“PERSECUTING JESUS”
Acts 9
Faith United
April 22, 2007
God is very funny
when you think about it
God never does things the way anyone would expect
He’s like the best kind of screenplay writer
I mean, you never expect the ending to be what it is
when God writes the story
I love good stories
and I especially love stories that surprise me
Like those rare TV shows or movies
where the story line takes a whole different turn
and it ends up in a way that is completely unexpected
unpredictable
God’s like that
God doesn’t seem to like predictability
and that is very evident in Jesus’ life
But this story--
no one would have ever seen it coming
NO ONE would have predicted this outcome
Saul was… well, we can’t use those words in church--
but he was a bad guy
He was an ancient terrorist
That’s not an exaageration
He was evil
He was very focused, very, very smart
and very intense
He was of the tribe of Benjamin
His family line was pure and good and holy
He was the most religious person you’d ever want to meet
But his fervor and commitment were misguided
though he truly believed he was doing what was right
in the sight of God
by making sure those Christians were wiped out
He held the coats of the people
who threw stones at Stephen until he was dead
Saul held their coats and witnessed the whole thing
He sought out Christians, those believers in this Jesus dude --
and he hauled them for arrest and execution
He was a scary guy
I bet you could see it in his eyes
the intensity, the fire, the unwavering passion of his mission
Christians hated him and they feared him
because when you use the name of God
to back up your cause, well, you’ve got some power there
you can make people follow,
no matter how absurd and destructive the mission
I would have hated Saul if I lived back then
I think if we were all honest, we all would
Why would God even bother with the likes of him?
There was no hope for that guy
he knew everything he needed to know
he could quote scripture, verse and text
to justify the killing and persecutions
to justify his evil
He was a powerful man and very arrogant
believing so strongly that he was right
and all those people who believed in Jesus were not only
dead wrong,
but he believed they were going against
the very truth of God
Saul was really, really intense
And I suppose God realized that if God was going to get Saul’s attention
and get him to listen,
God would have to do something really dramatic
A mere burning bush wouldn’t be enough
even a voice from heaven coming out of the clouds
wouldn’t be quite enough to convince Saul
not even a really good sermon
Saul needed something really intense
Saul… needed to be blown away, knocked over,
shaken up a bit
And so he was
He was pumped that day
Man, he was so angry and he fed on that anger
You know how that is?
When you’re so focused on being angry
and you feed it, maybe someone did you wrong
and you brood on it, you become obsessed with it
and the anger gets bigger and bigger
Well, he was out to get more Christians
He was going blow THEM away
He was going to get ém
They made him really mad
and he wanted them to pay
So he went to the high priest for permission
to pick up anyone along the way to Damascus
that followed the way of Jesus
so he could drag them in
bind them up and give them their due
As he walked quickly along the road
breathing, murmuring murderous threats under his breath
BAM!
Next thing he knew he was on the ground
He didn’t feel any pain, save for the bump on the back of his head
where he hit the dirt
He tried to open his eyes
and the light was blinding him, making his eyes water
he tried to squint and see what was going on
He couldn’t see his fellow travelers nearby
He couldn’t see anything for the blinding light
He shook his head, trying to clear it
and he heard a voice that seemed to come from every direction
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” the voice sounded pained
“Who are you?” he yelled out into the blindness
The voice was strangely gentle
“I’m Jesus, the one you’re persecuting…”
Jesus! The one they claimed had risen from the dead?
What, is this another one of those tricks by those Jesus People?
Before he could open his mouth,
the gentle voice said, “I am the one you are persecuting
with all your actions, your murderous schemes….
but get up now, go into the city, and you will be told what to do.”
Well, Saul must have been shaken up alright,
because NO ONE tells Saul what to do
but the poor violent man
was visibly trembling, almost weeping,
brought to his knees by this blinding light
The men who stood with Saul were struck speechless
their own knees trembling
trying to shield their eyes from the light
They heard the voice, but they didn’t see where it was coming from
Saul got up,
and he kept blinking, but his eyes couldn’t see
he was suddenly blinded
which terrified him – what was happening?
His comrades took his arms and led him forth
as he mumbled something about having to go into the city
they could feel his trembling arms
and they wondered….
They took care of him, this powerful man suddenly brought down
blind and helpless
and they were confused
He refused to eat or drink for three days
he seemed to be waiting for something or someone
he wouldn’t tell them
Meanwhile, God needed to get someone else’s attention
his name was Ananias
God told Ananias what to do,
he was to go to the street called Straight
to the house of Judas—different Judas—
and ask for the man named Saul
Saul is praying, and ''Ananias,'' God said, ''he’s having a vision, a dream
and you’re in it…
He will see you coming in to lay your hands on him
to heal him and bring back his sight….”
''Whoa, God…'' said Ananias
(apparently Ananias was pretty familiar with God)
''No way, God, no way… do you know who this guy is?
He is responsible for so many deaths of your people
He has terrorized us, persecuted us
kept us living in fear for our lives
You’re telling me, you want me to help HIM?
Give me a break… he is evil, God, downright evil...''
and God says, ''Ananias, shh! Stop talking!
Shut up and listen!"
