The Way

Acts 17:16-23

November 14, 2021 • Mount Pleasant UMC

As you know, we’ve moved around a bit—more than some, less than others—and there comes a point every time we have moved when it feels like home. That “point” usually involves the moment when we know our way around town. I remember early on in our move to Muncie having trouble with that. I served at a church in downtown Muncie, and back then, maybe still, Muncie’s downtown was like a lot of other older downtowns, including Terre Haute—it has a lot of one-way streets. When we first moved there, it seemed like every street I turned down was one way, going the other way. It took a long time for me to learn which ones went north and which ones went south and how I could get to the church without running into anyone! Wherever you are, it’s important to learn the way.

On the last walk Jesus took with his disciples, from the Upper Room to Gethsemane, Jesus began to talk to them about his departure. And in that talk, he told them, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” And Thomas, one of the disciples, couldn’t stand it anymore. He’s tired of Jesus saying things that didn’t make sense to him, so he breaks into Jesus’ teaching and says, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” And that’s when Jesus makes that famous if often controversial statement: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:4-6).

That last statement is a big part of the reason why early Christians were known simply as “followers of The Way.” Not “a way,” but “The Way,” meaning Jesus, meaning the way to life, meaning the right way and not the wrong way on a one-way road. Jesus, and his followers after him, had no problem asserting that there was only one way to eternal life, and Jesus was it, is it. And that first century world reacted to that assertion about the same way as people do today.

This morning, we’re continuing our journey through the book of Acts, the latter half of which follows Paul (who we talked about last week) on his multiple missionary journeys. Today, the “Unfinished Story” takes us to the city of Athens, the heart of the ancient world’s intellectual pursuits. Athens had, at one time, been the capital of the Greek Empire, but when Greece was conquered by Rome, Athens lost most of its political clout. Instead, it became the university town, the place where you go to learn, to debate, to talk about the latest ideas (cf. Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, pg. 130). Luke even says, in a side note to the reader, “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas” (17:21). And while they loved to hear new ideas, they were naturally skeptical of them. Like the professor of mine who told us to read two old books for every new one, the Athenians would sneer at “new” ideas. “Old” was best because it had proven itself; novel or new ideas, they believed, were here today and gone tomorrow (cf. Wright, Acts for Everyone—Part Two, pg. 83). So along comes Paul with a “new” teaching, and he begins to preach about it and engage the Athenians about it.

What sparked Paul’s preaching were the number of idols in the city. Athens was a city where every home and every public building was “protected” by a statue of Hermes, the god of roads, gateways and the marketplace (Larkin, Acts [IVPNTC], pg. 251). It was even said that the city of Athens had more god statues than all the rest of Greece put together had and some said it was easier to meet a god in Athens than to meet a man (cf. Barclay 130). In this “forest of idols” was at least one altar set up “To An Unknown God” (17:23). You know, just in case they missed one. It’s suggested that there may have been many of these altars, based on an event six centuries before. In the sixth century BC, Athens had asked for help from a neighboring community to bring an end to a plague. Uncertain as to which god was causing the plague, the solution was to release a flock of sheep into the city. If they laid down near a god’s altar, the sheep was sacrificed to that god. If they laid down elsewhere, an altar was built to an unknown god and the sheep was sacrificed to that god. Either way, it went badly for the sheep, but the plague did come to an end (cf. Larkin 255; Barclay 132). So for 600 years, the Athenians had been worshipping gods who had no names.

And then Paul comes. And he sees these altars. And it leaves him in “great distress” (17:16). So he does what you do in Athens when you have a religious difference: he engages the people in debate. He goes to people who represent the various philosophies in the city and he tells them he’s going to fill in their lack of knowledge. “You are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you” (17:23). Then he proceeds to share the good news about Jesus in language they can understand. He talks about nature, and natural law. He quotes their own poets. And he ends by talking about the resurrection, the great hope of the Christian. When he’s done, some make fun of him, some ask to talk to him again, and some become followers of The Way (17:32-34).

