Books That Changed Me
- God’s Way Of Reconciliation by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1)
- Basic Christianity by John Stott (2)
- The Forgotten Spurgeon by Iain H. Murray (3)
- The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski (4)
- A Very Contemporary Mediaeval Saint (5)
- Phoebe- A Story by Paula Gooder (6)
I don’t remember how Phoebe came into my life. This was still in the early days of the internet so we didn’t meet online. She could have been recommended by a minister in a sermon or perhaps we were introduced by a mutual friend. It doesn’t matter. After Phoebe, two things changed in my life.
The first thing was that I discovered an interest in reading. I didn’t become a bibliophile. When I visit a new town I don’t head straight for the second-hand bookshop and I have no strong opinions on whether it’s okay to fold the corner of the page down or whether or not you should break the spine. However, after Phoebe, I realised that having a book on the go is one of life’s little pleasures. I’ve since read other books, mostly fiction, and have travelled in my mind’s eye to other times and places as a result. I will always be thankful to Phoebe for introducing me to other people, situations and circumstances. It was because of her that I discovered the tremendous power of a story.
Phoebe did more than introduce me to fiction. She showed me all those things but in the Bible, particularly the world of the New Testament. Phoebe: A Story by Paula Gooder is a fictional account of an historic letter; the letter of Paul to the Romans. You will know of it. You will have read at least some of it. You will have heard pastors preach powerfully from it and winced as others struggled with it. You will know that the letter was pivotal in the conversion of men like Martin Luther and John Wesley and has been written about by theologians for centuries. Some people consider it the most influential theological document ever written.
Yet because it is so rich and detailed (and perhaps because it is so revered) we sometimes forget on a Sunday morning as the pastor begins his sermon series that this was a letter. It was written by someone (Paul) to someone (Christians in the city of Rome) and delivered by someone.
Paul tells us that that person is called Phoebe. In Romans 16 he commends her as ‘our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae [and asks that they] receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.’
Paula Gooder takes up the story from there. Taking us back to 56 AD she introduces us to the deacon of the church at Cenchreae and imagines the exciting and treacherous journey to Rome. On the way, we meet different people, situations and circumstances. We see the sites, smell the smells and get an idea of what it was like to be a Christian in the first decades of the church. Reading that book changed how I thought about the New Testament. It made me think about the effort it took to deliver the letter and how carefully it was transported. There is a scene where all the church family are informed that a letter has arrived and they all gather expectantly. You can imagine them all young and old, rich and poor gathering in a circle to listen as the letter is opened and read.
I haven’t read Phoebe again but I’ve never forgotten her. Her story helped me to see the gospel in a fresh way and drew me a bit closer to the brothers and sisters I will one day meet in heaven. I hope having introduced you, you get a chance to meet up with Phoebe soon too.
