A sermon preached by the Reverend Canon Dr. David Anderson, at St. Jude’s Church, Oakville, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Feria in Eastertide. Title: Proclaiming the Good News. Text: Acts 17. 15, 22—18:8.
Thank you, Jenny le Riche, for your stamina in that long reading. I really felt that such a long reading really demanded a sermon, so here it goes.
Jesus’ last words to the apostles are recorded at the very beginning of the Book of Acts, when Jesus just about to ascend to the Father, tells them that the Holy Spirit will empower and equip them, and they will be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). By providing us with these words of Jesus, St. Luke, writing the sequel to his biography of Jesus, begins his history of the earliest church by setting out the program of his story. The good news about Jesus and the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God, will begin to be shared in Jerusalem. It all begins there on the Day of Pentecost. But even then, we are tipped off that this message is for the whole world, as the nations were present on that day in Jerusalem. But the good news message spreads. It indeed spreads throughout all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, as Jesus said. The Book of Acts tells us this story.
Today’s First Reading provides us with that part of the story where now the Apostle Paul begins to bring the message about Jesus to the wider ancient world. But this story is more than ancient history. It shines a light for us today to see how God uses people to speak the good news of Jesus in diverse contexts, persevering in difficult circumstances. As we watch Paul in his journey in Athens and Corinth, we see him joining in God’s program—God’s mission—seeing where God is working, crossing cultural boundaries, and boldly proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.
Paul’s arrival in Athens underscores the challenge and opportunity of mission. Athens was a city filled with idols, philosophies, and religious multiplicity. It was a hub of worldly wisdom and diverse spiritualities.
When Paul reaches Athens, he recognizes the context—a difficult environment but strategically significant to what God is up to. Instead of withdrawing or condemning outright the spiritualities he encounters, Paul engages with the culture respectfully and looks for open doors. Paul comes to see the opportunity in Athens. In the few verses that our reading did skip over, Paul learns that one of the things that Athenians loved to do was to stand and talk about any new ideas. There was his opportunity.
When Paul stands in the Areopagus, he begins with respect and awareness: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” He does not dismiss their worldview but affirms their spiritual hunger. Then he points them to the “unknown god,” using their own religious altar as a bridge to share God’s good news.
Paul’s approach exemplifies what it means to understand the culture deeply, listening carefully, and then framing the message of Christ in terms that resonate with the audience’s situation and worldview. This is so important, but often what is lacking in the church’s evangelism today. How will we know what the good news of Jesus is for people whose experience and context is different from ours, unless we listen to them first?
I like to say that ninety percent of creativity is forgetting where you first read something. But I do think it may have been somewhere in the work of the New Testament scholar Tom Wright where I encountered this illustration. Imagine it is the end of the Second World War. There is great good news proclaimed everywhere: ‘the war is over!’ But those four words, ‘the war is over,’ meant very different things to diverse people based on their situation or experience. For my Dad, who was a teenager at the end of the war, the good news that the war was over meant that his older brothers would soon be coming come. For my mother, it meant that her father would be coming home, and that she would be able to return home in the city of Edinburgh and not far from the Port of Leith, from which she had been evacuated for the duration of the war. For many others, however, no one would be coming home, but at least the senseless carnage was over, perhaps they could breathe again, and that was good news. For many women, who like my grandmother, found satisfaction working in various factories as part of the war effort, it meant that she would soon be unemployed. But even that was good news if the war was over.
It is the same for our neighbours here in Oakville. We can proclaim God’s good news. Jesus himself summarised it this way: “The kingdom of God is at hand,” he said. But what does that mean? To begin with, what does that mean for us? But what does it mean for our neighbours whose situation is different from our own?
For vulnerable neighbours who are hungry the good news of the kingdom of God might look like a frozen meal prepared lovingly in St. Jude’s kitchen. For those who are lonely, the good news of the kingdom might look like a community to which you can belong. To those who are displaced or homeless, it might look like a place to be welcomed, or a place to call home. For those who are troubled by their past it might look like forgiveness. The good news is that God’s kingdom is here and coming, but what makes this very good news for you and me may be quite different.
