Athens 2.0

Paul, being in Athens, preached Jesus and the resurrection in the marketplace and to whomever would hear him.  Then certain philosophers, referring to him among themselves as a babbler, took him to Areopagus and quizzed him concerning the strange doctrine of which he spoke.

Then Paul addressed the Athenians in what we now refer to as his Sermon on Mars Hill.

But between the first paragraph above and the short second one there is a parenthetical, which we quote here.

(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)  Acts 17:21 KJV

And that insert is the text for this morning.

Athenian society of the first century was much focused on knowledge, on telling and hearing of new things.  Philosophers of various sorts held forth in the agorae and had done so for several hundred years, dating back to Socrates in the fifth century BCE. The parenthetical sums it up:  they spent their time in nothing else.

Almost two thousand years from the time of Paul's visit to Athens we find ourselves living in a society in which the hearing and telling of new things overwhelms our ability to 1) keep up with it all, and 2) live a productive life characterized by internal peace.

Reflect on that.

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14:27  KJV