Every once in awhile the apostle Paul fascinates me. He does everything they tell public speakers not to do. He insults his audience, uses sarcasm without regard, and pushes Jesus down their throats.
There's nothing more detestable than a self-righteous, religious zealot telling you what to do.
His persuasion skills are seriously lacking
Somehow he gets away with it, although I do wonder how it was that Stephen was the one who ended up stoned, and not Paul? Although legend has it that Paul was eventually decapitated by the Romans. So maybe his luck ran out.
But regardless, as we get into this reading from Acts today, I want to make a few things clear about the people to whom he's speaking and a bit of background. Paul is in Athens, which is a highly educated and intellectually curious hub of the Western world. Athenians prided themselves on their admiration of philosophy and academia. And not unlike today, it's a civilized, well-to-do society which covered all the bases by dabbling in theology and religion.
So, basically, Paul could be talking to us.
He's not one to pull any punches, so he'd lay his sarcasm on thick and 'compliment' us by saying, "Dear People of Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Poolesville, I see that you are very religious. After all, you have much work to do in your prestigious jobs, but still you make time for church and give offerings and help others. You certainly know much about God".
And we'd be here waiting for the other shoe to drop, because that's how Paul is. Where exactly is he going with this? And why is he so rude?
And he'd pull out this picture...
Ok. He wouldn't pull out a picture, because you know, they chiseled statues out of stone and erected monuments, which are pretty hard to lug around, but for arguments sake, Paul would point to this statue and say, "Who's this guy?"
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[Jesus likenesses projected]
And we'd all say: Jesus.
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Over and over again we would answer, "Jesus."
After all, we have seen images of Jesus all our lives, even if we aren't religious or spiritual. His likeness has been produced in pictures, in books, paintings, and movies, even on jewelry and T-shirts. There may be some variation in his depiction, because Jesus occasionally gets a haircut leaving his hair a bit above his shoulders or his beard is a bit shorter due to a recent trip to the barber shop, but all in all, he is always recognizable. We know Jesus when we see Him.
Jesus is someone who gives us hope and cares for us and makes us feel not alone and hears our prayers. Church often provides a place for Jesus to live, to be seen, to be known.
Paul would be so proud of us.
But not really... Because, a truth that we don't talk about often is that by focusing on what we know of Jesus and what we need from Jesus, we limit Him to the visible, provable, and knowable.
Sometimes people say: It's in the Bible so it must be true. I don't necessarily want to get into the nuances of why that is and isn't true... But, what if it isn't in the Bible? Is every thing there is to know about God and Jesus in the Bible?
Just so you're following along with me, what I'm doing here is a little twist on what Paul was doing...
The Athenians erect a statue that says, "To an Unknown God," and thereby cover all their bases - every god, every requirement of any deity, every unknown thing was contained within that one little idol.
Paul may not have guessed this when he was preaching, but as the centuries crept by, each society would symbolize Jesus differently, erect different monuments to him. The Athenians weren't the first and they wouldn't be the last.
So, Paul tried to get the Athenians to reframe the 'Unknown God' through the visible person of Jesus. He's asking them to make a 'resurrection move' by pointing out how much truth lies in that one little word: Unknown.
Paul doesn't pick love, or peace, or even care for the poor (all those culturally acceptable depictions of Jesus).
No. He picks the 'Unknown.'
There's a reason Paul only gains TWO converts after this sermon. He doesn't make his audience feel like God is more knowable or understandable. He makes them feel like God is more unknown and more incomprehensible; that life is more unpredictable and ever-changing.
Plus, he's not nice.
Which leaves them feeling....
Unsettled.
Confused.
Unsure.
It leaves me feeling the same way.
In general, the 'unknown' in life makes us feel out of control, especially when it relates to our own personal lives. I can handle a bit more of the unknown if we're talking about the likelihood of space travel to Jupiter or something, because this doesn't really impact my life directly. But the unknown relating to my life or my faith is more unsettling. And if I apply this 'unknown' aspect to God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit... it makes God feel farther away. And well, that's not desirable at all. Isn't God supposed to help make sense of life? Not confuse it more?
I want to know God, that is why I'm showing up in church after all, right?
But what if the 'resurrection move' that Paul is pointing us to is to embrace more mystery and wonder and not knowing in our lives? What if the axis of resurrection in our own lives is that hope arises differently than hoped for? What if the only consistency promised of God is that surprise and mystery are part of life?
And now you're thinking, Pastor Christine, how about if you don't dismantle the whole of my religiosity in one sermon and leave me some solid footing...?
But Jesus...
Jesus is more than someone who carries lambs on his shoulders, who bows his head in prayer, who cries sweetly in a manger, and even He is more than someone who dies on a cross.
Jesus is so much more than that...
The one we all recognize, our 'Cultural Jesus'. We know this Jesus. This is our idol, our statue, our containment of God. The irony of all these pictures is this isn't what Jesus looks like at all.
At least nobody that looks like that has ever showed up in my life.
There is another feeling that wells up within me when I wonder about the 'unknown' and that's freedom. If God is mysterious then anything is possible. God's mystery allows us to hold in tension other religions and other understandings of God. It allows someone else to be the ultimate judge and takes that role away from anyone else who claims to have that authority. It allows there to be more at work in the world then I can envision.
It means that I do not know what God will do next. And that's exciting.
Jesus' resurrection guaranteed that each culture would grope for him anew, because each would have a different view of what it meant to be human. Paul pointed to the wonder of God in nature, and in Jesus, and in art.
So, where do we see the wonder of Jesus today?
It sounds like a simple question, but I really don't think it is.
My inclination is to answer that question with possibilities to start you off in the 'right' direction, and that's what I attempted to do, but you know what I found? I found that even my 'out of the box' examples aren't out of the box anymore. They are very culturally accepted nuanced idols of Jesus... and they aren't where I see the wonder of Jesus.
So, where do you? Where do you experience the wonder of Jesus?
That's your question for the week.
What would it be like to wonder more, to marvel at what is before you, to expect that the 'why is this happening points' are resurrection points?
I want to close with this...
You know that feeling in class when somebody raises his hand and says, "I don't get it," and you feel so relieved that you aren't the only one not getting it?
That's what great artists do.
That's what great thinkers do.
That's what followers of Jesus do.
They ask it.
They say it.
They express it.
The intent of the artist who etched 'Unknown God' wasn't to ask it, to say it, or express it...
But that's what he did.
He put into words what so many of every era are feeling, are wondering, are thinking...
Who is this Jesus? And am I the only one who just doesn't 'get Him' all the time?
That artist's prophetic words said, "No, you're not the only one."
There's so much to know...
All I can say with any certainty is Jesus might just be more unknown than known and he's inviting you into the mystery of life.
He will baffle our intellect and challenge our morality and make us step out into the unknown with Him. And I believe that mystery is one that will undo your heart without a moment's notice and make you want to know Him more.
Amen.
