Sixth Sunday in Easter 2008 - St. Peter Lutheran Church, Norwalk, CT

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything… now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Today we heard how Paul walked up the 370’ high hill called the Areopagus. All along the road that went up the hill were altars dedicated to many different gods. Next to the Areopagus was another hill, the 490’ hill called the Acropolis, on the top of which was the Parthenon, the temple dedicated to Athena, the protector goddess of Athens. Paul was surrounded by the altars, temples, gods and goddesses of various religions.

What about our day? Can you name some of the gods that our neighbors here in Norwalk worship? Let’s see, there’s the Trinity, of course; also, Jehovah; Adonai; Allah; Buddha; Vishnu; Brahman,… the list could go on and on. How about religions? How many religious groups can you name that are here in Norwalk? There’s Christians; Jews; Mormons; Jehovah’s Witnesses; Muslims; Buddhists; Hindus; Sikhs; Baha’i’s; Unitarians… and, I’ve probably left some out.

Are we all worshiping the same God, just calling Him by different names? Are all these different religions basically focusing on the same thing in their worship? No. Paul, that great apostle and missionary of Christ, saw things truly in Athens: “the city was full of idols” – false gods which do not save because they are the product of man’s imagination. And so, “his spirit was provoked (irritated, angered) within him.”

Why were you baptized? Why did you go through two years of instruction in the teachings of the Bible, following the Small Catechism? It was not so that you could “graduate” from church and grow up to be responsible for your own faith. It was not so that you could receive Holy Communion as the “reward” for your labors. Such an idea is insulting to God. You were baptized and carefully taught the Christian faith so that you could know the true God, and the true worship of Him, and so remain in Him while living in the midst of false gods and false worship.

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything.” (Acts 17)

Your faith and worship are not for God’s benefit. They do not somehow serve or satisfy Him.

q Should God be moved because you give up your Sunday mornings to be here, or because you gave up your Thursday afternoons for two years of confirmation? You are just doing what is expected!

God’s “mood” or attitude is not somehow dependant upon what you do. He is God! He made all things, and all things exist in Him! We don’t come here to do something for Him. How can we, when, as Paul says, “He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything”? The true God is not one who is needy and so receives. He gives, and not just things. He gives Himself, and in Him life and breath and everything. He is not dependent in any way upon us. We are utterly dependent upon Him, for we would have nothing apart from Him. Yet, we have so much! How good is God! How generously He gives!

And, His giving is free. We do not somehow obligate God by our religious acts, nor do we have to do so. Since the earliest worship sinful man has had this wrong idea, that by what we do we must somehow please Him so that He will respond by blessing us. But, He is “Lord of heaven and earth,” Paul says, and “does not live in temples made by man.” We cannot control Him or box Him in. God is not obligated to forgive you or bless you because you prayed, or came here to bow down before Him. God is infinitely greater than us and utterly beyond us. If He does not commit Himself to us then we cannot obligate Him to anything, for He is utterly free and independent. Our faith and worship, then, are not for His benefit.

This must be our focus. Consider the Greeks to whom Paul spoke. We are told that “all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.” They were religious, yes. But, their religion was for their own satisfaction. They enjoyed discussing new teachings that they had not heard before, and so invited Paul to speak to them. They enjoyed the intellectual stimulation. Their hearts were moved by their worship, and they felt good. In their concern to cover all bases they even made an altar and inscribed it, “To the unknown god.” How good of them!

In our day self rules as a tyrant, especially when it comes to religion. “My church’s worship must please me and move me,” people say, “or I’ll go somewhere else.” The Bible is studied for its interesting ideas, for its challenging morality; but, its teachings are subjected to the heart, as well as to the intellect of man. What we deem to be good and right must govern how the Bible is understood and taught; how we feel about things becomes what is most important. This is idolatry of the grossest kind, the making an idol out of oneself, making oneself the center of worship, of religion.

What, then, is true religion all about if it is not for God’s benefit or our benefit?

At the Areopagus Paul does not focus upon religion, upon its teachings or its worship. He focuses upon God. This is what we must do. Religion is impersonal; it keeps God at a comfortable distance. God is not distant, however: “In him we live and move and have our being.” Our lives are lived in His presence always, and only by His will.

Your faith is true and real when it is not a matter of religion, but of God: God who is with you, among you, and for you. This is the God that Paul proclaims: “Now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent,” – this includes the religious! –“be-cause he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” God came to us as a man, the man Jesus. He came, preaching and teaching and helping and healing and serving, that God might not be unknown but known. But, above all He came, “the righteous [One] for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” Not just show us the way, but actually bring us to God! Jesus came, the true God in our flesh, to bring us to God: not naked before Him in our sins, to be judged and condemned and punished as we deserve, but pure and holy, without sins and filled with goodness. To make this possible He made Himself one with us and took away from us our sins. He took them within Himself and bound them to Him, so that when He was crucified and died He might bear their punishment for us and put them to death in His death. Then, God the Father raised Him from the dead, assuring us of our forgiveness in Him.

Our religion, the Christian faith, is about this. It is not a matter of rules and rituals, but of Jesus coming to cleanse us of our sins and their death, fill us with His life, and make us beautiful before God. And so, that which confirmation recalls, your Baptism so many years ago, is remembered not as a mere ritual in which you gave yourself to God and promised to live for Him, but as God saving you. In Baptism God separates us from this world as Noah was separated, saves us from death for sins as Noah was saved from the flood, and brings us into a new life and world: heaven itself. Through His holy Word and Sacraments Christ removes our sins, gives us His holy life, and lives within us.

The Christian faith and worship is about Jesus, coming to us now in Word and Sacrament to judge us now in righteousness and forgive our sins, that when He comes again in glory and all people see Him and bow before Him as the one true God, we might be received by Him into heaven. All praise be to Him, now and forever!