I might talk today about the 17th
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles
which contains the famous speech that
Paul the Apostle gives on the areopagus
in Athens it's a famous passage and it
constitutes I think a sort of
masterclass in the evangelization of the
culture so every step of the way it's
worth meditating on this famous moment
you know first of all what's Paul doing
in Greece well he's passed now from Asia
Minor over to the European mainland
prompted he says by a dream were a
Macedonian is calling him to come over
well I love the fact that Christopher
Dawson the great Catholic historian said
here's a transition that no commentator
no historian of the time would ever have
noticed this itinerant Jewish preacher
making his way from Asia Minor to Greece
but in fact it was one of the most
decisive moments in in human history
because in doing that Paul is bringing
the Christian faith to Europe to say to
Europe is to say eventually to Rome and
then eventually to the whole world
through Europe
so this decisively important moment when
Paul prompted by his missionary impulse
makes this journey for any evangelist
today your prompting to do something to
try something and you say well I mean
what what effect will this have who
knows who knows Paul didn't see it this
extraordinary effect but that's why he's
in Greece he begins up in the north so
you know Macedonia at Philippi he writes
famous letter to the Philippians he goes
to facility up in the North famous
letter to the Thessalonians later he's
met with some success so we hear about
you know a few conversions and people
listening to him but he's met with
enormous opposition he ends up in prison
in Philippi Thessalonica they chase him
out of town by a mob another lesson for
evangelists don't be surprised when
you're opposed so I've been talking
about that when I started doing this
work in
in the New Evangelization media and you
know the ferocious opposition now thank
God I'm not getting stoned by by angry
mobs at least not yet but you know I'm
getting my fair share of verbal abuse
often times you can feel like please
anybody listening to this
well the Christian message has always
been a bit dangerous countercultural
strange surprising threatening still is
so don't be surprised Paul faced it too
but then I love the fact that having
started up north he makes a beeline to
Athens
now what was Athens at the time
especially it was arguably the cultural
center of the Roman world
the Roman Empire courses spread to that
part of the Mediterranean Athens the
great city of Socrates and Aeschylus and
Plato and Aristotle and everybody else
even though that was 400 years before
Paul it's amazing our sense of history
gets kind of truncated like they're all
back there sometime but Aristotle and
company were 400 years before Paul but
Athens is this major major cultural
center good Christians by an instinct
but deep instinct from Paul until you
know John Paul the second have moved
into cultural centers so we don't stay
simply you know off on the side
someplace we we know Jesus wants this
message to go out to all the world so we
have an instinct to go to cultural
centers centers of philosophy centers of
communication that's what Paul goes by
it by a clear instinct to Athens now
what happens to him when he gets to
Athens and this is the the set up for
the speech on the Areopagus it says here
Paul waited for them in Athens his his
fellows and there his whole soul was
revolted at the sight of a city given
over to idolatry worship of false gods
is that still a problem yes that's
always the problem that's always the
problem that's always the problem
idolatry the worship of false gods now
they would have had altars to you know
various deities and so on
no but heck we've got altars erected to
all kinds of false gods in our culture
so Paul's great revulsion at this that's
deep
biblical that's his wonderful Jewish
prophetic heritage you know that we're
about the worship of the true God that's
what evangelization means that we're
we're trying to bring people into the
worship of the true God ought we to be
revolted by all the idolatry we see yeah
yeah he was we should be too but then
I'll watch it's not just oh isn't this
awful oh look at this Cultural Center
how off-kilter they are how crazy these
people are no no listen to what he does
in the synagogue he held the base with
the Jews and the god-fearing of course
the god-fearing mean Gentiles who have
kind of you know been sympathetic with
the Jewish point of view Paul almost
always goes to the synagogues first and
we see why his message was Jesus risen
from the dead is God's yes to all the
promises made Israel who's gonna
understand that message most readily
Jews children of Israel will understand
the message here did I want people today
to see when we lose the link between
Jesus and Israel we missed the point
Jesus devolves rapidly into a bland
spiritual teacher of timeless truths can
we distilled timeless truth from his
teaching sure sure but what's
interesting about Jesus is in his dying
and rising he's the fulfillment of all
the promises made Israel so this
instinct to connect the synagogue and
the gospel good instinct even for
evangelists today but in listen and in
the marketplace
he had debates every day with anyone who
would face him now I I like that because
I think in our cultural setting today
the social media represent this sort of
marketplace of ideas were you confront
anybody so if I give a talk at a church
or I go to a Catholic gathering I'll
meet mostly with like-minded people and
it's fine I'm happy to inform them and
