Word to the Wise
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - 6th Week of Easter - Wed
[Acts 17:15, 22-18:1 and John 16:12-15]"You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. For 'In him we live and move and have our being,' as even some of your poets have said,'For we too are his offspring,'" [Acts]
In the cowboy movies of my childhood there was always a sequence that appeared during an exciting chase scene that was labeled, "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." For the past couple of weeks or more, the gospel scriptures from the Farewell Discourse at the Last Supper in the Gospel According to John have challenged my attention. At the same time, the first scriptures have been taken from the post-Pentecostal preaching of the early missionaries, especially Paul and Peter. The address of Paul at Athens is worthy of interrupting the Farewell Discourse. The selection in the lectionary unfortunately leaves out the description of the scene in which Paul "grew exasperated at the sight of the city full of idols.." and debated in the open forum with anyone who would talk to him. The text says it wonderfully, "Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new!" {v.21).
I have quoted from the beginning of Paul's speech. I think it is one that we can all learn from because we too live in a society with many idols that compete with what has become an "Unknown God." The audience listened until Paul mentioned Jesus' resurrection, and then there were mixed reactions! Some scoffed at the idea. However, some were attracted and became believers. This will often be our experience as well. Some will scoff and others will be attracted. What is important is that we engage the world around us and point to the altar of the Unknown God, whom we do know and proclaim. AMEN