INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A - Sixth Sunday of Easter

ACTS 17:22-31. Paul's only recorded attempt to convert pagan philosophers in Athens was not particularly successful. He argued from the known, idols along the city streets, to the unknown, the God who is the creator of all and now revealed in Jesus Christ. It was the resurrection which so puzzled his audience.

The apostle's address showed an impressive knowledge of Greek philosophers, especially the Stoics. Born in the Greek seaport city of Tarsus (now in southern Turkey), Paul would have been thoroughly familiar with Hellenistic culture as well as his own Jewish heritage.

PSALM 66:8-20. This is part of a thanksgiving liturgy for a person of some wealth and stature presenting substantial offerings in the temple. The impressive quantity of the sacrifices (verse 15) may have resulted in the psalm being preserved.

1 PETER 3:13-22. Christian conduct under the threat of persecution is the central focus of this passage. The example of Christ's own suffering is held out as the model for the faithful to follow.

Scholars vigorously debate a more controversial aspect of the selection. Verses 19 and 20 refer to a doctrine resulting from speculation common in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. Between the time of his death and resurrection, Jesus was said to have preached to the dead. While we may not accept this claim, we can believe that wherever we may be Christ has power to save.

JOHN 14:15-21. This selection from "John's Departure Discourse" quotes Jesus preparing the disciples for his departure. Love and obedience to his commandments will be the means by which all his followers will know his continuing presence.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS:

ACTS 17:22-31. Paul's only recorded attempt to convert pagan philosophers in Athens did not prove particularly successful. We should note, however, that he did not provoke persecution as in so many other instances. Typically, he argued from the known, idols along the city streets, to the unknown, the God who is the creator of all and now revealed in Jesus Christ. As a centre of learning with a great university to which contemporary intellectuals flocked, Athens delighted in philosophical debate in a purely academic spirit. It was the resurrection which so puzzled this audience. How little the world has changed in 2,000 years!

The apostle's address showed an impressive knowledge of Greek philosophy. But Paul was a true citizen of his time and place, as presumably also was the author of Acts. Born in the Greek seaport city of Tarsus (now in southern Turkey), Paul would have been as thoroughly familiar with Hellenistic culture as with his own Jewish heritage. The previous verses report that Paul’s debate with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers led to the invitation to speak of “this new teaching” about Jesus and the resurrection to a much larger audience in the Areopagus (vss. 16-21). According to archeological and literary research, the Aeropagus was both the name and the site of an ancient court set on a rocky hill near the Acropolis where a council of nobles met in the open to adjudicate cases. However, Paul does not appear to have been on trial before the court.

Some scholars doubt the historicity of the incident; others prefer its genuine narrative quality. There is certainly room for debate. The Jewish element of Paul’s message comes out in his description of God as the creator and upholder of the universe (vs.24). On the other hand, the same statement downplays the temple as the dwelling place of Yahweh, as if the temple had already been destroyed in the Roman-Jewish war of 70 CE. The next sentence discounts the making of idols and reiterates the creation myth of the breath of God giving life to all being. Stoic philosophy also shared the view of the unity of creation summarized in vs. 26. There may be a reference to the Wisdom of Solomon 13:6 in vs. 27, but the main thrust of vss. 27-28 is pure Stoicism. The quotations may come from different unnamed poets and could have been standard expressions of that philosophy.

One might well question whether Paul made these statements since they differ so from his attitude to unredeemed human nature in 1 Cor. 15:47-50. Would Paul the converted Pharisee have excused idolatry as do vss. 29-30? Yet is there not a clear reference to the Son of Man Christology and eschatology of the Synoptic Gospels in vs. 32 when he reiterates that the resurrection is proof of God’s intervention in human affairs with salvific purpose? Assuming that the author of Acts was a Hellenistic Jew of the Diaspora like Paul, would he not likely have been familiar with all of this complex of ideas and myths current in the eastern Mediterranean world at that time? In the end, however, Paul or Luke does bring the sermon to the natural Christian focus on the resurrection, the essential element of all apostolic preaching.

PSALM 66:8-20. This is part of a thanksgiving liturgy for a person of some wealth and public stature presenting substantial offerings in the temple. The impressive quantity of the sacrifices (verse 15) may have resulted in the psalm being preserved. The psalmist offers his praise, however, not only for what God had done for him, but as an example of God’s saving help for all humankind. God’s purposeful actions and special providence for Israel have an important place in the psalm, especially in the early segment omitted from this reading. After citing the Exodus as one instance for rejoicing (vs.6), the psalmist recalls the Exile and the return from Babylon (vss. 8-12) as further evidence of God’s gracious acts which call forth praise from God’s people.

The scene then shifts to the temple where the psalmist intends to make substantial votive offerings (vss. 13-15). He summons all who revere God to witness to God’s goodness with him (vs.16), then states his assumed worthiness because God had listened to his prayer and his praise (vss.17-18). An appropriate doxology ends the psalm.

One notes the influence of the prophets in many of this psalm’s key phrases. Quite apart from the moral character or wealth of the person presenting generous gifts as tokens of gratitude, there is also a deep belief in God as Lord of history. Indeed, the mighty acts of God on Israel’s behalf as well as his own motivated the worshiper to make his offering.

