Sunday, May 17, 2020

Sixth Sunday of Easter

The Revised Common Lectionary passages for the Lord’s Day are:

First Reading: Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
Second Reading: I Peter 3:13-22
Gospel Reading: John 14:15-21

The liturgical color for the day is: White

Paul on Mars Hill.  There he is in Athens—he is in Athens of all places!  It was the hub of the ancient world.  It was the hub of intellectual thought, diverse views, and a plethora of religiosity.  There, on Mars Hill where Paul is standing, he can see a number of monuments.  As he has traveled among them there, he sees a number of statues and monuments to the various gods. 

There is one that catches his eye.  It even gives him an opening.  He considers it—he sees that it is inscribed: “an unknown god.”  Now understand what was happening here.  Paul has forayed into territory where Christians are not.  This is Gentile territory and those he encounters have their own native and home-grown beliefs that are certainly not monotheistic.

Here’s what Paul could have done.  He could have gone in there and said: “What’s with all these crazy idols?  These are made up gods.  This is the work of human imagination and it has nothing to do with the real God that is.  Wow—how could you people be so very foolish and so in the dark?  You all have a lot to learn, and you had better pay attention to me!”

Um, that wouldn’t be called “how to win friends and influence people.”  Thankfully, Paul did not do that.  Instead he had pause enough to look deep into himself and ask—“How will I connect the gospel in this setting?  How will I best be the instrument of the Risen Christ in this place and with this audience?”  He opened himself to the reality that people had no connection with the gospel that had come to him.

He recalls seeing that monument to “an unknown god.”  He recalls that monument and says, “I know about that unknown god which you have memorialized.”  He knows about it and he uses that opportunity to share with them about the Risen Christ and the God in whom “we live and move and have our being.”

It is in that pause—it is in that experience of looking deep within oneself and taking the time to attend and listen and really be present that Paul shows his depth of spirituality.  He finds that way to connect with those who are gathered there.  He finds that way to connect with that place there on Mars Hill in Athens.

Will we have that pause now?  Here in this COVID-19 Athens will we look deep within and help those here and now to connect all that is to an experience of the Risen Christ?

Rev. Dr. Daris Bultena
General Presbyter and Stated Clerk