We don’t talk about Stephen a lot in church, the Stephen from the Book of Acts. I’m not sure why because Stephen was an amazing follower of Jesus. He was the first person martyred for believing in Jesus. He was a man of conviction, courage, and commitment. Stephen spoke plainly and directly to those who opposed him. Even though a mob had taken him outside the city walls and stoned him to death, Stephen remained committed to his faith in Jesus Christ asking God to forgive them for what they were doing to him. Stephen stood up for what he believed in and paid the ultimate price with his life.
What do you stand for? To what are you committed and what price are you willing to pay for that commitment?
In our New Testament reading today, we join the Apostle Paul in Athens, Greece. Paul is on the run from a mob of Thessalonians who want to see him arrested and jailed for sharing the Good News. He’s waiting for his travel companions, Silas and Timothy, to arrive so they can continue on their journey. This is his first time visiting Athens. He’s not sure what to expect. He is totally caught off guard by what he sees and experiences. Let’s see what happens…
(Read Acts 17: 16-34)
As mentioned in the text, Paul preaches and teaches in the main marketplace of Athens, the agora, which was a common practice for men of that culture to do each day. Athenians loved new ideas, thoughts and philosophies. They were not doers. They loved to talk but did not try to come to any conclusions. They worshipped everybody’s gods: Roman, Persian, Egyptian and Syrian as well as their own. One commentator described Athens as a “great university town” filled with the intellectual elite of that time and place. And those gathered at the “Areopagus” are the brightest and finest minds of Athens and they know it. They are curious about what Paul has to say. However, they do not hold him in high regard. They describe him as a charlatan, an ignorant show-off, a babbler. The word babbler in the Greek is “spermologos” which means “one who picks up scraps of information; a re-teller of second hand knowledge”. In the eyes of these learned men, Paul has no clout or credentials. He’s second-rate; a hack. But they are still curious…
The Areopagus is a high-level administrative court named after the Hill in Athens named for the Greek god Ares and later the Roman god Mars. Paul is placed before the highest court among the brightest and smartest Greeks of that time, the powers that be, to defend his strange “new teaching”. Imagine arriving in Washington DC for the first time sharing what you stand for with passers by on the Mall. What you are sharing is upsetting the hearers, but instead of calling the police, you are taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United States to defend what you stand for before the highest court in the land. No preparation. No friends or colleagues are there to stand by you and support you. You’re all alone standing before nine of the brightest legal minds in the country. You’re put on the spot in a very intimidating position. What would you do? What would you say? How would you react?
The Apostle Paul stands before the powers that be and delivers a brilliant sermon proclaiming what he stands for. First, he acknowledges the religious fervor of the Athenians. Second, he offers a sympathetic critique of idolatry. And third, he concludes with a universal call for repentance and declaring the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The reaction from the Athenians was mixed. One group, the Epicurean philosophers, mocked him, especially about Jesus being raised from the dead. For the Epicureans, death was the end of it all. Another group, the Stoic philosophers, put off coming to any conclusions about what they had heard hoping to hear more about it soon. A third group, some believed what Paul preached, repenting their sins and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The two converts were named in the passage: Dionysius, who was most likely a member of the Areopagus and thus a wealthy member of Athenian society, and Damaris, a woman who given the fact was present in the marketplace and at the Areopagus was probably not a reputable, respectable woman of the times. Through this third group, we see how the Gospel message has universal appeal to people of all walks of life.
Paul’s confession that the living Jesus is the only Messiah and the one Lord means that all other competing loyalties and practices must be set aside in order to begin a new life in him. As we know from our scripture today, most in Athens are unable to do this, they are unable to take a stand, come to a conclusion or make a decision.
This holds true today. You and I are bombarded by words, images, messages, symbols and more every moment of every day competing for our time, our attention, our emotions and our wallets. Are you willing to put your faith above all other competing interests? Are you willing to take a stand with your child’s coach that your child can not play on Sundays because your family’s Christian faith takes priority? Are you willing to take a stand with a teacher, speaking truth to power, that their screaming and yelling doesn’t motivate you or your child to improve and grow, but actually kills your spirit?
Are we willing to stand up against injustices happening all around us? Supporting efforts to dig wells and build water treatment plants in third world countries? Working to teach people all around the world how to grow the food they need to live? To fight to end the sexual exploitation of women and children worldwide? To work toward greater conservation of our energy resources?
We must be willing to take a stand on these issues and many more. As Martin Luther King Jr. did in the ‘50s and ‘60s regarding equality for all people, we must take a stand. As the young Chinese student stood alone in front of approaching army tanks in Tiananmen Square, we must take a stand. As Craig Gross, the founding pastor of X3Church in Colorado working to fight the infiltration of the pornography industry into our common culture, we must take a stand. It was Thomas Jefferson who once said, “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principal, stand like a rock”.
And it is as a rock that we must stand as a missional church, seeking to serve the world and fight the countless injustices around the globe. We take a stand with how we conduct ourselves in public and private. We take a stand with how we use our God-given talents and abilities in service to others. We take a stand with how and where we spend our money, giving gifts to God not because God needs anything, but rather we need to give to ground ourselves in our confession that God gives to us.[1]
I want to share with you one of my favorite stories from the Second World War. A large British military force on the European continent, along with some English citizens and diplomats, retreated to the French coastal port of Dunkirk. With its back against the English Channel, the British army faced a German army that threatened to drive it into the sea. To save what he could of his army, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called for all available sea vessels, whether large or small, to evacuate the soldiers and civilians from the besieged French beaches and bring them back across the Channel to safety.
An incredible array of ships and boats raced to the rescue—fishing boats and cruise ships alike. As the flotilla made its way to the beach to pick up soldiers and then move out again, Nazi aircraft set upon them like vultures while German artillery pummeled them with shells. Ships were strafed with machine gun fire, and some were blown out of the water altogether.
Three German fighters attacked the defenseless Lancastria, a converted cruise liner, whose decks and hold were packed with soldiers. One bomb dropped directly down the ship’s smokestack, tearing a huge gap in her lower hull. Nearly 200 men were trapped in the forward hold of the now severely listing ship. No one doubted that the liner was going down. Chaos, smoke, oil, fire, and blood, mixed with the terrified cries of the men trapped below, created pure pandemonium on deck as those hopeful of surviving searched for lifeboats or simply leaped into the water.
Moving through the middle of this living nightmare, a young Navy chaplain quietly worked his way to the edge of the hold and peered in at the darkness below.
Then, knowing he could never get out, he lowered himself in.
Survivors later told how the only thing that gave them courage to survive until passing ships could rescue them was hearing the strong, brave voices of the men in the hold singing hymns as the ship finally rolled over and went to the bottom.
This young Navy chaplain took a stand. He took a stand that no matter what the circumstance, he was committed to bringing hope and care to those in need no matter how hopeless the situation appears. The chaplain was convicted by the Holy Spirit to comfort the men trapped in the hold knowing that he would die with them. The chaplain was given the courage to act based on his convictions and commitment.
I want to encourage you to know what you stand for and stand firm. I want to encourage you to take action and stand up against the injustices we see all around us. What do you stand for?
[1] Mosser,
David N. The Stewardship Companion
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007) p.41.
No comments:
Post a Comment