The Unknown God of Love

One thousand point question: Who held the cloaks while people stoned Stephen in last week's story in the book of Acts? What does that character have to do with today's story? The person who held the coats while the first Christian martyr was stoned to death, became the number one hit man, so to speak, for the religious establishment to go after those who called themselves, 'Followers of the Way' and believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and bringing them before the courts to be imprisoned and sometimes put to death. Now, how did Saul become Paul?  Saul was on the road to (Damascus) and was struck by a brilliant light, heard Jesus, and became one of early Christianity's greatest evangelists. In fact, the beginning of Acts just seems like a prelude to Paul because he dominates the final chapters. 

In today's story, Paul is traveling through modern Turkey, Greece and southern Europe to spread the gospel about God's love and the crucified and risen Messiah. Paul's pattern was to go to the synagogue and try to convince the Jews, which he did have some success, and then with that base, he would reach out to those in the community to broaden the reach and message. When he wasn't successful in the synagogues, he would find another way to share the gospel. In today's story, Paul finds himself in Athens and is deeply distressed about all the idols surrounding him. We get to hear his speech given to the Athenians, to see the video, just click on our website...   He finds something by which he can get their attention, compliments  them, and pivots to share about the unknown god. 

Now, in the Bible, it is just a few chapters between Saul, Saul's conversion to Paul, and Paul, the Billy Graham of his time. However, in real time, it took about 13 years, according to Paul's own autobiographical information between the road to Damascus and his setting out on his first missionary trip, and his letters started after that. What happened in that time was Paul basically had to deconstruct his faith and his religion to be able to get to the point where he was ready to share the gospel. Paul was human, so he maybe got some things wrong and, maybe, we have misused some of his advice, such as telling women to be silent in church. But, he also got some things very right. There are Bibles in the pews, I want you to grab one, share them with your partner or people sitting next to you and open to 1st Corinthians and find chapter 13. This is often read a weddings, but Paul meant it to be read at the church. Let us read, out loud, the first 3 sentences, "13 If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing." (keep your Bibles open)

We really don't know a lot about God, we don't have a picture of them hanging on our walls, though artists throughout our history have created images of them. In our Bible, we have 66 books that often offer very different descriptions of who God is, sometimes in the same book such as Isaiah. Isaiah depicts God as a king, a destroyer, a landowner, a mother, a shepherd, and a caretaker and reconciler. But, I will hang my hat and my faith on this chapter, "without love, I am a clanging cymbal, nothing, gaining nothing." 

I invite you now to read the rest of the chapter with those around you and take a few moments to contemplate and maybe even discuss, who is the God of love to you?

4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs;6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.