How Far? June 22/23, 2013 Digging Deeper (Questions are on the last page) How Far? Written by: Robert Ismon Brown ([email protected]) Background Notes Key Scripture Text: Acts 17:16-34 Introduction How far can we go with this Jesus thing, anyway? Are there really untouchables in the world that must always remain unreached? What do we do when the neediest people around us simply aren’t like us? For those of us living in the U.S., it’s no longer a question of reaching the world outside, because the world has arrived inside our borders, bringing different languages, different cultures, different faiths, and different ideas. And we are anxious about that, and we imagine that such an onslaught of newcomers means less of everything for us: less jobs, less resources, less healthcare, less social services. Anxiety is commonly born of fear that there will never be enough in a closed economy where the rule is scarcity. “They’ve gone too far…” we say about the policy makers. But not everybody thinks like that. There are some who embrace the vision of a different world, where anxiety is replaced by trusting fidelity and where scarcity is replaced by abundance. Some say that God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Some say the Creator has invested the world with more than enough. Some say that God has already gone the far distance from His infinite self to the world’s finite need, and that He is in fact already in our midst in Jesus of Nazareth. And some say He has providentially brought the mission to us, and so now we must choose whether to see the developments in our generation as a horrible tragedy of epic proportions — an epic fail — or whether to see them as the Great Surprise from the God who wants all of His lost children found. So as we look across the street at our neighbors who aren’t like us, and as we shop in the corner store owned by the guy not like us, and as we send our children and grandchildren to schools with children not like us, should we not hear in all of this the sound of the wind that blows from Pentecost where God pours out His Spirit on all flesh? On all kinds of flesh? Our text this week from Acts 17:16-34 carries the theme “How far?” (17:27) and puts in front of us the man Paul whose own journey took him far from his roots and placed him in Athens, the ancient center of classical culture. How did a Jew like Paul end up in a place like that? How far is it, anyway, from Jerusalem to Athens? How far from faith in one God to a city full of idols? And as we pose those questions, might we not also ask ourselves in similar ways, where has God put us, and will we with the courage and with the love born out of the Gospel, answer with “Not far!” The reading narrates how Paul and his companions drove deeper into the heart of educated Greece until at last they would arrive in Athens itself, home to the three great philosophers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The history of human thought found here would both shape and challenge the Jesus message as it spread. Would the Christian Gospel be overwhelmed or vindicated by its engagement with the classical ancient world? Did the preachers of the Gospel appear intimidated or even silenced by the stature of this Greek intellectual capital? Would they fail to speak up? We cannot help but recall the impressions left by the earliest apostles in Jerusalem: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). By contrast Paul himself brought impressive credentials, schooled classically in Tarsus and then at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel. It's not hard to conclude that God had the Greek world in mind when he sent Paul to engage it on its own ground, in its own language and through the eyes of its own thinkers. Yet, with the weight of his learning, Paul humbly confessed regarding the Gospel: -1- "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their own craftiness'" (1 Corinthians 3:19); "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Corinthians 2:4-5); "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27). The Gospel's success did not depend on the judiciousness of Paul's philosophical cleverness. However, his use of philosophical language gained him entrance wherever he went. Many of these Greek cities he visited — like Athens — prided themselves on the contributions made by their famous thinkers. They saw themselves possessed by a special "wisdom" and treasured their roles in transmitting it to future generations. It was their legacy. Paul did not despise these differences, but found ways to contextualize the Gospel in each case. The Text (Acts 17:16-34) 16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"- because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "' For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them (Acts 17:16-34). Athens was the birthplace of democracy, and was its leader by the 5th century B.C.E., standing firm against the Persians. Though she lost to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E.), she recovered sufficiently to oppose Philip of Macedon (338 B.C.E.) and though unable to withstand his armies, won his respect and retained her freedom. Even when Rome conquered Greece (146 B.C.E.), Athens was granted free city status within the Empire. Her respect came because of her arts, literature and philosophy. Among the famous philosophers of nature, she produced Anaxagoras, followed by the illustrious trio: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Later she would boast Epicurus and the Stoic Zeno. Nor should we fail to mention the importance of her language which remained prominent in its later dialect, Koine, in which the entire New Testament was written. That said, Athens was an odd blend of superstition and enlightenment. It was once said of Athens that upon entering it, a person might more likely meet a god than a man,1 so filled was the city with statues of the various gods and goddess.