Our Tuesday Bible study has been studying the letters of Paul. The bulk of the letters in the New Testament were written by Paul. Last week we got the first reference to Paul in the book of Acts. We heard the story of how the men who stoned Stephen gave their coats to a young man named Saul. Saul and Paul are the same person, so I think it bears taking a closer look at exactly who Paul is and why God chose such a person to bring the Good News to the Gentiles.
After the stoning of Stephen, Saul/Paul made it his business to track down and arrest everyone who called on the name of Jesus. Acts 8 tells us he went house to house in Jerusalem to arrest both men and women. And once he got everyone he could find in Jerusalem, he went out to track them down in the rest of the world. He was zealous for God, and wanted to rid of world of these people he considered blasphemers.
Now the question is, why would God want to use a person like this as his chosen instrument? Why did God want to send Saul out into the world as his witness to the Gentiles? Part of the answer is that zeal for God that Saul had. If God could take that zeal and channel it where he wanted it, then Saul could be a powerful witness for Jesus.
The second reason was because of his upbringing. Saul had been raised in Tarsus, a Mediterranean city in what is now Turkey. His father was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen. Being raised in this area of the Diaspora, Saul not only received the traditional Jewish education, but he also received a classical Greek education. He was skilled, not only in the Jewish scripture and traditions, but also in philosophy. He was familiar, not only with the Jewish Midrash, but also with the philosophical rhetoric of the day. Paul grew up knowing Plato and Socrates as well as he knew Moses and Elijah and David.
Today's lesson from Acts shows us just how important it was for Paul to have these skills in knowing and dealing with people. Our lesson from Acts picks up after Paul had been run out of both Thessalonica and Berea. He was taken to Athens to wait there for Timothy and Silas. But Paul was not the type of person to sit quietly and wait. He walked around the city and observed the people and the many temples there. The Greek culture in Athens included the worship of many gods (little "g"). There were temples and shrines everywhere.
Paul was greatly distressed over all the different temples and shrines and the idol worship. He sought out the Jewish community and began to preach and teach in their synagogue. He preached to the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles as well.
He preached the Gospel of Christ - the Good News of Jesus and he moved out from the synagogue into the marketplace where other Greeks heard him preach. What he was preaching was different from anything else that these people had ever heard. He got into a debate with the Epicureans and the Stoics in the market place.
Now the Epicureans believed that the gods were inaccessible and did not interfere with human life. They stated the presence of evil as proof that the gods either were impotent or uncaring. They saw no purposeful design so they lived life to seek out happiness and pleasure. Madonna’s Material Girl might be an example of Epicureanism.
The Stoics on the other hand believed that God was everything – the soul of the Universe. They believed in logic and reason and self-control – stiff upper lip - sort of like "Spock" from Star Trek - no such thing as emotion in their world. So they didn't quite understand what Paul was saying about a God that you could have a relationship with. They took him to the Areopagus to explain what he was saying. Now the Areopagus was a hill where aspiring philosophers sat and debated ideas all day.
Now look what Paul does - he doesn't condemn the people of Athens for their many gods or false ideas - he compliments them. He compliments them for their desire to find meaning in life - "I can see that you are religious people - you have many temples and many gods. I even saw a temple to “An Unknown God.'"
Now, isn't that strange? Why would they have a temple to an unknown god? Many people of that time believed that everything that happened to them was controlled by the gods. This Greek concept is something like having God in a box. They have a particular god in a particular place and if something goes wrong, they can go sacrifice to that god and he will do what they want him to do. If something bad happened, they thought they must have offended one of the gods.
There was a story that during the time of a terrible pestilence in the city. The powers that be released a flock of black and white sheep in the city from the Areopagus. Wherever a sheep lay down, they would sacrifice it to the god or goddess who's temple was close by. If there was no temple nearby, they would erect a shrine to "An Unknown God."
Now Paul keys on that, "Let me tell you about this unknown God." And he proceeds to tell them about the God who made both heaven and earth. The God who created everything that exists - including us. This God is not bound by the things of earth. Paul explains that gods made by human hands have no power - and that the true God can never be contained in any temple or shrine. Paul does eventually get around to telling them that God raised Jesus from the dead - and that's where he lost his audience.
Most of the Athenians couldn't accept that God could and would do that. For one reason, it was preposterous to think a person could come back from the dead. And even if it were true, then that would place Paul's god above all the rest and then their debates would be over. The Athenians loved to talk about religions, but they didn't want to make any conclusive decisions.
Actually, the Athens of Paul's time doesn't sound a whole lot different from the world today. There are many different religions - not to mention numerous sects of the major religions. Many people today want to sit around and argue religion or philosophy - or the absence there of. Sigmund Freud argued that God does not exist apart from human beings, and that God is only a figment of our imagination. He says that humans have a certain basic psychological need to create gods.
As human beings, we do have a basic need for God. Walking into any bookstore would give evidence to that - just try looking up spirituality - the world is filled with people looking for religious experiences - but not necessarily in our Christian churches. The vast majority of books on spirituality have absolutely nothing to do with the God of Abraham.
The middle of last century – doesn’t that sound strange to say that about the 1940s and ‘50s? The middle of the last century saw a stoic kind of movement. A person’s relationship with God was a private affair and you sucked up and accepted life as it was dealt out. It was a very philosophical time with great teaching about the doctrinal issues of the church. A spiritual experience was looked upon with great distrust in the Christian church. That’s why my former parish of Redeemer was such an enigma.
The truth is that most major religions contain elements of truth. Many of them promote similar ideals - philosophies. The so-called "golden rule" can be found in most religions - but there is a difference between its statement in Christianity and in all the other religions.
All of the other religions say something to the effect of "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." Very negative in connotation and focuses more on mistreatment. Christianity is the only one in which this is stated in the positive "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This very action orientated and focuses on the positive ways we can reach out to one another.
There are some non-Christians living grace-filled lives in fellowship with God - Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims, and probably others, too. God can and will, by whatever means, reach out to and save those we disagree with and even those we don't like very much. God can and will work through whatever means are available to draw in his children - all his children - through whatever means they will respond to. But the difference is that in Christianity, we find the fullest expression of God's love and presence with us - Jesus Christ. This is the same Jesus Christ that the Epicureans and the Stoics of today still don't want to hear about.
Jesus Christ, who says, "I am the vine, you are the branches - abide in me and bear much fruit." Jesus Christ offers us relationship - up-close and personal - part of the body extending down from God. Jesus Christ offers us the opportunity to be a part of the saving grace in this world.
Too often we hesitate to speak out for Christ. The reasons may be many and varied. Some people are afraid that others will look at them funny - that their works will be rejected - that people will think they are a "Jesus Freak." I think instead of being afraid, that we should be aware - aware that there are some people who need the love of Christ in their life. They need the healing power that comes from a life in Christ. They need to have some place of hope for their life and their future. Sometimes just sharing our story is a catalyst for new believer. I look back behind me and find the landscape of my life littered with the evidence of God's presence and his guiding hand. And I am willing to share any of it at any time or place. You should never hound people, but given the opportunity don't be afraid to speak out - "Let me tell you about this 'unknown' God." "Let me tell you what God did for me...".
Jesus Christ invites us to make a difference in the world around us by reaching out and by telling others the story of God’s love for us. In a world that still has many gods and many religions, what can we do? We can treat others with understanding and respect, tell the story of Jesus Christ, live the gospel and trust that God will use us to further his purpose on earth.
Amen.
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