Bishop Barron on St. Paul’s Masterclass in Evangelization

I might talk today about the 17th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles which contains the famous speech that Paul the Apostle gives on the areopagus in Athens it's a famous passage and it constitutes I think a sort of masterclass in the evangelization of the culture so every step of the way it's worth meditating on this famous moment you know first of all what's Paul doing in Greece well he's passed now from Asia Minor over to the European mainland prompted he says by a dream were a Macedonian is calling him to come over well I love the fact that Christopher Dawson the great Catholic historian said here's a transition that no commentator no historian of the time would ever have noticed this itinerant Jewish preacher making his way from Asia Minor to Greece but in fact it was one of the most decisive moments in in human history because in doing that Paul is bringing the Christian faith to Europe to say to Europe is to say eventually to Rome and then eventually to the whole world through Europe so this decisively important moment when Paul prompted by his missionary impulse makes this journey for any evangelist today your prompting to do something to try something and you say well I mean what what effect will this have who knows who knows Paul didn't see it this extraordinary effect but that's why he's in Greece he begins up in the north so you know Macedonia at Philippi he writes famous letter to the Philippians he goes to facility up in the North famous letter to the Thessalonians later he's met with some success so we hear about you know a few conversions and people listening to him but he's met with enormous opposition he ends up in prison in Philippi Thessalonica they chase him out of town by a mob another lesson for evangelists don't be surprised when you're opposed so I've been talking about that when I started doing this work in in the New Evangelization media and you know the ferocious opposition now thank God I'm not getting stoned by by angry mobs at least not yet but you know I'm getting my fair share of verbal abuse often times you can feel like please anybody listening to this well the Christian message has always been a bit dangerous countercultural strange surprising threatening still is so don't be surprised Paul faced it too but then I love the fact that having started up north he makes a beeline to Athens now what was Athens at the time especially it was arguably the cultural center of the Roman world the Roman Empire courses spread to that part of the Mediterranean Athens the great city of Socrates and Aeschylus and Plato and Aristotle and everybody else even though that was 400 years before Paul it's amazing our sense of history gets kind of truncated like they're all back there sometime but Aristotle and company were 400 years before Paul but Athens is this major major cultural center good Christians by an instinct but deep instinct from Paul until you know John Paul the second have moved into cultural centers so we don't stay simply you know off on the side someplace we we know Jesus wants this message to go out to all the world so we have an instinct to go to cultural centers centers of philosophy centers of communication that's what Paul goes by it by a clear instinct to Athens now what happens to him when he gets to Athens and this is the the set up for the speech on the Areopagus it says here Paul waited for them in Athens his his fellows and there his whole soul was revolted at the sight of a city given over to idolatry worship of false gods is that still a problem yes that's always the problem that's always the problem that's always the problem idolatry the worship of false gods now they would have had altars to you know various deities and so on no but heck we've got altars erected to all kinds of false gods in our culture so Paul's great revulsion at this that's deep biblical that's his wonderful Jewish prophetic heritage you know that we're about the worship of the true God that's what evangelization means that we're we're trying to bring people into the worship of the true God ought we to be revolted by all the idolatry we see yeah yeah he was we should be too but then I'll watch it's not just oh isn't this awful oh look at this Cultural Center how off-kilter they are how crazy these people are no no listen to what he does in the synagogue he held the base with the Jews and the god-fearing of course the god-fearing mean Gentiles who have kind of you know been sympathetic with the Jewish point of view Paul almost always goes to the synagogues first and we see why his message was Jesus risen from the dead is God's yes to all the promises made Israel who's gonna understand that message most readily Jews children of Israel will understand the message here did I want people today to see when we lose the link between Jesus and Israel we missed the point Jesus devolves rapidly into a bland spiritual teacher of timeless truths can we distilled timeless truth from his teaching sure sure but what's interesting about Jesus is in his dying and rising he's the fulfillment of all the promises made Israel so this instinct to connect the synagogue and the gospel good instinct even for evangelists today but in listen and in the marketplace he had debates every day with anyone who would face him now I I like that because I think in our cultural setting today the social media represent this sort of marketplace of ideas were you confront anybody so if I give a talk at a church or I go to a Catholic gathering I'll meet mostly with like-minded people and it's fine I'm happy to inform them and inspire them and so on but I