When Paul goes to the
Areopgaus he is entering what was really unknown territory. Whilst converting people to Judaism was not
unheard of in general the people of God understood themselves to be Jews by
birth. Something which I have found
remains true today.
Paul finds himself in a
different country, addressing people from a different ethnic background and
with a different world view. As much as
the world view of our era is different from Athens I believe many of us find
ourselves in a foreign place, those who have travelled from overseas to join us
and those who have lived through the radical changes in Western culture over
the last 6-70 years.
This week I read some
reflections by the resident of the Uniting Church in Australia contemplating how
much the context of the Uniting Church has changed since it began in 1977,
nearly 40 years ago. It was an article
full of hope but also tinged with truth the way we understood who we were as
church 40 years ago and how we lived that out is no longer who we are.
For me the best analogy is to
think we have all become missionaries in a foreign land. I want you just to think across the span of
your life and reflect on the significant social and technological changes that
have occurred. Consider what the big
issues are now and think about what they were when you were younger.
Who would like to share?
(Some of my thoughts: music,
television, movies, mobile technology, end of Cold War, climate issues, overpopulation,
sexual revolution, more people live alone, loss of nuclear family,
accessibility to travel, transience in work)
So the world we live in has
changed and it has changed significantly: we are struggling to keep up! What can we do? How can we, like Paul, share
our message meaningfully?
One of the keys to what Paul
does is he shares the message he has not from where he is and what he knows but
from people are and what they know. He
has taken time to observe and to listen to the culture.
His opening words reflect that
he has seen what is happening in Athens and how the people live and how they express
themselves. Whilst he may be critical of their idolatry he applauds their
commitment in faith. What can we applaud
in the culture around us? It is worth
occasionally stopping and affirming the achievements of our culture and society
as much as we might need to critique it!
Paul uses references in his
speech to two significant sources of thinking for the Greek people quoting from
a poem by Epimenides, a philosopher poet who lived around 700 years before Jesus,
as well as from another poem called Phaenomena by Aratus who lived about 300 years
before Jesus. Paul’s knowledge of these
philosophers and their work gave him a strong point of connection and by
quoting them in the way he did he affirms what he has already inferred that god
was already in their midst at work. He even
goes as far as to suggest the Greeks are already worshipping God albeit
ignorantly, saying ‘What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to
you!’
In this strange and new
culture in which we find ourselves embedded the lesson of Paul is to listen and
observe and learn and to then to name that God is already at work! Often
I hear evangelists quoting bits of the scripture at people but maybe, just
maybe, instead of quoting scripture we need to find other points of connection.
In quoting Epimenides and
Aratus Paul was appealing to reason and even the ancient scientific view. The poem Phaenomena describes the movement of
the stars and the relationship this has to the seasons and agriculture.
Where can we hear echoes of
the divine presence in the culture of our time in movies and music, in
philosophy and the sciences, in the news and in the daily lives of people? Paul proclaimed the good news that despite his
perception of the idolatry and waywardness of the Greeks God was still at work
and that God had even been speaking to them through their great thinkers and
leaders.
This is good news that we can
share too, God is already work and not limited to the Christian community nor
only speaks through the scriptures but by the power of the Holy Spirit is
present with all peoples – maybe our task is simple to discern and name that
presence.
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