Who is our 'unknown god'?

     While we heard last week Jesus remind his disciples that he is the way, the truth, and the life, this week we will focus on Paul's speech to the Greeks in Athens from Acts 17.22-31.  Paul is standing in the middle of the Areopagus, the location where the Athenian court convened.  He gives a brilliant speech (sermon) testifying to the God "who made the world and everything in it," which is the god the Greeks have been worshiping as the 'unknown god'. Paul understands the thinking, the mainstream culture, and the attitudes of these Greeks and so appeals to their intellect in proclaiming the gospel, never once mentioning the name of Jesus Christ, but only making reference to him as "a man whom [God] has appointed".
     What is most profound about this sermon in Acts is that it shows that the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, is meaningless if it doesn't speak to the culture.  Each week millions of Christians confess our faith with the words of the Creeds, first written around 325 CE.  However it is not the words themselves that are good news, it is the message about God's salvation through Jesus Christ and the life that enables followers of Christ to live.
     The mysteries in this week's text are rather profound, I think.  I am left wondering, where is our present day Areopagus?  What or who is our unknown god?  Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, how do we proclaim the message of the gospel in a way that makes sense and connects with people in our world?  I often think of sports as a god.  People buy special clothes, devote hours to practice and games, spend hundreds on tickets and admission fees, and very often sports are a higher priority than other things.  I think of family as a god.  Family events and needs are often a higher priority than other things in life, and we worship children, siblings, spouses, or parents to the point that it is more important to please them than to please God.  I think of consumerism as a god.  We tend to our belongings, unfortunately as a society living on 125% of our income, and our possessions become our god.  There are others, too.  Hobbies, work, exercise, anything can become our god.
     My sense is, however, that we simply use these things (sports, family, possessions, etc) to try to satisfy in us our deepest needs of belonging, being loved, accepted, and having purpose.  Except in the end, where are sports, family, and possessions?  Your team will go on playing whether you're there to watch/participate.  Your family, though sad, will continue living after you're gone.  I've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul, and your possessions will be sold, thrown, or given away.
     Just as the Athenians worshiped the 'unknown god' we also worship our gods, but in the end, these gods fail us.  Thankfully Paul reminds us that the unknown god is in actuality the God who made the world and everything in it, who gives to all mortals life and breath and all things, who commands all people everywhere to repent, because the world will be judged in righteousness by Jesus Christ, whom God has raised from the dead.  It is this last part, this 'being raised from the dead' that is the most scandalous to the Greeks, who viewed the body as something to be overcome, and death was the only way in which to ultimately overcome the body.  Jesus' death and resurrection is also scandalous in our own culture, though for different reasons.
     In a world that thinks we are completely self-sufficient, having to rely on someone who lived 2000 years ago seems preposterous.  We are the ones who provide for our own families.  We are the ones who accomplish all that we do in our lives.  We are the ones who, if we are just good enough, will knock on the gates of heaven and enter, pointing to our good deeds on earth.  Except these are all false gods, too.  It is God who provides for us.  It is God who gives us the gifts, talents, and capability to accomplish what we do.  It is God, in Christ Jesus, who makes us good enough, not anything we do. 
     With all of these unknown gods, I am left pondering the mystery this week: who is my unknown god?