inspire them and so on but I love the
fact that the social media represents
this kind of open marketplace of ideas
Christians should be willing and able to
dial
along with anybody because jesus said
announced this message to the ends of
the world I love all I heard this from
his own lips when I was in Rome
many years ago Pope Benedict was talking
about Irenaeus of Lyon and he was
speaking about his anti Gnostic
perspective and the Gnostics of course
are like his little private group but we
have our own little private truth and we
whisper among ourselves and and Benedict
said you know and when we were speaking
in French and he said for Saint Irenaeus
the foie catholique a public public it's
public it's a public pronouncement that
from Paul on we've been public we don't
whisper our little message among
ourselves but we're willing and able to
announce it to the whole world love that
love that how the debates every day with
anyone who would listen good we should
still keep doing that and then this
warms my philosophers heart even a few
epicurean and stoic philosophers argued
with them good for Paul is he talking to
average people sure in the synagogue and
probably on the street ordinary people
working-class people sure sure that's
part of our job but who are the
Epicureans and Stoics but the leading
philosophical minds of the time and
maybe hanging out in the capital city of
greco-roman culture sure who are the top
philosophers today who are they
Christians ought to be able to name them
ought to be able to engage them
Christian evangelists don't just whisper
to people to lower end of the
intellectual spectrum they talk to
people the highest end of the spectrum
good we should do all that today okay
now watch watch it happen so Paul areas
in the synagogue then out in the street
then with the philosophers debating
speaking evangelizing good good then
this some of them said and these are the
Epicureans and Stoics the high-minded
people some of them said does this
parrot know what he's talking about
now I love those because look at all the
the I'm not enough of a Greek scholar to
know the nuances here but the word being
used is ambiguous in the Greek because
I've seen translations
what is this babbler talking about and
one was he what was it scavenger one
translation headed what's this scavenger
going on about so whatever the
where it is it's a disparaging word
right so they're they're making fun of
Paul what's this bozo talking about you
know well was he opposed up in the north
yes
is he opposed in the in the cultural
capital yes and we shouldn't be
surprised our Christian evangelist
called names all the time bye-bye hi you
know cultural figures yeah sure sure we
are get used to it get used to it you
know thick-skinned you know in this
operation but doesn't stop Paul now
this is really interesting this is the
Jerusalem Bible I'm reading from here
because there's also ambiguity in the
Greek here it says they the philosophers
invited him to accompany them to the
Council of the Areopagus okay but other
translations are a little more dire and
the language is more like they compelled
him to come to the areopagus to explain
himself so what was the areopagus well
it was and still is this kind of
extraordinary place it's this this very
impressive
rocky sort of hill right below the
Parthenon so right smack in the middle
of Athens a place where they had debates
they think but also where they had
trials now keep in mind four hundred
years before Paul another famous trial
took place in Athens namely of Socrates
who was accused of atheism and and
corrupting the youth right so some
translations suggest and scholars
suggest this is not just always have a
friendly chat about what you're saying
that it was closer to a trial that Paul
was kind of on trial for what he was
saying but any case there he is in this
very public place with the kind of
leading figures in the culture of that
time and they're asking him and/or
challenging him about what he's saying
so with acts 17 now verse 22 we have the
famous speech and I would urge any
evangelist today to read it and to
memorize it what Paul's up to here
because as I say it's the master class
here's I begin men of Athens I've seen
for myself how extremely scrupulous you
are in
all religious matters because I noticed
as I strolled around admiring your
sacred monuments you had an altar
inscribed to an unknown God now the
interesting thing there you know we just
heard a few verses earlier the pompous
scandalized by the idolatry of the city
so he was but now he's doing his speech
what Paul's doing here is what in
rhetoric is called the cop taught Co
Venable NCA right which is the capturing
of the benevolence of your audience by
the way good rule for any public speaker
at any time you start usually with some
kind of self-deprecating remark or a
compliment to your crowd so this would
Paul who knew Greek rhetoric very well
that's what he's doing but it's more
than that because Paul was engaging here
and what the Greek Fathers would later
call the exploration of the law boys
firm a decoy which this means the seeds
of the word so Paul's got the word right
the word made flesh in Jesus but there
are hints and echoes and anticipations
of that word in whatever is good true
and beautiful in the culture you're
evangelizing so Paul saying hey I've
been walking around your city and even
though and what side of his heart saying
what all is idolatry but he also say I
you're a religious people there's a
religious instinct in you now from Paul
through Thomas Aquinas to GK Chesterton
and CS Lewis and everybody else that's a
