Summer of "Acts" -- Acts 9:1-20, Saul meets the Risen Jesus

I was just talking to my friend Erik on the phone and told him that I was about to publish my first blog post.  But I told him the hardest part about this whole thing for me is that I'm not sure who I'm talking to.  I love talking to people and sharing my thoughts but only when I know who I'm talking to -- knowing who I'm talking to is what makes conversations meaningful or meaningless and so the more I think about this I keep thinking, "I'm about to do something meaningless."  We'll see I suppose.  

This first post is my reflections on the Scripture that we will be discussing at the Aldersgate UMC youth gathering this Wednesday night.  For the summer we have been reading through the book of Acts.

Without any further qualification...

Well today we come to what is probably in the top three of most recognizable stories in the book of Acts along w/ Pentecost and the Ascension of Jesus: the conversion of Saul. 

 

We met Saul last week, as he was an eager witness to the murder of Stephen.  Today’s story tells us that Saul is still at it, “breathing out murderous threats against all the Lord’s disciples.”  And we kind of know how it goes from there.  He’s on his way to Damascus w/ orders to arrest any Christians. 

 

What happens next changes Saul’s life forever.  And when Saul asks who it is that is addressing him the response is perhaps a bit different than we might expect.  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”  The risen Jesus meets Saul, the persecutor of the church, and Jesus says you are persecuting… ME.   

 

This is another dramatic story, a lot like the things we’ve seen before in the ascension (Jesus doing a superman and strange white robbed men appearing out of nowhere), and at Pentecost (where wind and fire and earthquakes are the precursor to the disciples declaring in all kinds of languages the mighty acts of God to Jews from all over the place, to people dropping dead at Peter's feet in the story of Anannias and Sophira.  Here again in Acts 9 we have a flash of light and booming voice of the risen Jesus, visions of God appearing to both Saul and a different guy named Anannias.  

 

And as the church has read this story down through the years it has been read in lots of different ways.  But one way it has been used over and over has been as a kind of model for the way conversion happens.  You’ll even hear people say things like, “I had a Saul to Paul conversion.” And you know what they mean.  And I think the reason for wanting to read the story this way comes from really good intentions – We want the story of Scripture to be our story.  We want to read it and say, “Yeah, that’s how it is for me too.” 

And I think that is okay.  But what if we wait a little longer and be a bit more patient in looking to see the way in which this part of God’s story is a part of our story too.

 

Every time I’ve read this story and I come to the part where Anannais is telling God that he doesn’t want to go to Saul because of all the bad things he’s done to followers of the risen Jesus and God says, “Go anyway... I will show Saul how much he must suffer because of my name,” I think I’ve always read that as a kind of punishment.  You know, something like, Saul did a lot of bad things to a lot of Christians so now God’s going to do lots of bad things to him.  And so Anannias is now going to go because he has the satisfaction of knowing that Saul is going to get what he deserves or something.

 

And that makes sense if in this story and the larger story of Scripture suffering and persecution equal punishment or payback. 

 

But in this story, in the story of God’s coming to be with and rescue creation from sin and death that is not how it works – suffering and persecution does NOT equal divine payback.  Saul is not “getting what he deserves.”  This is especially clear in the story of Jesus.  A story that near its end is full of suffering and persecution.  And yet the story of Jesus' suffering and death is not about punishment not at all about Jesus getting what he deserves.

 

Instead, Jesus is persecuted and suffers because as he brings God’s perfect love into this world he is directly at odds with the world.  As he comes and teaches peace and humbleness and self-giving he finds himself in all kinds of trouble w/ a world that loves war, power, and self-seeking.  And this world kills him.

 

And so as Anannias expresses his hesitation in going to this murder, for fear that he will be persecuted by Saul, God tells Anannias that Saul now stands on the side of Jesus – Jesus, whose hands and feet and side forever remind us that he came not as a persecutor but as one who in following God through this world was persecuted. 

 

So we find once again that Saul’s story, like Stephen’s story is a part of Jesus’ story.  And just in case you missed it the connection runs a bit deeper.  In his encountering the risen Jesus, Saul is struck down.  And though he does not really die, the story goes that for three days he sat blind, not eating, and drinking.  But “after three days” Anannias comes and his sight is restored and after being baptized in the name of the risen Jesus and taking food he finds that he has new life.

 

New life, not to continue breathing out murderous threats as before, but now with each breath of this new life he proclaims Jesus as Lord.  His new life is lived as a marked man standing on the ever-dangerous side of the crucified and risen Jesus.  This life comes to Saul as an unexpected gift, which he receives with great joy and passion. 

 

And so maybe now we can begin to make our transition and ask God, “What ways is this story a story for us?  In what ways is my story becoming a story about the risen Jesus?" 

And so I asked my self... 

 In what ways am I at odds w/ Jesus because I like the way the world works, preferring power and position, over humility and service? 

In what ways do I see that I stand against Jesus’ way of humility and self-sacrifice?      

In what ways does God need to change me, convert me, and give me new life, like Saul, so that I too can stand whole- heartedly on the side of the risen Jesus?