By Reverend Shirley DeWolf
Theme: Following the Lord’s unexpected direction
Passages from the lectionary:
Psalm 121
Ezekiel 1:1-25
Acts 9:1-18 (May 1st) and 9:19-31(May 2nd)
Verse for reflection:
Acts 9: 27 “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the disciples. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him...” (NIV)
One of the most important words in the Bible is the little word “but”. The Bible is full of this word. It is a pivotal word, something that turns things around. “But” shows us that just when we thought we had it all figured out, new light is shed on the subject, or we are set down in a different place and our perspective changes. “But” shows us the opposite of our assumptions, sends us in new directions. It is a very unsettling word, sometimes leaving us in despair, and sometimes suddenly opening up a whole new hopeful way forward. In the passages related to Saul’s conversion and his introduction into the Christian fellowship we see that is not a straightforward story and the frequent use of “but” in the passages shows the zigzag between God’s direction and human resistance.
Saul’s story begins with the slaying of Stephen by the Sanhedrin. Stephen was a Hellenized Jew whose background experience and world view were broader than those of the Hebraic Jews. In addition, Stephen was a Jew who believed in the risen Christ as the Messiah. He faced a Sanhedrin for whom the borders of Palestine defined the difference between true faith and heathen religions, who believed in Jerusalem as the centre of God’s self revelation and the Great Temple as the abode of God where only the physically and religiously pure were acceptable. A complex system of over 600 laws ensured that the Jewish people remained loyal to the constraints of their religion. Along comes Stephen with his outsider’s perspective and he stands before the Sanhedrin and retells the history of Israel to those learned leaders of Judaism from a diasporan perspective, showing how much of the growth of Israel’s faith had taken place outside the promised land among alien peoples. Stephen’s point was: God works where and with whom God wants to work, free from human dictates. Moreover, God does not confine himself to live in a temple made by human hands any more than he lives in a golden calf. As if these words were not inflammatory enough, the risen Christ who these leaders of the Sanhedrin had failed to get rid of by crucifixion revealed himself to Stephen as he stood there in their midst. They were so enraged, so threatened, that they dragged Stephen out and stoned him to death.
Listening to Stephen was a young Pharisee named Saul who later described himself as “thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors and on fire with zeal for God” (Acts 22:3-4) – a phrase heavy with significance which meant that murder committed in defense of the Lord could be counted as righteous (Psalm 106: 30-31). After hearing Stephen, Saul took the initiative to chase down followers of the risen Christ and to imprison them or commit them to the death penalty. But there was more to Saul than his dangerous loyalty to religion. He was clearly an intelligent man and he had been taught by Gamaliel, known even today as one of the wisest Jewish rabbis of all time. Saul had something in common with Stephen, having spent his early years in the Hellenic environment of Tarsus of Asia Minor. As he listened to Stephen’s words it is difficult to imagine that they would not have tenderized Saul’s conscience, leaving him disturbed by the contradictions fighting for space within him. Many years later he would testify of his Damascus road experience: “I heard a voice saying to me ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is not for you to kick against your own conscience’.” Acts 26:14 JBP (‘You are hurting yourself ....’ NEV) The very same risen Lord who had revealed himself to Stephen also revealed himself to Saul on the road to Damascus, and Saul was immediately able to recognize who was speaking to him.
Returning to that little word “but”. Stephen and Saul appeared to be enemies, but the same risen Lord appeared to both victim and perpetrator. Saul eventually understood that religion divides, but Christ unifies and therefore when there is a choice to be made, choose Christ.
9:1-4 Saul , “on fire with zeal for God”, headed out to persecute as many abusers of God’s laws as he could, but contrary to expectation, on the road the truth hit him and he understood that abuse committed in the Lord’s name is in fact an abuse of the Lord himself.
9:6 The risen Lord confronted Saul with the truth of his terrible sin, but immediately, even before Saul had the chance to repent, the Lord opened a door for him to move forward by giving him a task to fulfill. Once again the risen Christ does the unexpected.
9:13 The Lord roused Ananias from behind locked doors and sent him to help Saul, but Ananias held back from fear of the obvious. The story might have ended right there.
9:15 But the Lord confronted Ananias and announced that despite all evidence to the contrary, Saul was his chosen instrument
9:22 The Christian refugees gathered in Damascus were baffled and unsure about this new Saul, but in his new-found enthusiasm for the Gospel Saul continued to share his testimony anyway, whether they were ready for him or not.
9:26 Saul went to Jerusalem expecting perhaps naively that the apostles would embrace him with great joy. But they did not trust him. Jerusalem was deeply divided between identity groups and a repentant Saul could easily have been another trap laid by the Sanhedrin.
9:27 “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the disciples. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him...”
Saul could not make sense of why the Lord had chosen him, of all people, until he understood grace and from then on it became the central theme of his ministry: “In the past I had met him with abuse and persecution and outrage... But I was shown mercy... It was a demonstration of the extent of Christ’s patience towards the worst of men, to serve as an example to all who in the future should trust him for eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:13-16) Undeserving, but grace.
A question for our further reflection: We live in a fractured nation and many of us individually and as an ecumenical collective are involved in reconciliation efforts from community to national level. Are there lessons from today’s passage that might guide our efforts?
Let us pray:
O Lord as your church we confess that our perceptions are too easily shaped by our own limited interpretations of what we see, too tuned to our own voices and therefore when we ask for your guidance, we often fail to see where you are leading us. But you find us worthy of your love and calling anyway. O risen Lord, lead us beyond ourselves, beyond our comfort zone and help us to see what you see. In the name of our Saviour, Amen
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