love the fact that the social media represents this kind of open marketplace of ideas Christians should be willing and able to dial along with anybody because jesus said announced this message to the ends of the world I love all I heard this from his own lips when I was in Rome many years ago Pope Benedict was talking about Irenaeus of Lyon and he was speaking about his anti Gnostic perspective and the Gnostics of course are like his little private group but we have our own little private truth and we whisper among ourselves and and Benedict said you know and when we were speaking in French and he said for Saint Irenaeus the foie catholique a public public it's public it's a public pronouncement that from Paul on we've been public we don't whisper our little message among ourselves but we're willing and able to announce it to the whole world love that love that how the debates every day with anyone who would listen good we should still keep doing that and then this warms my philosophers heart even a few epicurean and stoic philosophers argued with them good for Paul is he talking to average people sure in the synagogue and probably on the street ordinary people working-class people sure sure that's part of our job but who are the Epicureans and Stoics but the leading philosophical minds of the time and maybe hanging out in the capital city of greco-roman culture sure who are the top philosophers today who are they Christians ought to be able to name them ought to be able to engage them Christian evangelists don't just whisper to people to lower end of the intellectual spectrum they talk to people the highest end of the spectrum good we should do all that today okay now watch watch it happen so Paul areas in the synagogue then out in the street then with the philosophers debating speaking evangelizing good good then this some of them said and these are the Epicureans and Stoics the high-minded people some of them said does this parrot know what he's talking about now I love those because look at all the the I'm not enough of a Greek scholar to know the nuances here but the word being used is ambiguous in the Greek because I've seen translations what is this babbler talking about and one was he what was it scavenger one translation headed what's this scavenger going on about so whatever the where it is it's a disparaging word right so they're they're making fun of Paul what's this bozo talking about you know well was he opposed up in the north yes is he opposed in the in the cultural capital yes and we shouldn't be surprised our Christian evangelist called names all the time bye-bye hi you know cultural figures yeah sure sure we are get used to it get used to it you know thick-skinned you know in this operation but doesn't stop Paul now this is really interesting this is the Jerusalem Bible I'm reading from here because there's also ambiguity in the Greek here it says they the philosophers invited him to accompany them to the Council of the Areopagus okay but other translations are a little more dire and the language is more like they compelled him to come to the areopagus to explain himself so what was the areopagus well it was and still is this kind of extraordinary place it's this this very impressive rocky sort of hill right below the Parthenon so right smack in the middle of Athens a place where they had debates they think but also where they had trials now keep in mind four hundred years before Paul another famous trial took place in Athens namely of Socrates who was accused of atheism and and corrupting the youth right so some translations suggest and scholars suggest this is not just always have a friendly chat about what you're saying that it was closer to a trial that Paul was kind of on trial for what he was saying but any case there he is in this very public place with the kind of leading figures in the culture of that time and they're asking him and/or challenging him about what he's saying so with acts 17 now verse 22 we have the famous speech and I would urge any evangelist today to read it and to memorize it what Paul's up to here because as I say it's the master class here's I begin men of Athens I've seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters because I noticed as I strolled around admiring your sacred monuments you had an altar inscribed to an unknown God now the interesting thing there you know we just heard a few verses earlier the pompous scandalized by the idolatry of the city so he was but now he's doing his speech what Paul's doing here is what in rhetoric is called the cop taught Co Venable NCA right which is the capturing of the benevolence of your audience by the way good rule for any public speaker at any time you start usually with some kind of self-deprecating remark or a compliment to your crowd so this would Paul who knew Greek rhetoric very well that's what he's doing but it's more than that because Paul was engaging here and what the Greek Fathers would later call the exploration of the law boys firm a decoy which this means the seeds of the word so Paul's got the word right the word made flesh in Jesus but there are hints and echoes and anticipations of that word in whatever is good true and beautiful in the culture you're evangelizing so Paul saying hey I've been walking around your city and even though and what side of his heart saying what all is idolatry but he also say I you're a religious people there's a religious instinct in you now from Paul through Thomas Aquinas to GK Chesterton and CS Lewis and everybody else that's a really good instinct to follow is to is to find the what the Latins call the semi NAVAIR be the seeds of the word in whatever culture