To the unknown God

Last week I spoke of the need to make the most of every opportunity, to be a servant. We can say that this is also true of the theme this week which is the Witnessing Community.

Three weeks ago,while we were on holiday in the Lakes, a great opportunity opened up for me. We were in the caravan having breakfast and listening to Radio Cumbria, and we were tuned into  a very easy going morning family programme. There was an author speaking about a book which he was writing  which contained summaries of famous books, each summary containing 55 words only, no more no less.

 The host of the programme invited the listeners to take up the challenge and phone in their favourite book summary, but it had to be 55 words. Then the host asked him if he had included the Bible in his compilation and he replied that that would have been too difficult as the bible was made up of many books, and that the New Testament might be more suited to the task. So again the invitation was thrown out to the listeners to try it out .

I began to ask myself if I could do that and like some crossword I set to it and I managed it. But the big question was did I have the nerve to phone in, besides we didn’t have very good telephone reception, being surrounded by hills.

To cut a long story short. I put off making the call, thinking up lots of reasons why not to bother. ‘Let someone else’ I thought. Later when we were on our way to Penrith, I realised that no-one had taken up the New Testament challenge so I got Bob to pull into a lay-by and I tried just once to get through, and I did, then all of a sudden my heart started pouding like mad; I could feel myself getting hotter and hotter under the collar(which I wasn’t wearing at the time!)while they put me on hold.

 I don’t know if you’ve ever phoned into a radio station before. It’s one of the most terrifying experiences. I didn’t tell him I was a priest, so I suppose that’s like cheating, but when I put the phone down I realised just what a wonderful opportunity that had been, for the whole of the gospel had been put into 55 words and had just been broadcast to the whole of the Lake District, and to visitors who were there especially for the Keswick Convention.

Boy was I puffed up with pride!

Not many golden opportunities come our way like that, perhaps once in a blue moon.

This episode took me back to a debate at college on the existence of God, when  a similar opportunity came my way, and I failed miserably to match up to the skill of a very  articulate opponent . I don’t remember exactly what I said, I just know I had to speak up, because God seemed to be losing. But the same thumping heart was there, the same hot, red face.

Have you ever been in that position?

When opportunities , however small do come our way, do we take them up?

If someone asks us  the reason for our faith as  Christians, are  we  ready and willing to give it? If we were asked a question about the bible or our belief would we know it?

Have a look at today’s New Testament lesson. We see St Paul fresh as a convert, zealous for his new found faith, looking for a way in to evangelise, searching for such an opportunity to preach the good news that was in his heart. Having been arguing in the market -place he is brought forward to address the leading men and women of Athens at  the open air court at Areopagus, a forum for the citizens to air their views on any subject.

 He makes no excuse that the subject about which he is to talk is about religion. He is straightforward in his approach.

He begins by praising the Greeks for their involvement in things concerning religion and for their uncommonly scrupulous attention to detail.

His argument is relevant and to the point. He  mentions that the men of Athens, have erected an altar to “An Unknown God” , alongside all their other gods. Historians reckon that they did this so as not to give offence to one that may have been missed out.

But having opened  wide the door of opportunity, in such an expert way,  he was free then to witness to his faith and put his case.

He reveals to them just who this God is who is ‘unknown’, and brings them to a point when he can reveal to them Jesus himself.

He does all this in a mere 215 words. He doesn’t quite manage it in 55!

There are converts, who joined him, as a result of his very short sermon,

This is where we say to ourselves, “Ah yes but that was St Paul !

We are not in the same class as an apostle and saint !We’ll never be able to do that ! ”

But you know we can be used by God in some small measure, if we are willing to be used.

Jesus parting words to us were,

“You shall be my witnesses....”

All that St Paul in effect did was to be prepared to give account of his fath, he was relevant straightforward, clear and convincing. He did not force the issue, he did not force himself upon anyone, he did not embarrass anyone. He may have shocked them when, at the end of his speech, he suggested that God’s chosen one had been raised from the dead, but he certainly wasn’t embarrassed about what he was saying (like I was as a student). But you know ‘perfect love casts out fear’ and at least love must have overidden my fear, or I suppose I never would have stood up to give an opinion.

I wonder if Paul was nervous like I was in the lay-by with my little mobile phone and shaking like a jelly? He may have been?

I seem to remember the story of two men who were great friends and neighbours for many years. Each Sunday they both journeyed together, one to the golf course, the other to church.

The golfer asked the other over and over again each week, to come with him to his golf club, but time and time again he turned him down, for he was a Christian and much of his each Sunday was given to his church.

One Sunday, many years later, the golfer decided he would ask his friend just one more time.

He turned to his Christian friend and said, “Look why don’t you just give that stuffy church a miss this week, and just come with me.?”

On hearing this the Christian spoke up and replied, “I object to what you’ve just said, how dare you say that about my church!”

“Hey I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give offence, but really I just assumed that it must be hardly worth going to, for in all these years I’ve known you , I’ve kept on and on at you to come to my golf club, and you’ve never once invited me to your church!”

If our strength does not lie in the kind of witnesses that St Paul was skilled at, there are many other ways to do it.

St Francis once said,

“It is no use walking anywhere to preach, unless we preach as we walk. In other words our whole lives ought to mirror the Christ we believe in, our words, our actions.

Like the golfer we could invite someone along to church, pick them up if we have transport, or offer to walk along with them if you don’t, not just to swell the numbers in our church , but to introduce them to the loveliest friend they will ever come to know in their lives.

“You are the salt of the earth, “ says Jesus.

It is time to go out there and give flavour to our world

“You are the light of the world,” says Jesus.

Our time on earth is so short, therefore let us  go out there and light an unlit candle.

And let us pray for golden opportunities.

Do you remember that old hymn, ‘Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light’?

There’s a line in that hymn  which says..

‘In this world of darkness he bids us shine,

You in your small corner and I in mine.’

As a child I always used to think that we had to find some small corner  and keep to it to shine our light, but really that corner represents our space, our families, our friends, our neighbours, our workplaces, our schools.

And each person here has a space like this corner, that is exclusive only to them, no other person has the same access to it.

Being a witness is not just the vicar’s job or the curate’s job, it is a task for the whole of our church community to take on.

You may have heard these words before,

but they’re challenging words to leave us with....

“You may be the only bible that some people will ever read.”(Repeat)