RBWords

     I want to interrupt the reflections in the Farewell Discourse today because the first scripture is one of the crown jewels of preaching.  It features St. Paul in Athens.  I recommend getting your Bible and read the verses between verse 15 and 22, which are omitted for some reason by the lectionary.  They tell us how Paul did some sightseeing while waiting for his sidekicks, Silas and Timothy, to get there.  That sightseeing left him "exasperated" at all the shrines and deities that were featured in Athens.  He began to preach and confront anybody he saw.  What he was saying was new to the Athenians, so he was invited to the public debating square, called the Areopagus.  The text says, "Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new."  Paul would not be "preaching to the choir" but to ears unaccustomed to hearing what he was saying.

     I mention this because I see article after article on religious belief in our society that proclaim a population, especially the younger folks, that is "spiritual but not religious."  The Athenians seemed to welcome whatever religious belief came to their city.  They even "hedged their bets" by erecting an altar "to an Unknown God."  Maybe they could have carved the word, "WHATEVER" on it!  Our own American scene is not too far from the scene that Paul confronted.  We are preaching and bearing witness to a society that views religion as a consumer item that any "spiritual" person can choose from.  A cult can spring from just about anything.  The history of religions in this country shows that this has been going on for more than 200 years.  A visit to a good bookstore or even the slightest look at the internet will show what I mean.

     Paul met with skepticism from some of his audience in the Areopagus, but others responded and said, "We should like to hear you on this some other time."  And some joined him.  We follow in his footsteps and proclaim what he proclaimed and cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated by competing notions.  It's a challenging time to be a Christian, especially a Catholic Christian.  AMEN