Easter Evening Sermon - Acts 9.1-22

Acts 9.1-22

I wonder how many of us here tonight can remember a time in our life when we were pursuing a priority, a cause or a goal – with great energy, determination and singlemindedness – even though in hindsight we can see that we were completely wrong, that a change of direction had to happen?

This is what happened with Saul of course. The most deadly and powerful opponent of “the Way”, he tried to wipe out the followers of Jesus in a ruthless campaign doing, as he thought, the will of God and taking with him as proof of this authority, letters from the High Priest himself. What higher authority could there be? Saul was as convinced of his cause as any suicide bomber or President. Yet he was wrong and he had to change.

There was a higher authority than the High Priest – God himself, who appeared to Saul in the form of the risen Lord Jesus.

There was a greater power than the power of human force and violence – the power of the glory of God which stopped Saul in his tracks, humbled him, then forgave him, restored him and equipped him for service.

There was a transformation for Saul, a new God given (ordained) purpose for his life, even a new name, Paul, the greatest ever ambassador for the Christian faith.

These things are still true today, in spite of the evidence of our newspapers and the rhetoric of terrorists and politicians.

Thinking back to those times when you were heading the wrong way – what did it take to turn you around?
• Sometimes a friend or relative may have persuaded us – although I think we can all be pretty stubborn when our faults are pointed out!
• Sometimes we suffer direct injury or illness as a result of our wrong actions, although we may not see the connections very clearly.
• Sometimes a completely unconnected trauma or loss or change may cause us to reflect on where our life is heading.
God can be at work in any of these ways. Sometimes it has to be dramatic and sudden in order to prevent our life heading for disaster.
My own experience is similar. My life was drifting badly in my mid twenties and I needed a sudden and fairly dramatic intervention by God to set me in the right direction.

Your own journey may have a dramatic turning point – or it may be a series of smaller corrections; some of this comes down to differences in personality and circumstances. Whichever way it is, I think there are some common lessons from Saul’s story.

First, we all need a personal encounter with the living Lord Jesus. Saul had heard about Jesus and his followers, and what he had heard seemed to be at odds with his strict beliefs, so he sought to destroy it. The encounter he had on the Damascus Road was with the crucified Jesus and the Glory of God. Saul was also struck by Jesus’s question; why are you persecuting ME. Saul came to understand that the followers of Jesus are his living body, in a mysterious but true sense.

Second, we need to be humbled, as Saul was when, instead of entering Damascus in pride and power, he stumbled in, blind and led by his servants. There is no possibility of human pride when we really encounter Jesus, and there comes a time for most of us when our pride has to be broken.

Third, we need to be restored and forgiven, as Saul was through the brave ministry of Ananias, who in spite of his fear and prejudice was prepared to obey Jesus’s command and love his enemy. Through the courage and obedience of Ananias, Saul received God’s healing, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the sign of baptism and a new life.

Fourth, like Saul we are called to lifelong service which may be difficult and costly, but will also bring us the joy and peace which can only be ours when we discover and obey God’s will for us. There will be times when we need to hang on and not give up just because life is not easy.

Fifth, like Saul, our encounter with Jesus should bring us into fellowship with other believers, whatever prejudices we have and whether or not we are inclined to be sociable.

ALL OF THE ABOVE amounts to conversion, the process by which God’s enemies become his friends. Saul the destroyer becomes Paul the Apostle. This is the way in which you and I find peace, power and purpose for our lives. The story of how Saul’s life was turned around shows that no one is beyond the pale, not the terrorist, the suicide bomber, the religious fanatic, not the pleasure seeker, the drug dealer or the sex offender.

But in every case, the change needed is fundamental, it is not just a matter of people deciding to be nice to each other and live by the rules…

So where does this leave us today, in a world full of fear and danger and uncertainty?
• Do we really believe that there is a higher authority than any human religious or political leader?
• Do we really believe that there is a more powerful alternative to the power of human violence?
• Do we really believe that every person and every society has the potential to be transformed by God and used in his service?

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ points to the truth of all these things and calls us to put our faith in him and share that faith with others.

Like Ananias though, we will have to be prepared to pray for and reach out to people we fear or despise and to be prepared to be God’s agent in bringing them the gift of new life. This is much easier in theory than in practice!