(a sermon for June 16, 2024, the 4th Sunday after Pentecost; sixth in a series, based on Acts 9:1-20)
His name was Saul, and he came from the ancient city of Tarsus, a city of great importance and learning located along the Mediterranean shore of modern-day Turkey. History tells us that as a young Jewish boy Saul grew up surrounded by Gentiles and was, in fact, a Greek-speaking Jew; not only that, but by virtue of being from Tarsus, he was also considered a Roman citizen. All this to say that Saul’s background and experience was quite literally a long way from that of Jerusalem and the temple.
But he was a devout Jew who took his faith very seriously, so eventually Saul made his way to Jerusalem to study the under Gamaliel, the learned Pharisee to himself became a Pharisee, dedicated to the faith of Israel and the strict observance of religious laws and traditions. And as a Pharisee, Saul’s job with the religious establishment of the time – his assigned task – was, in the words of Craig Barnes, was to “make sure that nothing changed.” And since the greatest threat to orthodox Judaism at that time was this ever-expanding church called ‘The Way’ that kept insisting that Jesus was risen from the dead and had ascended into heaven, “Saul was determined to put a stop to it.”
And reading through the early chapters of the Book of Acts, you discover just how determined he was to end this so-called “Christianity.” We’re told, for instance, that Saul literally held the cloaks of those in the enraged mob who stoned a disciple named Stephen to his death. And we hear that soon afterward “a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem,” and that “Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women…” (apparently dragging them by the hair, by the way!) “…[commiting] them to prison.” (8:1-3) And then, we learn that Saul, “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,” went to the high priest seeking orders to head north from Jerusalem to deal with the Christian converts there. What we get from all of this is that, clearly, Saul’s murderous work put him squarely into that company of Jesus’ persecutors and wasn’t about to stop in this mission until he had hunted down each and every one of his followers.
But then came Saul’s Damacus Road “experience.”
“A Damacus Road Experience:” now there’s one of those scriptural references so widely quoted that even those with a passing knowledge of the bible have at least a cursory understanding of what it means. Basically, it refers to an incident in one’s life that is so sudden, so dramatic or so severe in nature that it changes one’s point of view forever. In our culture, a “Damacus Road experience” has come to be understood as the ultimate turning point in one’s life; and it can apply to a great many experiences, most especially the experience of faith.
When I was about 14 years old, I was given the honor of serving as my home church’s youth representative on the search committee that was seeking a new pastor. I recall it now as an amazing experience for a whole lot of reasons, not the least of which was that I was already starting to feel the stirrings of my own call to ministry, and this was a chance to learn what this kind of life might be like. I remember especially the interview process of various candidates, and how that interview always included a question about how these pastors had come to their Christian faith, and what their journey of faith had been like. What was interesting is that more than one of these candidates responded to that question by saying to us, “Well, to begin with, I didn’t have a ‘Damacus Road experience.’ It’s not like Jesus suddenly came down from out of heaven to get my attention!” More often than not, these candidates would share with us that their call to ministry came gradually; over time and amid the changes and transitions in their lives.
It was all very interesting and enlightening, although as I recall, there were others on the search committee who were somewhat skeptical at that kind of an answer; I guess they were looking for something much more definitive and eminently spiritual from a potential pastor of our congregation! And all these years later I’ll confess to you folks that even at 14 it got me to thinking that maybe I ought to be looking for a sign: a blinding light, maybe, a bolt of lightning, a voice out of heaven, a rainbow sign (!); anything that might get my attention and offer up sure and certain proof of what God wanted me to do with my life!
Well, one thing is for certain: Saul was neither expecting nor seeking any kind of sign that day as he was going along the road approaching the city of Damacus; but, O Lord, he certainly got one.
In our text for this morning, we read that “suddenly a light from heaven flashed around [Saul]” that literally blinded him and drove him to the ground, and that he heard a voice saying to him, “’Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” And of course, not recognizing the voice as anyone he might have encountered before in his travels, Saul asks, “’Who are you, Lord?’” and the response is, much, I would have to imagine, to the shock and amazement of Saul, “’I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’”
And this, to quote Craig Barnes once again, “is where conversion begins,” understanding that “this was not the conversion of a penitent sinner. Saul is not convicted of his sin, walking down the aisle of an altar call asking for forgiveness. That’s not what’s going on here; this conversion is not even Saul’s idea! It never is when it’s understood properly: this always begins as God’s initiative in our lives.”
Actually, you know, I think that’s why what we don’t get in this story is what we might call “retributive justice,” that is, because of all these horrible things that Saul had done that now Jesus is going to lay down some severe punishment for all of his sin in order to get conversion! No, what’s clear here is that Jesus had something else in mind, and that God is much bigger and expansive and inclusive than Saul (or anyone else, for that matter) had ever known or imagined. Because you’ll notice that while Jesus acknowledges Saul’s sinfulness, what he says next has nothing to do with sin or repentance or even forgiveness per se, but Jesus says, “But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” And we’re told that the men who were with Saul, who was now blinded, led him by the hand into Damascus where he remained, blinded for three days.
