They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? (Acts 2:7 NASB)
And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" (Acts 2:12 NASB)
The words used here to describe the crowd as they gathered at the noisy expression of the Spirit of God are interesting. The one translated as "amazed" and "amazement" is the same, the other in each verse is a little different. The word translated as "amazed" literally means "to move something from a place or alter it." To me, it sounds like the mental gymnastics forced on a mind when a paradigm collapses. It is truly a Greek idiom, but one where the dots of meaning can be connected. It's the problem we face when someone alters our perception of the world by moving something we're used to having in a particular place. If we're not careful, bumps and bruises follow from tripping over this new reality. I think "shock" may have been a better word to use in translation.
The other two words refer really aren't even related to each other. The first is typically translated as "marvel" and refers to the human response to divine miraculous events. So, surprise, astonish, wonder, and admire would also work for it. It is more detached or removed from the event, as if observing it from the outside looking in, where the word used twice is more overwhelmed by the whole event.
The other word used in verse 12 is formed from a root with two prefixes applied. The root word means to carry over, or in the case of the River Styx, ferry over. To this word is first applied the negation prefix, 'a', a linguistic element of English as well. So it moves from "carry over" to "not carried over". At this point, the preposition "through" (as in "through a pipe" or "down along through a valley") is prefixed. We are left with "through not carried over". This fits well with the shock of a forced paradigm shift. The dilemma faced by the crowd was that, having had a paradigm collapse, they couldn't move on to a new one.
I have experienced these feelings. In a negative way, they were a good description of my exodus from ministry. On a more positive note, they might describe my struggle to loose weight (which I lost, and am now finding again). I had to make a leap out of a failed paradigm. The assumptions I had about myself, my environment, and my relationships had to change; or rather they had to be destroyed and replaced. These things are not easy, but they are necessary. I see the same world I've always lived in but I see it differently.
While the crowd had their paradigm shift forced on them, I wrestled with mine for a long time. Now I see that I'm not able to sustain the new one very well. The old patterns that led to my weight problem are returning. Essentially I'm rebuilding the old failed paradigm. How many of the crowd went on with their lives, traveled back to their far countries, and let the experience fade. Work, struggles, and just surviving eventually overcome the shifted perspective with which the crowd walked away. The struggle now is to not let those things overwhelm my paradigm shift.
I know the missing component. It is my old nemesis, exercise. For me, the paradigm I'm loosing was grounded in an exercise program. It was a "spiritual discipline" that made me more available to my Master. The physiological effects clarified things by helping me overcome other, debilitating physiological issues. It was like taking my medicine. Not everyone needs it, nor does everyone need it to the same degree, not does it affect everyone the same. It helps me on enough levels to make it no longer an option, but an imperative. But like most disciplines, it's not fun, at least not at first. So, I guess my choice at this point is "workout DVD" or Wii Fit.
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