Who taught you that
“Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”
— Acts 18:24-26 (NIV)
Alexandria ranked among the biggest cities under Rome, famous for its schools. Its Jewish community was enormous, its holy books already turned from Hebrew into Greek centuries earlier. Anyone shaped by that city learned how to hold ground before a crowd. John's washing marked repentance and pointed ahead to someone still to come. So Apollos was right as far as his information reached, and it stopped years short. The two who filled the gap sewed tents and leather, driven east when Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. In that world a craftsman stood well below a man schooled in public argument. In Greek, one word covers how he already handled his subject and what they added, only stronger. So they did not call him wrong; they finished what he had. A speaker in that room could be contradicted on the spot in front of everyone, and they passed that up. He went on to Corinth and became one of the names people later argued over. Almost everything you do well was handed to you quietly by someone whose name is nowhere on it.
Someone changed how you do things and has no idea. Sometimes they are still close by, a teacher from last year or whoever showed you how to find your feet here, and you say nothing because it feels like there is time. Maybe it was someone at your first job who showed you the trick. Maybe a neighbour who explained a bill you were afraid to ask about, or whoever taught you to sleep when the baby sleeps. Maybe someone you only know through a screen, a workmate from your first team you were never in a room with. Maybe whoever got you through the first year after you lost someone. Most of them never heard a word about it from you.
Say what they taught you
- 1Tell one person today what they taught you, whichever way is easiest: send a message, ring them, or say it out loud if you see them. Use these words: because of you I can. Then add the first thing that comes to mind, and it does not have to be big, like because of you I can talk to my kid while he is screaming, or because of you I can hold a deadline. One sentence, thirty seconds, done.
- 2If that person has died, you have no way to reach them, or nobody comes to mind at all, say it to someone else today, and do not wait for anyone to ring you first. Call your daughter, your sister, a neighbour, whoever you speak to most often, and say that one sentence out loud about the person who taught you. If nobody picks up, leave it on the voicemail, and it still counts.
God, thank you for the people who taught me things I still use every day. Most of them did it quietly, and I never said anything back. Today I want to name one of them and tell that person what stayed with me. Help me say it plainly, without turning it into a speech. And keep me from leaving it until it is too late to say. Amen.
Today I thank whoever taught me something that stuck, in plain words.
What was Apollos missing, if he already had it right?
His information came from John's movement: a washing that marked repentance and pointed ahead to someone still to come. Alexandria trained him to argue in front of a crowd, so he could hold a room, but his account stopped years short of what had happened since.
Who were Priscilla and Aquila?
A married couple who sewed tents and leather for a living, driven east after Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. The New Testament names them six times, and in four of those the wife comes first, against the usual order. A craftsman ranked well below a schooled public speaker, so this correction ran upward socially, not downward.
What is the challenge for today?
Tell one person what they taught you, in whatever way suits you: a message, a phone call, or out loud if you see them. Use the words because of you I can, and add the first thing that comes to mind, however small. If that person has died, cannot be reached, or nobody comes to mind, say it to someone else instead, and do not wait for them to ring you: call your daughter, your sister, a neighbour, whoever you talk to most, and say it out loud. By bedtime you can check one thing, whether those words were said.