really good instinct to follow is to is
to find the what the Latins call the
semi NAVAIR be the seeds of the word in
whatever culture you're in my mentor at
Cardinal George always said and you know
Karl George who could be very sharply
critical of the culture but he said you
can't finally evangelize a culture you
don't love which there's always struck
me as perfectly right if you just hate
the culture you just at war with it you
will not evangelize it effectively so
Paul by a very good instinct looks for
the seeds of the word as I say you can't
imagine a Gustin without that move you
can't imagine acquaintance without that
move you can't imagine John Paul the
second without that move so very
important for evangelizers but that's
not all he does if that's all you do
that's if you want the left-wing problem
you know that you just see Christianity
is one more example of a cultural
religious form you know listen now as
Paul goes on
since the God who made the world and
everything in it is himself lord of
heaven and earth he does not make his
home in shrines made by human hands now
mind you where it's he standing as he
says that and that's what struck me when
I went to the Areopagus in Athens he's
standing right below like it's right up
there the Parthenon which was the
greatest pagan religious temple in the
world at the heart of it was this now
long gone but giant statue of the
goddess Athena Paul saying hey the god
I'm talking about does not make his home
in shrines made by human hands like
yours here saying so having complimented
them he immediately critiques the
idolatry within the culture that rhythm
that move is typical of evangelist at
their best it avoids if you want the
extremes of both left and right it's the
yes to the culture and the great note of
the culture all as a propaedeutic to one
the declaration of the novelty of the
good news listen to this now as Paul
continues this speech now he God is
telling everyone everywhere they must
repent because he's fixed today when the
whole world will be judged and judged in
righteousness and he's appointed a man
to be the judge and God has publicly
proved this by raising this man from the
dead ah
now he's talking about the heart of the
gospel Jesus risen from the dead
complements the culture critiques the
culture as a preparation for the
declaration of this decisive
manifestation of the law goes Jesus
risen from the dead Christian
evangelists don't shy away from this
they don't permanently put it off your
ultimate purpose is the declaration
of Christ risen from the dead okay now
just one more point at this mention of
rising from the dead
some of them burst out laughing so that
you know when I read this now I think
Paul brother Paul I I'm with you man I
get it I get it the number of times you
know I can in my social media outreach
the number of times I've been for one
we've got a term laughed at for things I
say
I mean countless the culture has always
found finds will always find the
Christian Proclamation but crazy some
some in the culture always will because
it is this kind of crazy good news of
Jesus having gone to death now risen
from the dead and the source of grace
for the world strange message uh-huh
it always was don't believe people today
that say oh we all those ancient people
they bought any old crazy nonsense all
the pre-scientific poor things they
believe these you know crazy people
coming back from the dead no they didn't
know that listen they were pre
scientifically they weren't stupid
they knew dead people stayed in their
graves I mean of course they did it so
they laugh at this this this claim that
Paul was making my point is not to deny
the resurrection is to say it's always
been a strange and disturbing message
but yet Paul confidently proclaims it
now I love this how it ends
after that Paul left them but there were
some who attached themselves to him and
became believers among them died Nisha's
the Areopagus and one would call damaras
and some others besides now you're Paul
you're the Apostle Paul you've seen the
risen Christ you want to proclaim him to
the world you've gone to the cultural
capital of your world you've gone to
Athens you've debated with philosophers
you've gone to the Areopagus itself you
proclaim this message and what's your
payoff well a lot of them laughed at you
most walked away and a couple of people
said yeah maybe we'll we're set lying
again maybe we'll others said we'd like
to hear you talk about this again
that's the payoff that's what Paul got
right could you understand if Paul went
back to his room that night and thought
okay well that was kind of a bomb you
know that Evangelic robbery then go very
well but wait who are Danish the
Areopagus who's his woman called de
maras and others besides but the seeds
from which European Christianity
developed right this is Paul now
planting the faith in Europe as it grew
through Europe it eventually grew to the
ends of the world so the fact that I'm
recording these words I'm the distant
Shore of a continent Paul II never even
knew existed but the beginning of it
were these handful of people that said
yeah okay well well listen to you again
on this you know final lesson two
evangelists don't get discouraged at
what appear to be of poor results of
your work who's listening to me who
cares about this I mean come on I'm
wasting my time
you have no idea what God can do with a
couple little seeds that were planted by
your proclamation of the word so anyway
take a look at your get your Bibles out
and acts 17 and the speech of Paul on
the Areopagus master class for
evangelizers
[Music]