you're in my mentor at Cardinal George always said and you know Karl George who could be very sharply critical of the culture but he said you can't finally evangelize a culture you don't love which there's always struck me as perfectly right if you just hate the culture you just at war with it you will not evangelize it effectively so Paul by a very good instinct looks for the seeds of the word as I say you can't imagine a Gustin without that move you can't imagine acquaintance without that move you can't imagine John Paul the second without that move so very important for evangelizers but that's not all he does if that's all you do that's if you want the left-wing problem you know that you just see Christianity is one more example of a cultural religious form you know listen now as Paul goes on since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself lord of heaven and earth he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands now mind you where it's he standing as he says that and that's what struck me when I went to the Areopagus in Athens he's standing right below like it's right up there the Parthenon which was the greatest pagan religious temple in the world at the heart of it was this now long gone but giant statue of the goddess Athena Paul saying hey the god I'm talking about does not make his home in shrines made by human hands like yours here saying so having complimented them he immediately critiques the idolatry within the culture that rhythm that move is typical of evangelist at their best it avoids if you want the extremes of both left and right it's the yes to the culture and the great note of the culture all as a propaedeutic to one the declaration of the novelty of the good news listen to this now as Paul continues this speech now he God is telling everyone everywhere they must repent because he's fixed today when the whole world will be judged and judged in righteousness and he's appointed a man to be the judge and God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead ah now he's talking about the heart of the gospel Jesus risen from the dead complements the culture critiques the culture as a preparation for the declaration of this decisive manifestation of the law goes Jesus risen from the dead Christian evangelists don't shy away from this they don't permanently put it off your ultimate purpose is the declaration of Christ risen from the dead okay now just one more point at this mention of rising from the dead some of them burst out laughing so that you know when I read this now I think Paul brother Paul I I'm with you man I get it I get it the number of times you know I can in my social media outreach the number of times I've been for one we've got a term laughed at for things I say I mean countless the culture has always found finds will always find the Christian Proclamation but crazy some some in the culture always will because it is this kind of crazy good news of Jesus having gone to death now risen from the dead and the source of grace for the world strange message uh-huh it always was don't believe people today that say oh we all those ancient people they bought any old crazy nonsense all the pre-scientific poor things they believe these you know crazy people coming back from the dead no they didn't know that listen they were pre scientifically they weren't stupid they knew dead people stayed in their graves I mean of course they did it so they laugh at this this this claim that Paul was making my point is not to deny the resurrection is to say it's always been a strange and disturbing message but yet Paul confidently proclaims it now I love this how it ends after that Paul left them but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers among them died Nisha's the Areopagus and one would call damaras and some others besides now you're Paul you're the Apostle Paul you've seen the risen Christ you want to proclaim him to the world you've gone to the cultural capital of your world you've gone to Athens you've debated with philosophers you've gone to the Areopagus itself you proclaim this message and what's your payoff well a lot of them laughed at you most walked away and a couple of people said yeah maybe we'll we're set lying again maybe we'll others said we'd like to hear you talk about this again that's the payoff that's what Paul got right could you understand if Paul went back to his room that night and thought okay well that was kind of a bomb you know that Evangelic robbery then go very well but wait who are Danish the Areopagus who's his woman called de maras and others besides but the seeds from which European Christianity developed right this is Paul now planting the faith in Europe as it grew through Europe it eventually grew to the ends of the world so the fact that I'm recording these words I'm the distant Shore of a continent Paul II never even knew existed but the beginning of it were these handful of people that said yeah okay well well listen to you again on this you know final lesson two evangelists don't get discouraged at what appear to be of poor results of your work who's listening to me who cares about this I mean come on I'm wasting my time you have no idea what God can do with a couple little seeds that were planted by your proclamation of the word so anyway take a look at your get your Bibles out and acts 17 and the speech of Paul on the Areopagus master class for evangelizers [Music]

Channel: Bishop Robert Barron

Views: 34,178

Rating: 4.8753247 out of 5

Keywords: Bishop Barron, St. Paul, Evangelization, Areopagus, Philosophy

Id: 9sLTCUCD0S8

Length: 19min 25sec (1165 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 29 2019