Was Paul a success in Athens? One of the earliest sermons I remember hearing on this passage said no, Paul was not, and the main reason (as best as I remember it) was because there weren’t the 3,000 or more converts to The Way like there was on Pentecost (cf. 2:41) and in other places. Paul changed his tactics here, that preacher said, and because of that he failed. But did he? Look at how Luke reports the results: “Some of the people…believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others” (17:34). The Areopagus was an important location in Athens, also known as Mars Hill, and it was also the name of the city council that met there. Their job was to hear public debates and render verdicts (cf. Wall, “The Acts of the Apostles,” New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. X, pg. 245). And now there is a believer on that council. And though we don’t know exactly who Damaris is, the fact that she is mentioned tells us she is someone of importance in the city. You didn’t just mention random women in the stories of the day. So at least two of the converts on this day are people with influence. Though Paul’s message didn’t bring in a huge number of people, he did reach some people who, like the yeast Jesus one spoke of (cf. Luke 13:20-21), will be able to spread that message of the resurrection in places of influences and out into the whole city. From a small seed can come a mighty tree. Besides that, every time someone comes to know Christ, it’s a victory.

Friends, I’ve reminded you of our mission several times throughout the year and especially throughout this series. It’s the same mission the church has had for 2,000 years, though we may say it differently in different places and different times. But here’s the way we say it around here: we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. It’s the same mission that propelled Paul forward. It’s the same mission that called him to leave home and preach in places like Athens, in places where they made fun of him and accused him of bringing in “foreign gods” (17:18). And it should be the same mission that informs and energizes everything we do here in this place and in our lives. If we claim to follow Jesus, his mission is ours: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We shouldn’t even have to think about it; it just comes naturally. It’s who we are. We are people who point others to Jesus.

But that mission is increasingly hard in a world that doesn’t have much use for faith, or any desire to know Jesus. Or at least that’s the way it often appears. It appeared that way to the undiscerning eye in Athens as well, but Paul knew that behind their “unknown god” altars were hearts that were searching for significance. As Bishop Will Willimon observes, people today “criticize the Christian faith as being ‘simplistic,’ ‘pre-scientific,’ ‘superstitious’ and then rush to the strange consolations of astrology, transcendental meditation, parapsychology, esoteric cults, or happy hearted humanism. And they have the nerve to call Christians simplistic! Yet Paul might say, as he said on Areopagus, that at least they are searching” (Interpretation: Acts, pg. 143). Even if they don’t know what they are looking for, they are searching. In many ways, the world Paul faced is the same world we face. Which means our calling is the same. You can say it with me: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our world needs the church more than ever today—they just don’t realize it yet.

And so, as a church, we’re focused on that mission. To a world that is hurting and confused and lost, we want to be beacons of hope. These boxes that Jack has prayed over this morning will go around the world somewhere and children will get not only gifts provided by a generous church but also a chance to hear about Jesus. Out of the 500 boxes we’re sending, how many will come to faith? We don’t know, but I’ve got to believe that at least one of these boxes is going to reach a child who never knew he or she could be loved by God. Wouldn’t it be cool if, in ten or fifteen years, we get to hear one of those video stories like we’ve been showing that says, “I got a box from a church in Terre Haute, Indiana…and it changed my life”? How awesome would that be? It’ll never happen if we don’t send the boxes and, just like Paul preaching on Mars Hill, we trust God for the outcome.

Sometimes the kingdom grows without us even being aware of it. So, a couple of months ago, Pastor Rick and I were meeting our covenant group for lunch, like we do once a month. I’ve mentioned before we like our lunches, right? Anyway, we were at a local restaurant and the woman taking our payment noticed that one of us had a Mount Pleasant shirt on. That opened up a conversation, and she asked, “Do you all still have Celebrate Recovery?” It just so happened it was a Tuesday, and we said yes we do, and in fact they are meeting tonight for their study groups. She thanked us and I didn’t think any more about it—until that evening. I was still at the church when I heard someone in the building. It was this cashier, looking for where Celebrate was meeting. I took her downstairs, introduced her to Stan, and do you know what? In that group that night she met Jesus. She’s gotten clean and turned her life around all because this church believes in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world—anytime, anywhere, any way we can. We want to help all people find their way to The Way.

Last summer, we took the youth to Birmingham, Alabama, at least in part because of its role in the early civil rights movement. In the wake of all that took place in 2020, it was an important conversation to have with youth and adults alike. The trip also allowed us to cross lines that aren’t normally crossed, and it allowed us to serve in ways we might not have before. On Wednesday night of that week, we went to a women’s shelter to take part in their weekly worship service, and the place was alive with people singing praise to Jesus. Many of them had come there with nothing and they had met people who loved them and cared for them and gave them a chance. Through seeds planted, many people have become disciples of Jesus in that place. We plan to go back this summer, many of us, as partnerships of ministry are beginning to develop.

