Sowing on Rocky Ground May 7th, 2023
Gracious God, send us your Spirit to guide our understanding as we listen to the Scriptures so that we may follow you more closely, know your truth more fully, and share in your gift of life more abundantly, through Christ, your Living Word. Amen
Since the Apostle Paul and his travelling companions set foot on European soil for the first time, we’ve read about them visiting three towns, Philippi, Beroea, and Thessalonica. By this time Paul had established a routine of going to the local Jewish synagogue when he first went to the town. Its members were already familiar with the God of Israel and the promise of a Messiah who was to come and establish his kingdom, so it made a good starting point to telling the people about his son, Jesus Christ, and the fact that he was the fulfilment of those prophecies.
In two of the three towns, being Beroea and Thessalonica, there were synagogues and so Paul was able to begin his missionary work there. But the third, Philippi, did not have enough Jewish men to have a synagogue but fortunately, on the Sabbath, he came across a group of women who were praying at the riverside and he was able to give them the gospel message.
But today we find Paul in the city of Athens and it’s a completely different story. We’re told “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” (Acts 17:16) Paul is totally thrown out of his normal routine, no synagogue, no worshipers of the God of Israel, he’s alone in a city full of idols and people who worship them. It was said that there were more gods in Athens than men. Now this was a truly rocky start for him.
So, here we have Paul arriving in a city where he’s never been before. His routine was suddenly changed and now he finds himself alone in a place that was filled with people discussing art, debating philosophy, and following the latest fads. He was the first Christian to ever visit this city and there was no Jewish synagogue to begin his missionary work. As he walked down the streets, he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of statues to pagan gods, and he began to be discouraged because no one had even heard of Jesus. He must have been thinking, “what will I do, how will I find an opening for the gospel? And who will even listen to my message?”
Well, Paul took the bull by the horns and went to a place called the Areopagus which was where all the intellectuals went to debate the latest ideas of the day. And this is what he did, “Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.” Notice the way he starts; he isn’t the least bit critical of the Athenians and the numerous gods which they worship. He compliments them on the fact that they have religion and that they practise it. He begins his debate on a positive note. And that’s a good point for us to remember today, if we’re going to reach unbelievers with the gospel, we must build bridges, not barriers.
Paul then continues on to say, “For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.”” The Athenians were afraid they may have forgotten or left out of their worship an important deity who might cause trouble if neglected, so they erected altars which were not connected to any god in particular. That way, in their minds, they felt they had covered all their bases.
And Paul had the solution to their problem. He tells them, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals, life and breath and all things.” Sharing his knowledge of scripture, Paul tells them that the real God, that is the God of all of mankind, made the world and everything in it. He’s Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in their temples, and he doesn’t need to be served by human hands. He gives life to everything that lives, and he created all humans and nations from one man. He desires that all people should seek him because we are his children. Thus, the true and living God is not like any idol made by human hands. With his biblical knowledge and his witness of truth, he was able to help some see the incredible error of their ways.
Having established the fact that there is only one true God, Paul then tells them about the upcoming Day of Judgement. He warns them, saying, “‘Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’” In these words, he’s telling them that God is not an image made of precious metal or stone by human hands but rather the supreme being who made all of mankind. And the day is coming when God will send his appointed son to judge all people of their sins. While Paul doesn’t mention the name of Jesus, he does refer to the fact that the one who will come to judge was the one whom God raised from the dead. This points to Jesus, as he was, and still is, the only person to ever come back from the dead.
And as we read in scripture, this was the reaction of those Athenians standing at the Areopagus, who heard the warning from Paul that day, “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ … But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
Doesn’t that sound strikingly familiar to the Parable of the Sower which Jesus told the crowds as he taught them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee one day. He said, “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’” (Matthew 13:1-9)
And that’s been the state of the church these past 60 years. The seeds which fell on the path and the birds ate are those who were consumed by worldly pleasures and never came to church. Others did attend for awhile but, like the seeds on rocky soil and the seeds choked by thorns, they didn’t put down deep roots and so were easily distracted by all the world had to offer when Sunday became just another day of the week. It’s often only just a few who will come to truly believe, just like those seeds which fell on good soil.
But we mustn’t become discouraged, we shouldn’t expect our faith to be accepted by all those with whom we share it, and it is not our place to condemn those who choose a different path. We welcome those who look to join us and hopefully open ourselves to further conversation with those willing to speak with us again. However, we cannot control those who are not interested. Jesus asked us to love God with all our heart, to love others and to share his message with the world. And that’s what we should continue to do even when the soil is rocky. So do your best, but don’t be downcast if it doesn’t always work, it has been like this since the beginning of time. Paul knew this and God knows and understands this very well.
Our reading this morning tells us that Paul’s reaction to those who resisted his plea was summed up in these words, “At that point Paul left them.” Note that Paul does not condemn those who do not convert. He simply leaves. Luke doesn’t say he left in a huff, so much as he simply indicates it was time for Paul to go, and so he did. These words describe the way our church should respond to the variety of reactions our message gets in the world. Not in anger or frustration but like Paul, putting forth our best effort and sowing seeds where we can.
The gospel wasn’t fully received in Athens, but that’s not Paul’s fault. Regardless of how someone responds, it’s our responsibility to do what we can to connect them to Christ. Our job is to simply sow the seeds of the Gospel. As far as we know, at that time no church was formally launched in Athens because of Paul’s preaching, but the seeds were sown, and Christianity grew to eventually 90% of the population there.
This was the first and last time Athens is mentioned in Scripture but that didn’t discourage Paul from continuing his mission to spread the Gospel message. We never know for sure what happens with the seeds we sow but they can continue to grow forever. As one minister put it, “we must stop thinking “us vs. them” and move toward “us for them.” As I said before, if we’re going to reach unbelievers with the gospel, we must build bridges, not barriers even when the soil is rocky.
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, as we’re faithful to reach out to the world with the good news of Christ, we know that the world will have contempt, but some will question, and some will be curious. There is a true and living God who came into this world, who died for sinners and rose again to be Saviour of those who believe. Father, may we be like those who believed and followed, not like those who postponed or mocked. Help us reach good, fertile soil. Use us to that end, we pray. Amen