Imagine the scene. You're walking down the streets of Ephesus one day in the 1st century AD. You see a group of people gathered in the street. The group is growing larger by the minute. They're muttering and talking to each other, some are shaking their heads and others look surprised. You can't quite work out what all the fuss is about but as you approach you see smoke rising from the centre of the group.
Getting closer, you see what is happening. There are some Followers of the Way, the people who claim a crucified man from a backwater of the Roman empire came back to life and worship him as God, in the middle, standing next to a fire. The fire is being fuelled by - no it can't be - scrolls, of all things. Valuable scrolls! The whispered incredulity of the onlookers is clearly audible.
"They're crazy! Do they know how much those are worth?"
"That's a fortune going up in flames! Couldn't they have sold them at least?"
"Do they have to make such a public spectacle of themselves?"
Fast forward 2000 years and there's no need to imagine the scene. Another group of onlookers have gathered on a packed beach, only a few miles away from the ruins of Ephesus. It's not fire that's drawn them this time but water. Next to the families sitting on the sand, a small collection of people are watching three people wade out into the sea, one by one. They stop when the water reaches to their waists. Two others are already in the sea waiting for them. And each of the three stands in the sea and declares that they follow that same crucified, resurrected man-God. Such a public display is only possible in a few places in this country - attempting the same thing elsewhere is too risky.
I'm a visitor accustomed to life in a much more conservative city and am delighted to be able to witness this but also feel uncomfortable and exposed in such a public setting. But as I stand on the hot sand, I can see and hear those wandering past, who stop and stare at this strange sight.
These onlookers, like their predecessors centuries before likely did, watch with surprise and provide their own commentary to others joining them.
"They're Turks getting baptised."
"Muslims becoming Christians."
The actions of the believers seem just as incomprehensible to bystanders as they must have done in early church times.
And we pray that just like in Acts, the Word of the Lord would spread widely and in power.
