“Flubbed it, or not?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, May 14, 2023
Acts 17:22-31 (Forward, p. 16) CEV p. 1156
For such a straightforward, and seemingly unremarkable episode in the apostle Paul’s life, this particular incident has garnered quite a variety of opinions. Surprising, a number of commentators have suggested that he ‘flubbed it’, that he struck out on this one.
Some have suggested that he erred in trying to tackle the philosophers on their own ground, that is, with worldly wisdom and logic, instead of signs and wonders. Those commentators allege that Paul had encountered rather hardened and unsympathetic audiences prior to this but had won them over, simply by performing a miracle or two. (Consider his ministry in Lystra, as an example, where there was no synagogue and thus no effective starting point, and where Zeus and Hermes were held up strongly in the city’s worship life. Even so, Paul was able to establish a church there, possibly because the gospel was shown in power by his healing of a lame man—see Acts 14:8-18). In fact, these commentators suggest that Paul learned his lesson, and actually suggest he admitted as much in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5.
Others say that his use of wisdom, and his quoting of own of their poets and his mention of one of their ancient stories, that of the ‘altar to an unknown god’, was a great technique, an inspired one, masterful in bridging the gap,. These people only find fault with Paul in that he went too far, too fast—that is, that he failed to lay the groundwork and explain why Jesus death on the Cross was necessary. They also suggest that, for all his wisdom and extensive knowledge of the Greek language and culture, he failed to realize that his mention of the resurrection (anastasia in the Greek) could have been mistaken for a woman’s name, and thus alluding to another god, Anastasia, in addition to Jesus. That would explain why Paul was ‘put down’ for babbling about strange gods.
Others find fault with the Jewish synagogue in Athens, that somehow it was amiss in not making greater inroads, countering the impact of the rampant idolatry, and attracting more seekers, more Gentle God-fearers. Had there been more of such people present in Athens there would have been more listeners already attuned and receptive to what Paul had to say. However, maybe, all of their efforts might have been for naught, given the strong and pervasive influence of the idolatry and the rather entrenched evil spirits that lay behind those idols.
Others have lauded Paul for his masterful logic and reasoning, and for his splendid manner in trying to adapt the gospel message to an alien and resistant culture—in his obvious listening, observing and trying to ‘get on their wavelength’, in using their culture, literature and history to create a bridge, and in quoting their own philosophers and poets (rather than the Scriptures, which would have been unintelligible to them). These people suggest that while Paul didn’t have remarkable or outstanding results, he did win some converts, and well, that’s life. Paul is remarkably like us then. You can’t win every battle.
With all these varying comments, I would simply reply that God sees, knows and blesses our efforts, yes, even those that seem, at present at least, to have little by way of obvious results. Both Jesus and Paul speak of one person planting, another watering (weeding?) and still another harvesting. Another does the hard work before any results are seen. That is life, both in the natural world and in the life of the spirit. So, we do our best, use weapons both intellectual and spiritual, and leave the rest to God. And thanks be to God that there will, in His own sweet time, be some results. Amen.
Forward notes: “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” (verses 26-27).
“Dark skies are an increasingly rare commodity in our modern world of electric lights. I have only been in total, consuming darkness a few times, the kind of darkness where you truly cannot see your hand in front of your face. When my wife and I were on our honeymoon, we decided to see the black sand beaches at Hana in Hawaii. We got a late start and ended up driving back—very slowly—in total darkness. At one point, we pulled off the road and turned off all the lights. Everything around us disappeared in the darkness.
“Every time I read this passage from Paul’s sermon to the Athenians, that drive comes to mind. Even when you cannot see, the truth is that whatever you are searching for is still there. God’s presence can be like that for us. We all have moments when we cannot perceive God clearly, but God is always there, right in front of us, waiting patiently.”
Moving Forward: “If this is a bleak time for you, remember that God is there.