The Witness of Paul: Seeking God

A panoramic view of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece taken from the Areopagus, also called Mars Hill.  Photo taken by Ggia and used by permission under a creative commons license [CC-BY-SA-3.0] via wikimedia commons

  

Acts 17:22-31    Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we too are his offspring.”  Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’ 

Setting the Scene:  Last week we read the story of Stephen who was stoned to death because he gave a strong and courageous witness about Christ.  Take this link and a moment to read Acts 7:55-60.  See the young man named Saul at whose feet the men who stoned Stephen laid their coats.  In the next verse, Acts 8:1a, we read, “And Saul approved of their killing him.”   The next few verses, Acts 8:1b-3 read, “That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.   Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.   But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.”   See how this one act served to “scatter” the community of Christ-followers, spread Christianity, and made the world our mission field. 

That passionate and brutal young man Saul is the apostle Paul that we read about in our passage for study.  Take a moment to simply breathe and try to get a deep sense of just how far God has brought Paul so that he can stand to give a strong and courageous witness about Christ ... like Stephen did.    Scripture does not record the actual occasion or tell us the reason that Saul came to be known by the name Paul.  Acts 13:9 simply says, “But Saul, also known as Paul …” and it may be as simple as one side of the “family” calls him Saul of Tarsus and the other side of the “family” calls him the Apostle Paul.  However, we know that throughout biblical history a name change (Abram>Abraham, Jacob>Israel, Simon>Peter to name just a few) denotes a core spiritual change within a person.   Saul of Tarsus was actually knocked from his horse, blinded, and “visited” by Jesus.  Acts 9:4-6 reads, “[Saul] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’  He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’”    His inner change began in that moment and it was quite a journey from that moment to this one.

Yes, Paul has walked a long way to come to this moment, traveling many miles and entering new places to spread the Gospel.  Paul normally entered a new community via the synagogue and yet because of his history, he was not always welcome, for in the minds of the Jewish people he was a traitor to God, to them, and to himself.   At the same time, the fledgling Christians were also afraid of him because he had once sought and obtained permission from the high priest to kill them.   A man named Barnabas was not afraid, and he became Paul’s closest companion.  They traveled great distances together spreading the Gospel.  One day they had a falling out over a young follower named John Mark and parted ways.  Paul took Silas and continued on.  Soon after an episode in prison, Paul was sent ahead to Athens where he became distressed over the abundance of idols so in Acts 17:17-18 we read, “he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him.”    Finally, Paul was taken by some of these men to the Court of the Areopagus in order to explain his new teachings.  Everett Ferguson, in his book called Backgrounds of Early Christianity, says that “during the first century, [the Areopagus] appears to have regulated educational and religious affairs.”  (42)  Some believed.  Some didn’t …

Making Connections:   Have you ever had a conversation with someone from a different religious background?  If so, what was your experience talking about God with someone who didn’t believe as you did?  If not, how comfortable would you be talking about your own religion using concepts from another religion?

Going Deeper:  In 1 Corinthians 9:22b-23, Paul said “I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.”    Paul seems by nature to be a man who is “all in” to whatever or whoever it is that he believes in.   The Paul I meet in Scripture doesn’t just follow the drama, he creates the drama ... in many ways he is the drama!   And yet, here in this passage, I meet a man I like a lot. Although he is distressed by the rampant “idolatry” in Athens, he does not chastise anyone.  Instead, he meets the people where they are.  He recognizes something in their religious fervor and finds an opening to teach them about God in Christ.  

These Greek intellectuals are so religious that among all of the idols they have built stands a shrine (idol) to worship a God they don’t even know.  Is that one of those fearful “just to be on the safe side” acts?   Maybe, but I think more likely this is their way of telling the world that they are perpetual “seekers.”   So, always and ultimately, is Paul!    The prophet Jeremiah once said, speaking for God, “I will let you find me if you seek me with your whole heart.”  (29:14)   Paul, a whole-hearted seeker is confident that those who are truly seeking God will find God, just as he did.  

Pondering:  John Wesley, the father of Methodism, said, “I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”    As I consider this quote, I hear echoes of Paul’s sense of passion for evangelism, which simply means “sharing the Good News with others.”     

• When you hear the word “evangelism” what comes to your mind?  
• Have you shared your “Good News” lately?

Gene Mauch, a professional baseball player and manager said, “You can't lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself.”   I have heard this said in many different ways by many different people.    It reminds me of Paul’s relentless search for God which gives him an uncanny ability to challenge others to grow in their relationship to God.  

• How would you describe your spiritual journey to a seeker?
• How might you invite others to share their journey with you?

A.B. Simpson, a Presbyterian minister and the founder of Christian and Missionary Alliance, said “As long as you want anything very much, especially more than you want God, it is an idol.”  This is the essence of Paul’s distress in Acts 17.

• What are the “idols” in your life that you are tempted to want more than God?
• How do you resist these temptations, smash those idols and turn toward God?

St Augustine of Hippo said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."   As I consider this quote, I remember Paul’s openness to the religion of others as he appealed to a Greek poet who said, “In [God] we live and move and have our being” which ultimately is the the power and presence of the Spirit in our lives.    

• Has your heart ever been “restless” for God? 
• How did you find rest for your restless soul?  

Praying:  Take a deep, deep breath and invite the Spirit of God into your heart and mind as you let this prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) become your daily Prayer of Eastertide

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy;
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit that I love but what is holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend what is holy;
Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy.  Amen.