The unknown God

31May
Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.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. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way towards him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’”

-Acts of the Apostles 17:22-28


The sure-footed Christian of certain conviction takes delight in the pilgrim’s path lined with ancient, lavish ritual; with worship moving on rubrics steeped in mystery and lined with iconography venerated by two thousand years of Christian creatives and seekers. There is comfort in walking a well signed road; in knowing where you are. Until we realize we don’t; not really, if seeking God is why we are on this walk. It is precisely the faith required “to feel our way towards him and find him”, that puts us in fast company with Athenian pagans of 50AD who were also certain about their gods and about their place on the pilgrim’s path.


Do all our Christian visuals that populate our religion translate into more certainty about our relationship with Christ? For all the accouterments of worship, are we any more lucid about the mystery of a God we cannot see? Frankly I like that stuff. It moves me. Or maybe I am moved by the Christian mystery that is bound up in it. There is more.


Consider the lost and frightened pilgrims among us. Perhaps their lack of certainty and dependence on ritual affords them a hungry eye, more likely to notice the sanctuary of an “unknown God” carved into life’s roadside wall. Perhaps it is the lonely and frightened pilgrim with the eye, hungry for Christ’s salvation, who will notice that the sanctuary of “An unknown God” is, in fact, a portal, over which is carved, “Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit” — “Bidden or unbidden, God is present.” Enter, beloveds.


May we meet our ancient Athenian brothers and sisters, the certain Christians, and the lost and frightened pilgrims, at the portal of faith. May we feel our way toward Christ’s salvation – together. Less certain, more hungry.


Musical Reflection - In Our Darkness - Taize


Christ of the hungry, the curious, and keeper of pilgrims all; abide with the Youth of Trinity Episcopal Church, New Orleans as they journey to Taizé, France, this week, feeling their way toward a deeper understanding of just how near you are. Bring them safely home that they may lead we certain Christians to the portal of mystery of our unknown God, Christ Jesus. Amen.

New TestamentEasterWorship

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