Ultimately, you see, Saul’s “Damacus Road experience” had more to with God than it did with Saul, because, as it turns out, God was just getting started; and in more ways than one.
The other part of the story has to do with a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord appears and says, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.” And what I want you to do, says the Lord to Ananias, is to lay your hands on him so that he may regain his sight. And actually, you’ve got to appreciate Ananias’ response, which is essentially, “Uh… Lord? You do realize this is the same man who came here to throw us all in jail… or worse! Maybe you should consider some of that ‘retributive justice’ I’ve been hearing about!’”
But, you see, here’s another prime example of the Lord having a bigger plan than anything you and I can possibly imagine; and all that Lord says in response to this argument of Ananias is to double down on his instruction to just go to Saul and lay hands on him. And in one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole Book of Acts, Ananias does go to Saul and lays his hands upon him, saying, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Brother Saul… don’t you love that? It’s not, “you lousy, stinking Pharisee,” it’s not, “O Evil One, persecutor of the Way, I’m going to fix you now,” and it’s certainly not, “I’m only doing this, Saul, because God said so;” it’s… “Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me to you.” Which tells us, by the way, that it wasn’t just one person changed in that attention getting moment in Damascus… it was at least two; and many more as the story unfolds. Because, in in another biblical reference that gets used in other contexts, we’re told that “something like scales fell from [Saul’s] eyes and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized.” And only that, we find out that immediately Saul’s out there proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God in the synagogues in and around Damascus; and as several of the Epistles in the New Testament indicate, the story of Saul (who would soon take on the Roman version of his name, the name of… that’s right, Paul!) was only just beginning. Not that this story would ever be simple or easy or never filled with any conflict; after all, you don’t go from being the persecutor to the persecuted without some sort of consequence. But it’s the story, the life, the salvation that the Lord always intended for Saul/Paul, and now it was taking shape for his blessing and blessing of so many who would follow. It is no accident that in several places throughout those epistles that Paul refers to the “mystery of grace;” for how else would you ever describe such an unexpected, unsought and utterly undeserved gift?
And all it took was a moment – this quintessential, powerful, life changing Damascus Road moment – for the Lord God to get his attention!
Now, I guess I should confess to you all morning that at least as far as my own calling to Christian ministry is concerned, I never did have that “Damacus Road experience;” no, there was never any bolt of lightning or voice out of heaven that has led me to this time and place. Not that there weren’t signs along the way: there were actually plenty of them, all throughout days spent sitting out in summer meadows playing guitar in the beauty of God’s creation, the inner feelings of peace and purpose and love of the Lord that came over me at the most unlikely of moments, the insights that arose out of study and prayer and the fellowship of kindred hearts in the church. So, yes, my faith and the subsequent call to ministry came gradually over the course of a lifetime, really; but most especially in the journey of faith begun well over 40 years ago.
But I can tell you this, beloved. Many has been the time when God did a very good job getting my attention! Moments when everything in my life and in the work I do went so smoothly and beautifully and was so filled with excitement and fun, and I could not help but be humbled by the experience and knew for certain that but for the grace of God this experience could not possibly have been; but there have also been times in my life and ministry when I have felt so troubled, so conflicted, so disappointed, so overwhelmed by how incredibly beaten down I was feeling that somehow I came to the realization that getting through it all would truly only be by the grace of God in Jesus Christ… and it turned out that it was only by grace that I did.
Over the years I have come to fresh new understandings about God’s Holy Word and fresh new discoveries about myself along the way. I’m finding that as I enter into this new realm of “senior citizenry” I’m holding more tightly than ever before to my faith in Jesus Christ; and yet at the same time, I seem to be finding out more and more about that faith as I go along: it happens here every Sunday in worship; it regularly unfolds in our Bible Studies together; I’m even gaining a plethora of spiritual insights in being Sylvie’s Grampy! All I know is that even now on the journey of life, living and faith, there are amble ways that God is trying to get my attention…
…just as I know with all my heart, beloved, that God is trying to get your attention as well.
All I know, and this is my prayer for me as it is my prayer for you this morning, is that I will always be open to the certainly that God is much bigger than my ideas, my plans, my narrow point of view, my very imagination! I pray that on whatever road you and I choose to walk, along the way there will be the Lord, taking the initiative to bring us to someplace and something brand new for his glory and the sake of his kingdom.
Because, friends, that will be the life that truly be life!
So might it be…
Thanks be to God!
Amen and AMEN!
© 2024 Rev. Michael W. Lowry. All Rights Reserved.
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