(Well, maybe not exactly…)
But God says “Surprise! I’ve chosen him
to bring my good news to the non-Jews,
to the people of Israel and to kings…
don’t worry, he knows it ain’t going to be easy…
But go, Ananias…”
I can just see Ananias shaking his head,
maybe grumbling under his breath,
but knowing that he has to do what God wants,
no matter how absurd it seems
So he goes to the house on the street called Straight
he asks for Saul
and he sees him
He’s not the overpowering, frightening, threatening person
he’d once seen
but now, he was a trembling, vulnerable man
his eyes wide open, searching the room
but seeing nothing
he looked … kind of pitiful
So Ananias had pity on him
and reached out a trembling hand to his enemy
the persecutor of his people
and he called him….. “Brother.”
You could have heard a pin drop
Ananias reached out his hand and laid it on Saul’s head
“Brother Saul,” he said in a trembling voice,
“the Lord Jesus, the one who appeared to you on your way here
he has sent me to you so that you may regain your sight
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
And in that moment,
it was like scales literally fell off of Saul’s eyes
he once was blind, but now he saw
and he saw things a whole lot differently
Dear God, everything was different
He looked at Ananias, the man still wary of him
still unsure of whether to trust him or not
and he grasped his hand in humble gratitude
and Ananias was ....astounded
When Saul got up,
he was taken to a body of water to be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ
and he was led back to the house
to get something to eat in order to regain his strength
He was so hungry by now…
his hands still shook as he lifted the food to his mouth
and gulped the water and the wine
Ananias just stared at him, speechless
He remembered Stephen, a dear friend who loved Jesus
and who died under the watchful eye of this Saul
just because he believed in Jesus
and he tried to hate this man
but something inside of him softened
even… forgave
there was something different about him
he trusted God to know what he was doing
It’s quite a story
and for centuries a lot of people have felt pressure
to come up with just as good a story
as to how they came to love Jesus
But a lot of us don’t get knocked down by a blinding light
we can’t remember a date or time that Jesus came into our hearts
and set them on fire
I relate more to Ananias
who grew up in the faith
who got to know God over time, throughout his life
being raised by religious parents
being taught the stories of his people’s faith
and coming to claim it as his own
Ananias, just a quiet, regular guy who loved God
who was willing to trust God enough
to do what God called him to do
to reach out to his enemy and have mercy
despite all the good reasons not to…
Ananias’ call was no less dramatic than Saul’s
he was literally called to love his enemy
to be an agent of reconciliation and peace
to even HEAL his enemy
when something inside of him wanted to throw
a rock at him for all he’d done
But Ananias had a heart full of Jesus
and he couldn’t return evil for evil
Saul was so bullheaded, so arrogant, so focused and driven
that he NEEDED to be knocked down, shaken up
He needed to fast for three days, so that he was emptied out
making room for God to fill him up
and change him from the inside out
before he could do what God called him to do
And Saul became Paul… the one who got out there
and got this church thing going
because he knew more than anyone, that we never come to Christ alone
Saul was knocked down, blinded by the light
but then God called in the church to finish the job
God used Ananias and others
to minister to Saul, to care for him
and fill him up again
Saul’s conversion was not a solitary experience
God used several people to help bring it about
And the same is true with us
how we come to believe is different for all of us
some of us need to be knocked down and shaken up
to really get our attention
some of us just kind of grow into it
always learning the stories, being raised in the faith
and then at some point coming to claim it as our own
God comes to us in the ways that we can best receive him
the ways that best get our attention
And we need each other
I hear people say, ''oh, I believe in God, I just don’t come to church''
well, that’s not what God ever intended
God always does God’s work in community
it’s not something meant for just us alone
We need each other to help each other find our way
to keep us accountable
to bind our wounds and celebrate our joys
the Church is God’s way of shaping us
into the people God wants us to be
and we, too, can be transformed
We’re never too old to be surprised
And the horrifying news of this past week in Virginia
is just another stark reminder of just how important our call is
Our call to follow Jesus in his ways of peace
to grieve the evil that goes on
to grieve with Jesus himself when people choose death and violence
instead of resurrection life that transforms and renews
We see in times like this how destructive it is to hold onto our anger
to nurse it, coddle it, feed it, until it becomes a burning rage
that can kill both bodies and spirits
But we are people of the Resurrection
we believe in a different kind of power
and the world is aching to be renewed by that same power
people are hungry, they are empty and starving to be loved
we all need to belong
we all need to have that emptiness filled
we all need mercy so badly
So, today, receive that mercy,
receive that resurrection power that we know in Christ
receive it every day
and always be willing to be surprised
This story reminds us that the life of faith is not an easy ride
without jolts and sudden jerks
and stomach-lurching drops,
sharp, sudden turns in our path
that leave us breathless and blown away
Let God blow you away
and follow where God leads you and me
because every day can be Easter
every day the light can shine so bright that it amazes us
and all the colors around us begin to look differently
We see living proofs of Easter power every day
let’s BE living proof of the power of resurrection
in a world that is so full of senseless death
let’s BE living proof of the transforming, life-changing love of God
in a world so bent on hate
let’s be followers of the way
and follow the path where Jesus walks….
we may just be surprised....
