Ares’ Hill in the era of Pandemic
The Areopogas,
Ares’ Hill, was named for the famous first trial in Greek Mythology. Ares the god
of war, murdered the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and was put on trial
and acquitted… found innocent on Ares Hill.
Ares’ Hill,
was a place bursting with new ideas both high brow and low, filled with idols
on every corner—Idols and idle chatter—people trying to figure out what it
means to be human in that particular time and place…
There, on Ares’
Hill, that’s where Paul found himself preaching!
And so, today,
I would like to preach on a subject I’ve preach on in the past, but this time
with a new twist: “Preaching on Ares’ Hill, in the era of Pandemic…
Ares’ Hill in the era of Pandemic.
Prayer
Preaching on Ares’
Hill, in the era of Pandemic.
Paul… being
Paul… has stirred up all kinds of trouble for himself in Northern Greece, and
was whisked away to Athens to lay low for a while…
But Paul…
being Paul… didn’t lay low. He saw the Idols lining the streets of Athens and
starts to argue with the various Greek Philosophers who commonly lined the
streets of Athens.
And just like
that these Philosophers drag Paul up Ares’ Hill in order to, “Find out what all
these words he is sewing mean.”
And there, on
Ares’ Hill, he begins his defense with a compliment (though perhaps a
backhanded one):
“I see you are a very religious people.”
He looks at
those idols, the fast paced flinging of ideas, a people who gravitate and grab
at anything new, and sees it for what it is, people yearning for, and reaching
for, and sometimes even finding, their Creator.
With this in
mind, he attempts to make the Gospel relevant to them.
He knows them,
and knows their culture, or at least takes a stab at it. He alludes to E-Pikt-etus
and Euripides, and quotes directly the stoic philosopher Aratus—he even
compliments their pagan statues and altars!
And these
days, in the era of Pandemic, I can imagine he would try for a similar
relevancy:
“I see you are
in worship now—even as you miss and yearn and grasp for the holy ground of normalcy.
Please be
grounded in the God breathed promise: “He lives not in temples hewn by human
hands” but is Creator of all that is, seen and unseen.
Sacred is the moment you meet in person,
sacred when you see this service from a screen,
sacred too the green grass, and dining room table,
and family and fellowships both far and near.
In this time
of questioning—in this time when there is so much unknown,” he continues.
“Know that there is One who was, is, and will be
who seeks you always and
has known and always will know you!
In Him our many question marks
may become exclamation points!
As that well
worn phrase states: “I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds
the future.”
You see, when
Paul preaches on Ares’ Hill, he builds a bridge between his listener and his
message, he makes sure they can cross over to hear what he’s saying.
But not only
that, he takes the idols of his age, and refashions them… Imagine that… he
doesn’t smash ‘em, instead he shows them to be what they are… he redeems them!
He says: “This
value you have, you’ve made into a god… well it’s just part of God’s creation,
and as such is good, just not The Good, not The Creator.
So too, today,
Paul takes those things we fear, love and trust into, those things we’ve
enthroned and deified, and places them where they belong.
Friends, I hear
the cracking in your voice—social distancing has become social isolation…
Please know
you are not alone, never alone!
God is as close to you as your breath…
for that matter did you know
Christ, our Lord, on the cross,
cried with the same tempo and tenor as you:
“Why have you forgotten me?”
and yet, that psalm he quotes ends,
“They will proclaim God’s righteousness to those not yet born,
telling them what God has done.”
I hear so many
of you end your phone calls, not with goodbye, but “Keep safe.”
A watch word for many, as we Purell,
wash our hands for 20 seconds,
live behind masks
get used to plexi-glass shielding
in the grocery stores
all to the good, to be clear.
But in this
goodness, do not forget its origin.
All these
things that sustain us,
all that is necessary and nourishing for body, mind, and soul,
it is the daily bread that comes from our Father in Heaven.
With all our precautions,
may we still see it all as a precious gift from God.
“Liberate!”
is the word to which some of you adhere.
Do not, friends, let liberty become license…
Do not mistake “Freedom From” with “Freedom For.”
We are, as Luther writes, “Slaves to none AND Servants to all.”
We’re freed FOR love of neighbor.
Jesus insists neighbor and mercy and wrapped up so tight you can’t tell them
apart.
If it is true that we are all
one blood, then we have so many neighbors!
Libertarian philosophers rightly
state: “my neighbor’s liberty ends where my nose begins.”
At this moment it just so
happens, that nose needs six feet of distance and to be kept covered.
Finally, there
are many worried about the economy…
You are not worried on account
of percentages of GDP or Unemployment Rates, but instead for what they
represent—these percentages point to people!
People, who are
made in the image of God and need to be treated as such… people who need dignity
and routine and livelihood.
Yes, people—
for surely the root of this word, Economy,
points to its true end—the Oikos…
No Oikos isn’t just a brand of
yogurt, no it means Household and family…
Economy is about care of family,
households of all types, or it is about nothing.
And let me
tell you, the Economy of the City of God includes you
—you dear friend are part of the family of God
—truly, you are a Child of God!
All of you!
Yes, when Paul
preaches on Ares’ Hill he changes the Idols of Athens into an affirmation that:
God is a whisker’s-length away,
that in God and God alone,
“We live and move and have our being.”
Yes, there on
Ares’ Hill he preaches, and there, on Ares’ Hill…
Having built a bridge to the yearnings of Athens,
Having relativized the Idols,
Having pointed to the God and Parent of us all…
After all
that, he points back to that other god, who haunts the hill.
He points to the trial of Ares;
Ares was found justified in the killing of Posieden’s son,
was judged innocent there.
And then Paul
preaches about another Judge,
the one who was innocent
and yet was killed.
Another judgement,
Jesus found guilty
and among sinners,
yet holy and innocent,
dying and rising for sinners.
The Judge who sees all our idols
—the Pantheon of false gods we worship
—and favors us anyway!
His judgment acquits us of Sin
and reconciles us to God and neighbor.
Jesus Christ, or Lord and God,
crucified and risen!
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