Preaching the Gospel – Acts 17:22-31

A text – Acts 17:22-31 

²² Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. ²³ 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. ²⁴ 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, ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ From one ancestor he made all peoples to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷ so that they would search for God and perhaps fumble about for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ 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.’

²⁹ “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. ³⁰ While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ 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.”

A reflection:

When I read this passage today, I saw a faithful person, Paul, putting his life and work on the line to declare that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior and Judge of the world. The whole world, not just the Jewish world. Everyone. Everywhere. Paul is speaking from his heart, describing God the Creator as a generous provider of life to the whole of Creation. This very big God, Creator and Sustainer of everything everywhere is calling every person to believe and come to him. Each of us human creatures is God’s offspring, and all we need to do is claim God as our Father to be judged “right with God” by Jesus. If we need proof of the power of Jesus to convince God, we can look at God’s raising of Jesus from the dead. Literally. Jesus is our judge as well as our advocate to God, who loves and hears him.

In the verses that follow this passage, some folks scoff because they cannot believe someone rose from the dead, and others walk away murmuring, “Just another street preacher…” But some promise to come hear Paul again, and some believe right away. It’s like the parable of the sower in real life.

What about us? We are given certain chances to speak the gospel to folks who want or don’t want to hear it, who are maybe interested or even desperate to hear the Good News, or who might reject it without hesitation. In these situations, do we speak the Gospel, the everlasting love of God for humans? If we do, the Holy Spirit does not abandon us. Even if we think we don’t know how to tell it, our message will be translated by the Spirit into just the words someone needs to hear. Maybe our words convince only one or two people try on the idea that God loves them. But isn’t that just like Paul in Athens? We speak, and the Holy Spirit does the rest. Who in our circle of people this week needs to hear that God loves them for real?

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for living us. Thank you for the stories of Paul and his preaching. Help us to remember that you give us moments to preach as well, and people who need to hear that you love them. Give us courage to say the words that might change someone’s outlook from despair into joy. Amen.