Watch the Road!

Acts 9:19b-31

Talk about a change of perspective. Paul, the scourge of the early Church, had gone to Damascus for the purpose of arresting believers and dragging them back to Jerusalem in chains. But on the way there he experienced a conversion that led him to become an outspoken adherent to the new faith and a follower of Jesus Christ. “All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’” (Acts 9:21). It was as if Paul had come to a fork in the road of his life and, given the chance to amend who he was, had struck out in a completely different direction. Paul repented of who he had been, cast off his old life, and became a new person dedicated to serving the Lord.

We are all on a journey of faith, and from time to time we may find ourselves at a junction, a place of decision, where we must choose which path to take. Seldom will this moment be as dramatic for us as it was for Paul, but all such moments are important nonetheless. How do we make the correct choices? The answer is to look to Jesus Christ for direction and seek his guidance, to welcome the input that the faith offers us and do the best we can to move ahead. Bad decisions are a part of life. Sin causes us to make wrong turns, to lose our way, to get lost. But the one who offers us true guidance remains steadfast. By turning to him we will always find the way to live in faith.

Paul became a new person on the road to Damascus; people hardly recognized him after his experience. We may not undergo such a radical change, but by faith in Jesus Christ we get where we need to be.

Prayer: Lord, guide us all the days of our lives that we may follow you and not waver in our faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Expect the Unexpected

Amos 7:10-17

The book of Amos offers only a brief description of the prophet’s call from God. “Then Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel”'” (Amos 7:14-15). This is not a unique story in scripture. Moses was herding the flocks of his father-in-law when God called him (Exodus 3). Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1) were minding their own business when the presence of the Lord burst upon them with work to be done. In the New Testament Mary was surprised to learn that she would bear God’s Son (Luke 1:26-38); Simon, Andrew, James and John were interrupted in their daily activities when Jesus called them to follow (Matthew 4:18-22); and Paul was stunned by Jesus’ appearance to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). These are just a few of the examples that scripture gives us.

Advent is a time for listening to God’s voice in our lives, for following where God leads us, for doing the unexpected. Few of us herd livestock, prune sycamore trees, or fish for a living. Even fewer—I suspect—are in the habit of persecuting Christians. That’s not the point of these stories. What we need to understand it that God sees in us gifts and skills that we may not readily see in ourselves, and God seeks to use those skills to serve God’s will. The tasks we find ourselves doing may be small or large, may cause us little discomfort or force us to completely change our way of life. Whatever the case, God’s people must always “expect the unexpected.” That may seem difficult during Advent when we think we know pretty well what is going on, but if we are really listening, really paying attention, then we will learn all sorts of things about God, about ourselves, and about the world around us.

Advent is a time for expectations, some of which are very unexpected. Be ready.

Prayer: Lord, keep us focused on what you are doing in our world, and give us the strength to respond when you call. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Two Roads

Luke 24:13-35

I like to describe my call to the ministry as more an Emmaus Road experience and less a Damascus Road one. Our reading from Luke for today helps me to explain what I mean. As they walked along the road of Emmaus on the day of Easter, two of Jesus' followers were joined by a stranger who continued on the way with them and explained the scriptures to them so that they would see the truth more clearly (Luke 24:25-27). It was only when this stranger shared a meal with them that they realized it was Jesus (vs. 32). Contrast this story with the one from Acts 9:1-9 (also written by Luke) where Saul is knocked off of his horse by the presence of Jesus Christ. This happened on the road to Damascus.

For some the call to ministry (or to the faith for that matter) is a sudden, life-jarring experience that knocks them down before showing them the way they should go. But others like me have a slow, gradual sense of growing purpose that is sometimes best understood in hindsight. ("Were not our hearts burning within us?" [Luke 24:32].) As I look back on my life I can see the hand of God at work guiding me along the path through my parents, Sunday school teachers, mentors, fellow clergy, and many, many others. There are times I wish I could point to a sudden, life-jarring experience, but I also treasure the thought that God has allowed me to grow in faith and understanding in ways that sustain my ministry today and which I hope are of service to others.

Though the roads to Damascus and Emmaus themselves run in different directions, they each arrive at a place where we may know God to be a real presence in our lives and a source of strength for the living of these days.

Prayer: God of Emmaus and of Damascus, of the gradual dawning of faith and of the sudden jolt of understanding, of the journey and of the destination, of the believer and of the one who wrestles, of the community and of the individual, we come to you in different ways bringing with us different needs, different questions, different circumstances. But you await us in all our diversity because you have never been far from us. For this we offer our thanks and praise, this and all days. Amen.

Saved By a Basket

Acts 9:19b-31

A future leader of God’s people was to be killed, but before that could happen he was placed in a basket which was used to transport him to safety. Of course I’m talking about the baby Moses. It was his mother who placed him in a basket in the River Nile to save him from death as commanded by Pharaoh. But there’s another future leader of God’s people who also was saved by a basket. We’ve read about it today in Acts, about Saul’s escape from Damascus. “After some time had passed,” we reading Acts, “the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket” (Acts 9:23-25).

Okay, so maybe it’s a stretch, but both Moses and Saul were called away from their previous lives to a form of service that neither had expected. Moses would lead the people out of slavery and on toward the promised land. Saul—later to be called Paul—would become a missionary evangelist for the gospel and an organizer of churches throughout the known world. In each case these men had to prove themselves to skeptics, had to overcome obstacles, had to show patience and determination. That each was saved at one point in part with the use of a basket seems very appropriate.

Scripture relates stories to us that are full of depth and texture. But we should expect that because the overall story is about a real God acting in the midst of real people.

Prayer: Lord, you have cared for us these many years, sharing your word with us through prophets, kings, apostles, missionaries, councils, men and women, young and old. Continue to bless us with your word, for it is the source of our strength and our salvation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Anti-Evangelism

Acts 9:1-9
For many the thought of evangelism, of sharing the faith with others and inviting them to become believers, can cause severe distress. We love the Lord, we say, but we aren’t the types to meddle in the affairs of others. We aren’t eloquent enough to share what we believe. That’s the minister’s job. And besides, all of our friends are members of churches or synagogues already. So we are often more than hesitant to share our faith with others, to evangelize.

Perhaps this makes our reading from Acts today seem all the more disturbing. “Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2). Why we may not be well motivated to share the faith, there was a day when Saul (later Paul) was more than happy to try and snuff it out. Let’s call it anti-evangelism, spreading the news that Christianity is not to be trusted, adhered to, or otherwise accepted.

I doubt we’d be likely to make the connection, but when we clam up and decline to share our faith with others we are committing a form of anti-evangelism, too. The world has plenty of options to offer, plenty of choices for folks to make in spending their time and money, in sharing their attention. To let the world make its offer without holding out the good news of the gospel as an alternative is the same as breathing threats and murder against the church. At least it can lead to the same results.

Saul was perfectly willing to round up Christians for punishment. The world is willing to snare folks for its own purposes. So why aren’t we willing to offer what we know to be better?

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to speak the good news and to share your love with all people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.