Acts 17:1-35
So Paul goes to the Aeropagus to debate with the
thinkers there about Christianity.
The last time we saw Paul – last week – he was still
named Saul. In the long recitation of
the death of Stephen, we heard a small glimpse of this man who would become so
pivotal in the Christian faith. Stephen
was dragged outside the town square and people left their coats with a man
named Saul, who approved of the action taken against Stephen.
It’s quite a jump for the lectionary to go from that
person, Saul who is a Sanhedrin, or member of the Jewish ruling class, and a
Roman Citizen who approves of the first death of one of the disciples to this
man, a man making a persuasive argument for Christ in front of the Athenians.
In the intervening chapters, Saul continues to
persecute the budding Christian community and is on the road to carry a letter
condemning a community of Christians in Damascus when he is struck blind by a
vision of Jesus and the voice of God saying, “Saul, why are you persecuting
me?” He then spends three days in blind
amnesia and when he is nursed back to health, he is certain what he has been
doing against Christians is against God. Once recovered, Saul who is now
renamed Paul becomes the most effective advocate for Jesus throughout the
world. In fact, save for the 4 gospels,
the book of Acts, and the last book of the bible which is called Revelations,
all the other writing in the New Testament is written by Paul or someone who
was pretending to be Paul. Following his
conversion, Paul traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean region,
going from what is modern day Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Greece, and
as far as Italy. The scripture we know comes from letters that were addressed
to communities in the far-flung locations he visited; Romans to the community
in Rome, Corinthians is addressed to those in Corinth, a town in Greece;
Ephesians to the community in Ephesus, which is in modern day Turkey, and so
on. After he visited and helped found
small communities of Christians, he would then write them when he heard of
their troubles and try to give them guidance or a pep talk in a letter.
Paul was obviously a very accomplished orator and
writer. His letters, when read in full,
are packed with comfort and warmth and diplomatic chastisement or encouragement
to communities dealing the normal challenges of trying to get along. I’ve been listening to the musical Hamilton,
and I think the Apostle Paul and Alexander Hamilton had a lot in common. Hamilton was such a good writer that his
hometown in the Carribean started a fund to send him to college after just one
published essay, and Washington recruited him during the Revolutionary war for
his ability to persuade Congress to provide funding. As the rap lyrics in the
musical go, ‘Hamilton’s skill with the quill was undeniable’.
Anyways, back to Paul. He’s journeying about, proclaiming the gospel,
gaining followers and enemies, and gets stuck cooling his heels in Athens. Now, Athens was a capitol for thinkers in the
ancient world. It was a hub of
philosophy, political and religious thought..
This place Aeropagus is still a tourist destination
in Greece. It was the seat of the
supreme court of Athens – in fact it was where Socrates was summoned to answer
questions on his philosophy. Here we see
an echo of that episode; Paul debating with the strongest minds of his day and
age on what is right to believe. It was the marketplace of ideas. This speech
by Paul is as if he went to MIT and gave one of today’s TED talks. And he does it expertly. First, he finds
common ground. He recognizes all in the
audience as seekers, people who give reverence to an unknown God. And, he
agrees that we are all God’s offspring.
But then he abruptly changes his tone, declaring
that God has appointed one man the righteous judge. Paul denies that God exists in stone or
metals that have been formed in God’s image – in fact that God does not exist
in anything that is crafted by human hands. But instead, God exists in human
bodies, since we are all God’s offspring – and especially in one that has been
raised from the dead. And here is the pivot point, where some become believers,
and some scoffers. The resurrection presented no less of a challenge then as it
does to us know, centuries removed. Even
the disciples could not imagine it.
In our Gospel lesson in John, Jesus is still giving
his farewell speech to the disciples.
This same night he has broken bread and blessed the wine, washed the
feet of each of his disciples, and commanded them to love one another as he has
loved them. This is the same night he
expels Judas, tells of Peter’s denial, and is questioned by Thomas. He tries to offer comfort to a group of people
whom he loves, who would go with him if they could, by telling them that
another, a comforter, an Advocate, a holy spirit of truth will reside with
them, and in them, forever as long as they keep these commandments.
As confusing as it is for the disciples, these mere
humans, to grasp the death and resurrection that is to come, they must have
been doubly confused by this talk of an Advocate. We often use the words, ‘holy spirit’ to name
the entity Jesus says will come after him; but the Greek translation uses the
word Parakletos, which generally denotes someone who comes to your aid when
called. What is here called the advocate
is also called translated as counselor, comforter, helper, mediator, or even
broker in different translations. What is clear is that few have been clear on
how to refer to the Holy Spirit.
But! The words they have used – and the word that
Jesus used – are all derived from verbs.
To advocate, to counsel, to comfort, to help, to mediate, to broker;
these are all action words. Jesus was a man of action. Unlike Paul, he wasn’t a master of persuasion
or debate. As we know, he had a tendency
to lose in a court of law. But there is hardly
a scripture passage where Jesus did not meet need with action. Whether you were looking for answers, looking
for bread, or looking for healing; whether you were a seeker of knowledge, or a
beggar on the roadside, or a woman needing healing; Jesus responds with love in
action.
Love one another as I have loved you.
We are all God’s offspring, and in this discourse
Jesus says that as the father lives in me, and I in you, so the Holy Spirit –
the advocate, the mediator, the counselor, the broker, the comforter – these
action words abide with you, abide among you, and abide in you. True life made available through Christ means
his community will continue to see Jesus even after he has gone because Jesus
lives in their actions, in his commandment and their fulfillment to love one
another. This is the practical side of what love looks like,
in action, out loud, in community. These
action words that show up in the activity of our lives. The word of God and
Jesus are inseparable, in the same way as loving Jesus and doing the commands
of Jesus are inseparable. Finding continuity between the time of Jesus’ earthly presence and the
time of his absence depends upon loving him, and in that, keeping his
commandments.
Love one another as I have loved you.
We resurrect Jesus each day through our actions to
keep his commandments. We resurrect
Jesus in our giving – food for the food pantry, long-sleeved shirts for
farmworkers, financial donations for the good works of our community like SASA,
and One Great Hour of Sharing that provides funding for disaster relief and
refugee services all over the world. But we resurrect Jesus not only in our
charity. We also resurrect Jesus in our
advocacy. Like the Holy Spirit, we are
able to advocate for others – to comfort, to mediate, to counsel, to
broker. And advocate is sometimes simply
a good listener. An advocate can
sometimes be a voice for the voiceless, like CASA is for children in the foster
system, or social workers are for troubled teens. An advocate may be a fighter, putting their
voice and life on the line for an invisible injustice. An advocate may help mediate or broker a
solution to a problem.
Parents are notorious advocates for their children,
but we also have a responsibility to be advocates for others our community who
are in need of aid. Whether it’s seniors
or the disabled in our state who may lose services in our communities, or
children in our schools being forgotten at home or bullied at school, people in
our nation who are being pushed around by greed or debt, by poverty or
probability, by power or profit. Even for
those people we don’t know, when we speak out for truth and justice, we are
embodying the Holy spirit in our world to try to bring about the kingdom of
God.
Love one another as I have loved you. A wise philosopher once said, ‘Justice is
what love looks like in public’.
Jesus leaves behind an advocate that will work on
our behalf, but he leaves it in us so we can work on each other’s behalf. The Holy Spirit, like the Father and like
Jesus, not only abides with us, but abides in us. And when we call for help, the advocate will
come to our aid. And when others call for help, we can be the advocate they
turn to, if we love one another as Jesus commands.
Amen and Amen.
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