So, I've been rethinking my relationship with the Apostle Paul. I think it's so easy, in our day and age, to give poor Paul a bad rap. The letters of his that we read are often cumbersome with sentences that seem to be going one direction then suddenly veer off in another.
But, I mean, come on. Parchment and vellum were expensive, so he's not going to throw an entire scroll away if he gets halfway through a sentence and decides that's not where he wants to go.
And he doesn't have a backspace key. So he plows through, and the result is sometimes those long run-on sentences of Paul that preachers love to poke fun of.
And he always seems kinda cranky or put-upon as he's writing. But let's face it, some of those early churches were acting like 18 year-olds after the parents go away for the weekend, saying, “No parties.” As soon as Paul leaves, the churches would so often go crazy. So, a lot of times he's letting them have it – trying to get them back in line to focus on the only important thing: a Resurrected Christ, through whose power the world can be changed.
And at the same time, remember that Paul is having to work out his theology all on his own. He's the first! He doesn't have any Gospels to refer to. He doesn't have a New Testament. He doesn't have the church fathers and tradition.
He IS the church father; he IS the tradition. He's doing the best he can, making any argument he can that he thinks might just get through a bunch of thick skulls.
So of course he's cranky. That's a lot to ask from a guy.
We expect so much from our saints. And we worry about them when they sound frazzled. But when you are Paul, out there alone, sometimes it gets overwhelming. Sometimes a fella needs a break, to just get away from it all, relax.
And that's what's happening here in our reading from Acts.
Paul has had a particularly bad experience in Thessalonica and has made himself some enemies who are chasing him from town to town.
His friends say, “Paul, take a trip. Get out of town. Go lose yourself in Athens. It's beautiful this time of year. Eat some Greek food; visit the market places; see the sights. We hear there's a great 'Temples of Athens' tour. You'd probably like that. And STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!”
Of course he doesn't stay out of trouble, and the next thing we know, here he is, standing in the Areopogas, the place of judgment, defending his beliefs against the pagan Greeks, whom the book of Acts quotes as “spending all their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.”
Paul starts out with, “So, I was on this tour of temples that I'd heard so much about. I've never seen so much religion...and to so many gods, too. But I noticed that you had a temple built to 'the unknown god.'”
He goes on, “Well, I asked the temple docent, and he said, 'Well you can't be too safe. We know the gods we know, but we might have overlooked one, so this kinda covers that.' Well, folks, I'm here to tell you that I know who that God is. He's not unknown. He sent his son to save the world. So you can stop groping around, groping around, trying to discern him. Believe on the name, Jesus Christ. And now my work here is done.” And he drops the mic and leaves town.
That work of proclaiming Christ in a world that doesn't know him is continuing today. And in someways, we find ourselves right where Paul was, in a new, world-wide Athens, now over 6 billion people strong.
And in many ways, Christianity is once again, that weird religion out on the fringe. And in many ways, our world has set up temple after temple, as so many go along in life groping, looking for that unknown god, spending all their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
This New Athens raises up men and women to entertain us, or to influence us, or to lead us, and New Athens fawns over them when they seem perfect and wonderful, and then stands down on the sidewalk yelling up to them on the ledge, “Jump, jump!” when they begin to self-destruct.
New Athens loves to watch them misbehave as they go along, groping, groping after that unknown god.
New Athens builds communities to rival any in antiquity, beautiful and white-washed, shining in the sun. And people are enticed to come and live behind their gates, safe and secure.
And they don't see the cracks in the foundation or the poor on the streets, because their necks are craned upwards looking at the billboards ...or forward focused on tv's... absorbing messages that promise us youth and wealth and happiness if we will just go in and wander up and down the endless aisles, groping, groping after that unknown god.
New Athens promises strength and power to those who work and serve at its temples: temples of money , temples of war, temples of exploitation, temples of secrets, temples of lies. And in those temples you will find so many millions wandering the dark corridors, groping, groping after that unknown god.
New Athens gives its citizens the false choice: use or be used. And millions upon millions choose to use, rendering million upon millions of others fodder for the using. And people sit in dark corners, groping, groping after that unknown god.
And we so need of a Paul. Or rather it's time to realize that WE ARE Paul. And even during this time of quarantine and isolation we need to take this miracle of Eastertide into the streets of our New Athens. Because we know the name of that unknown god.
We need to tell others that name, the name they are groping for. Standing in the Areopagus of our communities and say, the one you are groping for is not in that mall, or on Amazon, or on your newsfeed, or Twitter. Now the one you are goping for is here among these people you've never noticed.
Standing in the Areopagus and saying, you will find the God you are groping for is wherever you work for peace and justice and light.
Standing in the Areopagus of our communities and proclaiming, “You will always be groping for the unknown god if you don't take the leap of faith, and let God touch you.”
Will we always be successful? Nope. When Paul left Athens, it was to the jeers of people saying they'd prefer to grope about a little more and study the issue. But the Book of Acts tells us later that he did reach at least two people, Dionysius and Damaris. And Luke thought that was enough of a success to report to us.
So don't be discouraged. There are people somewhere out there just groping to hear your story. Open your arms and your hearts. Embrace them. And, like Paul, keep moving, touching as many lives as you can, whispering in as many ears as you can, the name of the God you know. Jesus.
Amen.