Relevant

Acts 17 16-ff is the definitive passage that people use for talking about relevance. In it, Paul talks about the Athenian idol to an unknown god and uses this to explain Yahweh the creator and future judge, as proved by resurrection. (Really, that's the whole of his message. He doesn't even say "Jesus.")

So, why was this relevant?

Because Paul started with something in Athens? Not really.

Because he quoted from one of their poets? Not really.

It was relevant because it was what they were interested in. It was what they cared about:

21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

This was the right place for this message. They were into theology, so Paul gave them theology. They weren't the sinners that Jesus approached with love. They weren't the Pharisees that Jesus approached with rebuke. They weren't the Jews that Stephen approached with history. They weren't the crowd that Peter approached with facts. They were scholars who Paul approached with scholarship.

Who are we approaching? (Or who should we be approaching?) How should we approach them?

The religious know-it-all cries for reform. The scholar demands proof. The broken need comfort. The poor need food. The young need a teacher. The lonely need a friend. The inexperienced need a mentor. The old need a purpose. The down hearted need hope. The explorers need discovery.

Everyone needs love in one form or another. Our mission is to figure out the form and give it to them. And then give it to them again. And again. And again.

Acceptance

Paul and Barnabas are sent out (after a word from the Lord) and begin their missionary work. In Psidian Antioch, they meet at the Jewish synagogues to preach the good news. In doing so, Paul recounts the history of Israel, starting with "God chose our forefathers..."

Put yourself in the place of the Gentiles at the meeting. There were those there who feared God, but were simply born into the wrong race. They were excluded from the promise. They were outsiders, outcasts who for years had heard that God loved someone else. Put yourself in their place, your heart sinking as Paul recounts the history of his people, but not yours. Paul tells about his savior, but not yours. You would feel dirty, neglected, left out and unappreciated.

Fast forward 2000 years. You've heard about Jesus, but you've also seen the way that Christians respond to those who mess up or struggle with certain issues. They label them, tell jokes about them, look down on them or simply ignore them. They scoff at those who have yet to hear and believe or who struggle with changing their life. Not all Christians do this, but the loud ones do. The ones in the news do. The ones you hear about outside of church do.

Paul repeats God's words to the people:

"I have made you a light for the Gentiles (sinners), that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

Look at their reaction:

"When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord..."

A few verses later:

"And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

Imagine the weight lifting from the shoulders and spirits of the Gentiles when they heard this message. Salvation could be theirs, despite who their fathers were. Forgiveness could be theirs, despite what they had done. God's loving embrace could be theirs, despite what they had been told in the past.

We have the same message to offer sinners that Paul offered to Gentiles. But, in order to offer it, we have to mean it and live it.

Luke 2 - All People

The angel shows up to speak to the shepherds and they bring "good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Again, the angels say all people. So many times when we read this, we think to ourselves, "Right, all people. Not just the Jews, hooray for us." Or we link this with Paul's writings and think, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus." True. But. This says that Jesus was good news for ALL people. That means sinners too. Way too often, we encounter people who don't believe or actively disbelieve in Jesus and we are quick to write them off. Even worse, if they've hurt Christianity or hurt us personally, we might be waiting for the judgment day to come. Here's the thing: Jesus is good news for them too - they just haven't truly seen or understood it yet. That's where we come in.