Thoughts on the Marketplace

I see how extremely religious you are in every way.
St. Paul to the Athenians; Acts 17:22

Wow, what a city! We're taking a layover day in Portland, OR on our way to Holden Village, WA and I'm sitting out front of a Starbucks, venti in hand, in the hip northwest side of town and I?ve just realized there is a thriving Peet's Coffee and Tea – next door! As a trained Lutheran theologian, I know that Coffee is the third sacrament, right behind Baptism and Communion, and therefore I can see how extremely religious these people are in every way. I know Glendale has its coffee lovers but this is great, fresh brew as far as the eye can see, these people get it!

As I sit here, I am also sandwiched between the diversity of human emotion. On one side, two friends who have been chatting, laughing, and fully engaged in one another have just welcomed a third into their delight. On the other side a woman sits alone yelling into her cell phone, “I can't hear you; Bernie, I can't hear you Bernie, you're a shiftless liar. Bernie I can't take it anymore, I can't hear you.” She and Bernie are not having a good day.

2000 years ago, Paul's marketplace wasn't that different from our own. Some of the people he met were full of the joy, some were filled with sorrow, and some were having trouble with Bernie. 2000 years ago Paul had it right. He first looked directly into their lives and saw how extremely religious they were in every way. He entered directly into the joys and sorrow of people he actually cared for; people whom he believed would be blessed by knowing the person Jesus. In those days, they met at small altars dedicated to small gods. Today we meet at small altars dedicated to the tall, grande and venti gods. But we still meet. Everyone still needs to be in healthy loving relationships, and everyone can be blessed when they first come to know the person Jesus. For Jesus, Son of the living God, calls us friend. Through his friendship, his grace, we can come to know him as Saviour.

Paul entered the marketplace, the place where folks of all types still meet to mingle, share, trade and seek. Because he believed they wanted to know God, he had no doubts that they would also want to meet Jesus, the Son of God, the Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus is our gift of righteousness from a loving God of life. Not everyone in Paul's day came to believe, but many did. Today things aren't that different, most people are still religious in every way. Let us therefore be encouraged to enter the marketplace, and by doing so enter the lives of people who are filled with joy, with sorrow, and those who can't hear Bernie, and introduce them to Jesus.

God's Peace,
Pastor Kurt