The problem with the evangelism of so many churches is that it becomes something not much more than the shouting of religious slogans. It speaks too much and refuses to listen. But listening is the key. Listening is part of loving. Can we listen so that we understand where our neighbour is coming from, so that we know what the kingdom of God might offer them? Can we listen before we speak? This is the missional ministry that Paul is engaged in, intentionally entering the cultural space of others to participate in God's redemptive plan.
Paul’s message in Athens speaks to the spiritual hunger he believes the temples and idols of that great city were attempting to address. He contrasts God revealed in Jesus with the gods of temples and idols made with human hands, by noting that the God he is proclaiming is the Creator, “made the world and everything in it,” and not confined by temples or images (Acts 17:24). His proclamation invites his hearers to see the Creator’s purpose: that humanity may seek God and perhaps reach out for him, even though he is near to all.
Paul is not shouting slogans and providing a generic message designed ‘save lost souls.’ Paul’s speech frames the gospel as part of God's divine mission to restore a fallen world—an invitation for entire communities and cities to turn toward the true God and participate in the redemption the Creator desires for the creation.
Moving on with Paul, briefly. Paul next comes to Corinth, Paul’s focus shifts even more explicitly to the gospel’s role in God’s global redeeming plan. The church begins forming in what is described as a morally and spiritually bankrupt city. In Corinth, opposition to Paul’s ministry and the presence of the church intensifies, but God encourages Paul to keep proclaiming because God says has “many people in this city” (18:10). This underscores the big-picture focus of mission: God is at work building a people among all the peoples.
God said, “there are many people is this city who are my people.” Given all the opposition that Paul faced, and the immorality he witnessed, one would not be surprised if Paul had been sceptical. ‘Many people?’ ‘Many people in this city?’ ‘Many people in this city are your people?’ That was perhaps difficult for Paul to see. Yes, he had met some people who were God-followers. But what God had to tell Paul and what Paul needed to hear, was that long before Paul ever arrived in Corinth, God was at work. Even if unseen and unknown, God is working in people’s lives. God has many people in our town and neighbourhood and not all of them go to church. All of them are waiting to hear good news.
Can we believe that God is already working in the hearts of people around us? Can we stick with the hard work of joining in God’s mission long enough to see the divine appointments that lead new in-breakings of the kingdom in new ways? Paul stayed eighteen months in Corinth. The church’s mission requires boldness, endurance, and reliance on the Spirit.
Throughout Acts 17 and 18, we see that Paul is not merely trying to convert individuals; he is joining God in God’s overarching mission to reconcile the world to himself. That is the mission God shares with us, our true identity as a church sent into every corner of culture, ethics, economics, and spirituality to embody and proclaim the gospel.
Paul’s work in Athens and Corinth demonstrates that mission involved: (1) listening and understanding the cultural and spiritual landscape; (2) contextualizing the message—speaking to the worldview, situation, and specific needs of his hearers; (3) persevering despite opposition, understanding that God is at work.
This passage challenges us to see our lives as part of a divine mission, actively participating alongside God in God’s desire to redeem and restore His creation.
In Corinth, the gospel leads to the formation of a local church that impacts the city—a place known for its moral corruption begins to experience renewal through the gospel. The fact that the synagogue leader, Crispus, and many others believe indicates that God’s mission is transforming entire communities, not just isolated individuals.
This is the heart of biblical mission: God’s plan to bring salvation, justice, and renewal to entire cities and cultures. The church is called to be a sign and instrument of God's kingdom—a preview of the coming renewal when Christ returns.
We are called to the same missional spirit as Paul: to listen carefully, engage meaningfully, proclaim boldly, and trust that God is at work. Our churches, neighborhoods, workplaces, and nations are part of God's redemptive story.
Let us live intentionally seeking to join God where God is at work, participating wholeheartedly in God's mission to bring hope, justice, and healing to a lost and broken world. The Spirit empowers us; Christ leads us; and the Father’s purpose is clear: to reconcile all things to himself.