So what does this psalm say to us at the beginning of the 21^st century? Could it be that the offering of our wealth as individuals and as nations for benefit of the homeless and persecuted refugees of our time, may also be seen as our response in thanksgiving to the Lord of history?

1 PETER 3:13-22. Christian conduct under the threat of persecution is the central focus of this passage. It falls neatly into two sections: vss.13-17 and 18-22. The first deals specifically with the situation of those to whom the letter is addressed. The second sets forth the example of Christ's own suffering as the model for the faithful to follow.

From the time of Emperor Caligula less than a decade after the resurrection of Jesus, until the reign of Constantine early in the 4^th century, Christians were never entirely safe from persecution. There were always plenty of suspicious opponents ready to expose them or accuse them falsely of all sorts of crimes. No matter when this passage was written, the faithful must have identified with what it says: “You need only the protection of good behavior and your loyalty to Christ, for he alone is Lord.”

Not just the moral example of Christ, but his atoning sacrifice reconciling believers to God and his resurrection to spiritual life form the second theme of this passage.

Scholars also vigorously debate a more controversial aspect of the selection. Vss. 19-20 refer to a doctrine resulting from speculation common in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. Between the time of his death and resurrection, Jesus was said to have preached to the dead.

We also have in vs. 20 an unusual reference to God waiting “patiently in the time of Noah ....” There are a few NT and OT precedents to which these words may refer. For example, in Acts 2:27 Peter applied to Jesus the words of Ps.16:10. In Luke 4:17-18 Luke quotes Jesus giving the mandate for his ministry from Isa. 61.1. Was the early church already speculating about what happened to Jesus during the days after his death? And what was the fate of those who had died before the gospel had been preached?

Later in the 2^nd century, the Apostle’s Creed included the clause which many reject today, “He descended into hell.” During the Middle Ages “the harrowing of hell” became a significant part of Christian theology. Interpreted in today’s speech, that involved not only Christ’s descent, but the defeat of the powers of evil and the release of its victims, just as the above texts had suggested to fertile medieval imagination.

Perhaps even more significantly, vss. 20-21 link the myth of Noah and the flood with baptism and the saving effect of that sacrament. The symbol of the ark has been found in early Christian art as evidence for such linkage. Reform Protestants may argue that this sounds very much like baptismal regeneration. The moral and spiritual effect of baptism for the new converts, however, seems closer to the meaning of the sentence. A new life is possible because of Christ’s resurrection and his sovereignty with God, the real meaning of the ascension.

While we may not accept all that this passage claims, we can believe that wherever we may be our crucified, risen and sovereign Lord has power to redeem us and reconcile us to God.

JOHN 14:15-21. This further selection from what scholars call "John's Departure Discourse" quotes Jesus preparing the disciples for the future when he will no longer be with them. Sentiment, if nothing else, demands that we regard these as Jesus’ own words; but they have been filtered through the prism of John’s mind and the six decade old tradition of the apostolic church.

The clue to this is the Greek word *parkletos,* translated variously as “Advocate,” “Counselor,” and “Comforter.” It appears here, in vs. 26, in 16:7, and again only in 1 John 2:1. The word describes the role of the Holy Spirit (vs.17). The point being made, of course, is that instead of having Jesus’ physical presence to guide their discipleship, they will always have the Spirit as his personal indwelling presence. The Spirit’s function is identical with that of Jesus himself.

The use of the personal pronoun indicates that by the end of the 1^st century when John wrote, the Spirit was already regarded as fully personal. In *The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary* (III. 654. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962), G.W.H. Lampe says, “Indeed, the ‘paraclete’ passages of the Fourth Gospel mark the most highly developed thought in the NT in respect to the personality of the Spirit of God.” The doctrine of the Trinity was not far behind as the creedal statement and theological interpretation of this spiritual reality (vs.20).

Perhaps vss. 18-19 contain the most astonishing claim of all in this reading. It rings triumphantly across the gravesite of every believer giving hope in the deepest shadows of death. The reference is to the resurrection. However, it does not mean the physical resuscitation of the mortal body, but resurrection of both Jesus and those who believer in him to an entirely different life. Jesus’ reunion with his disciples is a powerful motif through all the gospels and is most clearly stated here.

Bishop J.A.T.Robinson, of “God is dead” fame, wrote in an article on the resurrection in *The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary* (IV.50.): “The Resurrection means that Jesus is restored to his friends, never again to be separated from them. (John 16:22).... The promise (of 14:19) corresponds to the promise given to the disciples in Mark 16:7. And this restoration is not a mere human reunion but a permanent divine indwelling. (John 14:23; Matt. 28:20) .... If the Resurrection means that Jesus through the Spirit is to be with his disciples, it means equally that the disciples are to be with Jesus, to share his risen life.” The rest of the NT expresses the same truth just as forcefully, if in different words. (2 Cor. 4:14; Eph. 2:5-6; Col. 2:12; 3:1; Rom. 4:17; 6:3-8; 1 John 4:9; Acts 5:30-32; 13:37-38; 1 Peter 3:21; Rev. 7:9-17) How can we argue against such weight of evidence that God’s intention for us is that being spiritually alive, we too shall live with Christ here and hereafter?

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Love and obedience to his commandments will be the means by which all his followers will know his continuing presence.