people there, and quite what their feelings and reactions were, both during and after, we do not know. The above are merely imaginary possibilities. What struck me was how easy it can be to get caught up in something like that, to go along with the crowd, to react rather than respond. To be part of whatever the group is doing, rather than seeing what is actually going on. Events like the riot around Paul don’t happen often, although riots do still happen, whatever the reason behind them. But I’m not really talking about riots. I am talking here about us; the church, both nationally and locally. How often do we go along with what the group think, without maybe even realising it?

I’m aware that this is complicated. Most of us don’t have theology degrees, and we have to trust those in leadership who (hopefully) know more than us. But we can be aware of what our tendency is: do we tend to go along with the group? Are we a natural rebel, and automatically disagree with the majority? How easily are we swayed along with the crowd, whatever the truth of the matter? In many instances, this isn’t something we have to decide all of a sudden, as when a riot happens. It might just be that we can take time to ponder how our particular group works; less, possibly, about theological issues, and more about the people we worship with, or the leaders of our larger areas. It is so easy to sit there criticising the Bishop (or whoever) while having very little knowledge of the tensions and issues that make up their job. It is also easy for a group to isolate or downgrade certain individuals within their church, for a variety of reasons. It is easy for us to assume that this person is ‘difficult’ ‘nasty’ ‘awkward’ because the majority of the church judge them so, and they can’t be wrong; maybe we even find them so. Maybe they even are. But have we ever investigated why? Have we ever talked it over with a wise friend? Are we aware, even, of how far the group’s attitude can create this problematic person? It is not always easy; and we need to be careful that we don’t go too far the other way, and create problems for ourselves or the church with someone who could be, and possibly is, difficult. But it is worth being aware that, just because the majority of people think something is so, doesn’t mean they are correct; it is worth being aware of the very powerful pull of the ‘group’; it is worth being aware that God’s view may differ.