The Challenges of Grace

Lindsay and I climbed Mars Hill in Athens, Greece today. It is the place where Paul preached to the Athenians in the Aeropagus (it's in Acts 17). It was so hot! We were told today was going to be one of the hottest days. I really wanted to go to Mars Hill. When Lindsay took the Footsteps of Faith trip with the Presbytery of Arkansas trip three years ago she talked about how moving it was to be on top of Mars Hills and how special and spiritual it was. So we trudged through Athens, despite the fact that our hosts indicated that only tourists would go out in this heat after noontime.

We passed by the Parthenon museum on our left and the Parthenon standing high on a hill to our right. We looked at the signs and tried to find out where we were going. We got to the top of the hill that we thought was Mars Hill and a cool breeze started to blow. You could see all of Athens, the Acropolis; it was a spectacular sight. My eyes filled with tears.

Then Lindsay said it was not the right place. But nonetheless, the wind was blowing. I was so moved. So we sat and we immersed ourselves in the moment. The wind just kept blowing.

The words of the song “There is a Balm in Gilead” came to mind,

"If you cannot preach like Peter,

if cannot pray like Paul,

just tell the love of Jesus,

and say he died for all."

This is how I feel. These are the words I often pray as I step into the pulpit.

And then as the wind kept blowing, I started singing the song "Spirit"

Spirit, spirit of gentleness,

blow through the wilderness calling and free.

Spirit, spirit of restlessness

stir me from placidness wind, wind on the sea.

I told Lindsay how the word for Spirit, wind, and breath were all essentially the same word in Greek and Hebrew. We continued to absorb the moment, we took some pictures (with her camera because surprisingly I left my camera at house). Then we climbed down that hill and went out into the street and into the place where we thought we could find Mars Hill.

We didn't take the path but instead we decided to climb over the rocks. For whatever reason we were led to the other hill first and saw amazing sights and felt the cool, refreshing breeze and were essentially alone—alone and yet not alone.

And then we were led to climb the tougher path, we went on the "road less traveled" and we found ourselves in the place where Paul preached. We sat for a moment there too. We felt the wind still blowing and God's Spirit still calling, still challenging, still pushing us on.

There are times when I have felt God’s presence deeply, but today when we climbed the wrong hill and then we finally made our way to Mars Hills I felt the fresh breath of God. It moved me to tears. I felt the love of God, I felt the peace of God, and I felt the difficult challenges of God not just for me but for communities of faith, for those who have lost their way, and for our world—it gave me comfort and strength.