Paul’s Sermon at Athens

Scripture Reading: Acts 17:16–31

"While Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met with him. And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, 'What would this blabberer say?' Others, 'He seems to be a setter forth of strange demons,' because he proclaimed the good tidings of Jesus and the resurrection.

And they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which is spoken from you? For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.' Now all the Athenians and the strangers there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, 'You men of Athens, in all things I perceive that you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I set forth to you. The God who made the world and all the things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by men’s hands as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things... that they should seek God, if happily they might grope after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. In him we live and move and have our being, as certain even of your own poets have said: For we are also his offspring.'"

Sermon Text

"So, quickly a reminder that we have moved through the Greek world and now we are at the center of Greek philosophic life. Paul has made his way there, having conversations with Jews and Gentiles along the way, arguing, conversing, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with many. Many are converted; many are changed through this process. And now Paul in Athens stands among the idols of Athens—all the great statues and pictures of the gods that are surrounding the city. Paul is brought before all of this and says, 'Look, you have this one here that says "to an unknown god." Let me tell you about who that god is.' That is our story for today.

I was thinking a bit about what these kind of unknown markers might be like. When I was in 8th grade, I applied with my school that was going to Washington, D.C. I applied to be one of the wreath-bearers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And I had the honor, with one of my other student fellow students, of laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If you don’t know what the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is, it’s in Arlington Cemetery and it’s a grave marked for all those who were left on the field, perhaps, and not identified—folks who died in the name of battle but have never been found again. It’s a sense of the unknown, the ones who gave their lives and don't perhaps have a grave marker right there. It’s a place to remember them, and it’s also a place to remember all who died in service. It’s a beautiful place.

But I loved the thing about going to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: it’s this place where the unnamed and the unknown are named and given voice, given space to be remembered. And I found myself throughout my life wondering at those kinds of places—those places where we encounter the unknown and yet we are known by God’s presence there. Where are some of those places? Where do you go in the mystery of the world and see God in a surprising place?

For me—and this is my 'crowd work' section—where do we see God?

At karaoke: 'At karaoke, God arrives.' Yes, I’ve seen it!

At Boulevard Park: 'Down at the bay here, we see God.'

Gettysburg: 'On the harrowing battlefield.'

In the forest: 'Among the trees, we find God’s presence there.'

Out at sea: 'Amidst the swirling waves, God’s presence and might.'

In the connection between people: 'Love it. We see God in these places.'

And what Paul has done for the Greeks in Athens is to say, 'Look, this thing that you say is unknown, I see it all around.' And it’s not bound up in things like stone or jewels or statues or icons. The presence of God surrounds us. Look, see, find it.

I was reminded of a poem by Mary Oliver as I was thinking about this text this week. You’ve probably heard it, but it’s called Instructions for Living a Life. It’s very simple:

'Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.'

I’m going to say it one more time just because I love it. Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

This is the invitation that Paul is also offering the Athenians. Look at that thing that you see, that unknown thing that you try to name but you can’t. Isn't it wonderful? Because it is the creator of all things that you are trying to name—the creator of this whole cosmos that we philosophize about, that we prepare and think and argue about. This is the God of all creation that you are trying to find.

Some of you know this, I’m also a very, very big sci-fi fan. And Asher, my son, and I have been watching the newest Star Trek, called Strange New Worlds. They open with the same kind of opening statement that Captain Kirk did, and Captain Picard and a variety of others. They say: 'The Enterprise’s five-year mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.' Amen! Love it!

Isn't this the work of God’s people? To go to the places and see where God is already at work? To encounter new civilizations and new people? I’m thinking about the karaoke comment—you go into the karaoke bar and there’s a whole community of other people that you can encounter. A strange new world, as it were.

And our work is to go seek out the life of God in those places because we trust it is already there. We trust that God already has shown up. Our work is to go into the woods; it’s to go out onto the sea; it’s to go to karaoke. It’s to go to these places and bear witness. As Mary Oliver said: 'Tell about it.'

I love theology and all that we could get into here about what’s going on philosophically and theologically in this exchange between Paul and the philosophers of Athens, but I prefer that he leans into mystery, into naming—or attempting to name—this unknown marker of God. Paul bears witness. He says, 'This thing, this unknown thing, it is so much more. Come and see.' And the one that he describes is the one in which we live and move and have our being.

I find as I listen to this text for myself that that statement is one of the most important pieces. It is a reminder to me that I am not alone. I am not out on an island isolated. I am actually swimming in the ocean of God’s presence. The one in whom we live and move and have our being surrounds us, walks with us, accompanies us in all places. Isn't this something to wonder at? Isn't this something of good news? So that when we go out into our world, we don’t go taking God with us; we actually go to see where God has already arrived and go, 'Look, I know that. That’s the unknown. That’s the God I know.'

And so, friends, my version of this is the invitation for us to look and wonder and bear witness. Look: where is God showing up today? Perhaps it will be as you receive cup and bread. That’s the place where God has arrived for us today as we eat at the table. Then what do we do? To wonder, can we be astonished? Can we actually say, 'I don’t have all the answers, but I know I love this thing and I’m going to keep following after it. The way of Jesus is good. I know not a whole lot of other stuff, but I know that.'

And I wonder what it would be like to live a life in response. And so, of course, that is the third: the 'tell about it.' We live in response to the God who has shown up in our world and in our lives. We tell stories. That’s why we gather here. The invitation is to be sent out to go and do all these things and see God in our world and encounter God’s presence. But then our work is to come back and tell stories about it—to talk to one another about it, to say, 'God showed up in this place for me this week.'

We do that with our prayers of joys and concerns. We bear witness as Paul bore witness to the Athenians. We look for God in breath and light, God in the 'other,' God in the dark, God in all life around us. God with us. The one in which we live and move and have our being has called your name and tells you: 'You belong and are beloved.'

Amen.

The witness that we have from Paul is to do those three things. I’m going to use Mary’s words once again: Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. Amen."