Kelly - Acts 14

I particularly like today's scripture because of the mistaken identities of Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes. The stories of Christ are beginning to leave their homes in the traditions of Israel and encounter the wider world. How do the stories of Christ's salvation get communicated in the society that worships the Roman pantheon?

I hadn't realized before that Paul had failed so miserably at communicating these stories to the Roman citizens as he first began. The story I remember best is the one where Paul goes straight to the altar to the unknown god and begins to explain why that god is "the God of Christ" - the story that we have relied on ever since as we struggle to explain the deep truths of Christ in our pluralistic society. I remember Paul's great oratory and his inventiveness in explaining things to the crowd then....I did not remember this story from chapter 14, where he failed.

It's good to see Paul fail at explaining things. And good to know that he gets it right later on. Paul has a learning curve, too - just like I do. When I was 14 the boy who used to walk me home from school (quaint, huh?) asked me to explain to him why church was so important to me. I shrugged it off and changed the subject, not wanting to "get into it." He never asked again, and the opportunity that had been thrown at my feet was lost forever. I failed. But because of that failure, those who asked later got better answers. I'm not yet to the point where I can make an eloquent and perfectly understandable speech at a moment's notice to those whose viewpoint is vastly different from mine - but like Paul - I'm improving.