6th Sunday of Easter
Scripture: Acts
17:16–31
The reading begins with the phrase, “while Paul was waiting
for them at Athens….” We might ask why Paul was in Athens. He had been run out
of Thessalonica and Berea for proclaiming the Gospel and had to get away to a
safe place. Athens was that place. However, we read today that, even in Athens,
Paul continued to look for opportunities to talk about Jesus. We are reminded
in this reading of Paul’s zeal in sharing the Gospel and encouraged to look for
connections to share the resurrection of Jesus with others as he did.
Teaching
Paul preached in Athens in a thoroughly pagan context. The
Areopagus is also known as Mars Hill. It was named after Ares, the Greed god of
war, who was often referred to by his Roman name, Mars. There were many idols
to a wide variety of gods in Athens, which provoked Paul. He was saddened and
angry on behalf of the people who had been deceived by such false deities. He
longed to share with them the one true God so that they might know their
Savior, Jesus Christ, and find freedom for idolatry and salvation from sin and
death through his death and resurrection.
We should take note of the way the Athenians loved ideas.
This was a very tolerant society. They loved hearing all kinds of ideas about
how one should live and about the gods. However, we should note that when the
Creator was introduced to them through the resurrected Jesus many merely sneered
at Paul. It is still true today that people will tolerate all kinds of false
and foolish ideas while rejecting and being offended by the truth. We should
also, however, take heart. Some heard about Jesus, and wanted to hear more!
Life
Are there still false gods in the world today? Absolutely!
Not only are there the false gods of other religions, but there is also the
idolatry of ideas, comfort, novelty, and tolerance even today. Please don’t get
me wrong! Tolerant courtesy can be a fine thing indeed! But tolerance as it is
manifested today is more like acceptance and celebration of every idea that
comes down the pike. Some of those ideas are false and deserve to be rejected
and exposed in the clear light of Jesus’ resurrection.
This does not mean, however, that we should ridicule others
for their beliefs. Notice how Paul quoted Greek philosophers and poets to reach
the people of Athens. He respected their literature and used it to reach the
people he spoke with. We too can learn to use the verbage and stories of the
culture to share the love of Jesus with others.
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