A couple of weeks ago, we handed out 630 bags of candy (thanks to your generosity) to almost 300 cars during our annual Trunk or Treat. 99% of those folks were not from our church, and while the cynical part of me says they were just here to get the candy, the Jesus in me can’t buy that wholeheartedly. We do that event not to get attention or even to hand out candy, but so that we can have a chance to touch people with the love of Jesus, follow up with them, and invite them to know the savior. It’s doing what Paul did: taking advantage of something in the culture to be able to proclaim Jesus. We’ll do the same thing with Jingle Jam in a couple of weeks, with the Longest Night Service and Christmas Eve after that, all opportunities to touch needs in the community and make a difference in people’s lives. Each and every week, this building hosts small groups, youth ministry, children’s ministry, Celebrate Recovery, four Scout troops, and various large events—all for one single purpose: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Nothing else pushes us forward. When I get discouraged about the state of the world or the state of our denomination or the state of anything, I remind myself why we do what we do. We do it so that others can know The Way. Honestly, there’s nothing else in all of creation that would get me out of bed in the morning.

I have hanging on the wall in my office a creed. Not an ancient creed, like the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed, statements that shape our faith. No, this one is much more recent. It’s called the “Sower’s Creed,” and it doesn’t so much shape what I believe as it shapes the way I live out our mission. It goes like this:

Today, I sow for a great awakening.

Today, I stake everything on the promise of the Word of God. I depend entirely on the power of the Holy Spirit. I have the same mind in me that was in Christ Jesus. Because Jesus is good news and Jesus is in me, I am good news.

Today, I will sow the extravagance of the gospel everywhere I go and into everyone I meet.

Today, I will love others as Jesus has loved me.

Today, I will remember that the tiniest seeds become the tallest trees; that the seeds of today become the shade of tomorrow; that the faith of right now becomes the future of the everlasting Kingdom.

Today, I sow for a great awakening.

That’s what we do. That’s who we are. And, friends, I can’t do it alone. Pastor Rick and I can’t do it by ourselves. Our church staff and Leadership Council can’t do it. We need you. We need all of you, in on the mission, committed to sowing for a great awakening, committed to shining the light of Jesus on all the Mars Hills and Areopaguses and city streets and county squares. It takes all of us.

Today is Generosity Sunday, and I’ve intentionally stayed away from preaching just about money this year. Dwight McKay shared the numbers and stats and information about the budget a couple of weeks ago, and that’s all important because—here’s the bottom line—in the world we live in, we cannot accomplish our mission without funding. It’s pretty simple. You need money in your daily life, and so does your church, and the only way the church is able to accomplish our mission is with your support. But I don’t want you to ever give just to keep the lights on, the staff paid or the heat turned up. I don’t want you to ever give because you’re getting exactly what you want. I want us all to be in on the mission, to give because we believe in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, in working toward seeing our world be awakened to the good news of the Gospel. I want you to give because what we’re doing here is important. It’s changing lives, making an eternal difference, finishing the story begun in the book of Acts.

So, like I said, today is Generosity Sunday, the day we fill out our pledge cards, the day we each say to God how important the mission is to us. Is it important enough to step up in our giving this year? For Cathy and I, the answer is yes, and so we will be increasing our pledge this year. How important is the mission? That’s something you have to prayerfully decide. So, in a few minutes, we’re going to have some music playing and invite you to fill out your pledge cards and then to bring them forward. And if you’re not ready to fill yours out this morning, that’s fine, you can bring it back next week. But here’s the question I want you to prayerfully ponder: how much is it worth for people to be able to find The Way? Let’s pray.

Pledge Cards Explanation & Presentation

So now, as people committed to the mission, I invite you to join me in this Sower’s Creed, as we step into what God has for us next. Let’s stand and say this together…

Today, I sow for a great awakening.

Today, I stake everything on the promise of the Word of God. I depend entirely on the power of the Holy Spirit. I have the same mind in me that was in Christ Jesus. Because Jesus is good news and Jesus is in me, I am good news.

Today, I will sow the extravagance of the gospel everywhere I go and into everyone I meet.

Today, I will love others as Jesus has loved me.

Today, I will remember that the tiniest seeds become the tallest trees; that the seeds of today become the shade of tomorrow; that the faith of right now becomes the future of the everlasting Kingdom.

Today, I sow for a great awakening.