Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
In today’s reading Paul is in Athens. Athens is an interesting city with a
fascinating history, and would have been considered that even in Paul’s
time. It was founded 900 BC and to date
is the oldest named city in the world, clocking its’ life (today) to the count
of 5,000 settled years. It is a city
that is considered the foundation of civilization. Which, even in the classical times, boasted
more rights and democracy than the rest of the civilized world. In
Paul’s time, it was one of the most influential centers of politics, religion,
education, and philosophy. You might
say, Paul was preaching in the big house.
Athenians, in general, had a good life and had more opportunity than the
rest of the world for education and quality of life. In other words, it may have been an intimidating
place to speak.
Paul isn’t a slouch though.
We have seen, in previous chapters, Paul reference Stoic and Epicurean philosophers. (If you don’t know what those are, it’s ok,
just know they were popular modes of thought and life style of the time.) Which means, Paul had a good earthly
education as well. What fascinates me
about the way Paul witnesses is his approach, not just here, but consistently through
the scripture. I want to deconstruct it
here a little so we might be able to apply it to our own needs as
witnesses.
One of the first thing Paul does is meet his audience where
they are and show them that he knows/has interest in them as a people:
Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said:
"You Athenians, I
see that in every respect
you are very
religious.
For as I walked around
looking carefully at your shrines,
Now, let’s look at that.
First of all, the Areopagus (Rock of Ares) in ancient times was an
important place where the highest court/counsel in the land met. (Think the Supreme Court, or Capitol
Hill.) The place he is would contain the
aristocratic, the educated, and the cultured people. Then he speaks. The first thing he says connects him to them
in such a way that they are more prone to listen. He shows that he knows something about
them. He is showing that he has taken an
interest in them as a people. At this
point he could have instantly condemned their idolatry, but he doesn’t. He opens it up by acknowledging something
that, by all rights, they were probably very proud of being.
The second thing he does is really fascinating:
I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an
Unknown God.'
He points out
something that is possibly dear to the Athenians, and is at the very least a
known factor in their lives. Think of it
as a preacher/teacher mentioning or pointing out some well-known attraction in
your home town. Later in the Chapter he also says:
For 'In him we live and move and have our
being,'
as even some of your poets have said,
as even some of your poets have said,
Again,
connecting their culture to his message.
In his
physical placement, and then in the first few sentences, Paul has met them
where they were, mind, body, and soul.
For the ancient Athenians that had to be attention grabbing. He was laying a foundation of communication
by seeking to speak to them on a level they could understand, because that was
where they were. That was
important. Had he started it off in some
other way like, “Listen up, you idolatrizing-false god deceived-gentiles! You are all about to burn in hell if you don’t
pay attention here!” Likely, his
audience would have stopped listening-at best-and at worst they would have
become combatant.
In Paul’s
opening example, he is able to establish a dialogue. In the end of the reading
we see that, even if people weren’t convinced they were willing to hear
more. Some did follow and believe, but those
who didn’t had seeds planted that might have grown into real faith at some
point because of the way he presented the information. What Paul did was loving, patient, kind, and
full of faith. He established a
relationship by establishing a non-combative dialogue that contained the
truth. He connects his truth with where
they are, what they know, and their culture.
Not only has
Paul laid a foundation for them, but he has-if we are paying attention-laid a
foundation for us. His example shows us
how we can effectively and lovingly carry the truth to the people around us. It takes work. We have to have an interest. We have to be patient. If our goal is to reach people though, this
is a much better model than condemnation.
Hitting people with the condemnation hammer may feel more powerful to us
than meeting people where they are, but it is far less effective and ultimately
only satisfies our desire to be “correct” and does not our role of being Christ’s
love in the world.
Just some food
for thought and prayer.
Here I am,
Lord, send me.
LLB