Acts 9,1-10. The 12. Sunday after Trinity

In the Name of Jesus

Acts 9,1-10[11-20]

12. Trinitatis 057
Paphnutius, Bishop of Thebes, Egypt † 335
11. September 2011

1. O Holy Spirit, Comforter of the Church, we grieve when foes bring tribulations our way. Our weak, sinful flesh enjoys peace and prosperity but complains when hardship and trials come our way. Rightly do we sympathize with Ananias who was concerned about helping the Church’s notorious persecutor. Nevertheless You assured Ananias of Your Providence, and likewise You comfort us all the same. May we faithfully respond: „Here I am, Lord.“ and help those who assail us on account of our faith in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

      2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Acts of the Apostles according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: ¹But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, „Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?“ ⁵And he said, „Who are you, Lord?“ And He said, „I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.“ ⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. ¹⁰Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, „Ananias.“ And he said, „Here I am, Lord.“ ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your Name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My Name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My Name.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; ¹⁹ and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. ²⁰ And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”   This is our text.
            3. Jesus taught His disciples: »I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no one comes to the Father except through Me.« (John 14,6). Thus, the first Christians (A.D. 36) soon called themselves „the Way“ probably in honor of Jesus being the Way to the Heavenly Father and salvation. Acts 9 recounts how Saul, soon to be known as Paul, approved the killing of Stephen, undertook the roundup of other Jewish Christians, urged them to reject Jesus as the Christ, and if they refused to recant then they were killed. He was on his way to Damascus to gather up more Jewish Christians and send them back to Jerusalem bound where they would await trial before Caiaphas – the same high priest who had condemned Jesus to death.
            4. The first century Christians might have called Saul a „terrorist“. Do you remember what you were doing ten years ago today? I was on my way to a pastors circuit meeting in the Indianan farm town of Hebron. Later that afternoon I was scheduled to see the dentist for a checkup and cleaning. America changed that day. In Hebron we prayed for our nation and those affected by the attacks and then adjourned. My dental appointment was cancelled. If you could ask Paul what happened on 25. January 36, he would proudly say that was when he encountered the risen Jesus on the Damascus Way. On that day Jesus called Saul to be the great apostle to the Gentiles. Ananias preached the gospel to Saul, healed his blindness and baptized him in the Triune Name of God. The Apostle Paul would later tell the Corinthian Christians: »For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.« (1. Corinthians 15,9-10).
            5. Grace makes all the difference. Paul had thought he was obeying and keeping the law when he handed Jewish Christians over to death by the hands of the Sanhedrin. Yes, he had blood on his hands, but Paul did not consider himself a murderer under the law, for he was simply following the decree of the high priest. Paul was doing God’s will, and sometimes that means killing people. The Old Testament is replete with similar instances. Similarly, nineteen members of al-Qaeda thought the same way ten years ago today. They did not consider themselves terrorists, for they were simply doing the will of Allah, and being faithful to the Qur’an and the example of Mohammed. They were killing in the name and for the honor of Allah.
            6. It is certainly true that Yahweh at times has ordered or allowed the death of His enemies or idolaters. Yahweh commanded Israel to attack the Canaanite cities of Heshbon and Bashan, and ordered that the cities be destroyed, and every man, woman and child was to be killed (Deuteronomy 2,34; 3,6). Songs were sung of Kings Saul and David: „Saul has struck down his thousands of Philistines and David his ten thousands!“ (1. Samuel 18,7). The Prophet Elijah ordered that the 450 prophets of Baal be slaughtered (1. Kings 18,40). The great sin of those thus killed by Yahweh’s command was idolatry – the worship of gods other than the One, True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. These are harsh words for us to hear and understand for we have been raised in a Western culture that prides itself on religious freedom and abhors any violence done against people because they worship a different god or no god at all.
            7. Paul reasoned that his actions against the Jewish Christians were in line with the commands given by Yahweh to Israel. Paul’s mind, however, was changed when the risen Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus Way. Paul was not arresting and killing idolatrous Jews who had rejected the God of Israel, but in fact Paul was persecuting and murdering faithful Jews who were rightly worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel – the very Son of God, Jesus the Christ and promised Messiah. Paul was not doing God’s will, but he was actively opposing God’s will and had made himself a condemned murderer who was not merely persecuting Christians but the very risen Jesus Christ Himself!
            8. God’s grace in Jesus saved Paul. Yes, he had persecuted Jesus and His dear Christians. Yes, he had the blood of Christian martyrs on his hands and was therefore guilty of breaking the commandment: »You shall not murder« (Exodus 20,13). Yes, Paul was guilty of idolatry, for he was worshipping a God other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel revealed in Jesus who is God and man. Nevertheless, Jesus died for Paul and his many sins. Jesus rose from the grave to also give a sinner like Paul everlasting life and salvation. Paul was forgiven, even before He had known it and believed it. Ananias proclaimed this gospel to Paul; then Paul believed, was baptized and was saved.
            9. Forgiveness is an important theme in Christianity. Most religions do not have such a well-defined concept of forgiveness. Christianity’s forgiveness is active, for it is centered upon the single act of sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross where He paid the price and the penalty for sins, sinfulness, and the sinful nature. Forgiveness, then, flows from this shed blood of Jesus as the world’s vicarious and penal sacrifice. The first century Christians forgave Paul for persecuting the Church, Paul forgave those who persecuted him as a Christian apostle, and we forgive others. Jesus has taught us to pray: »and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us« and that if your brother »sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying: „I repent,“ you must forgive him« (Luke 11,4; 17,4).
            10. Thus we arrive at the most difficult task that faces our nation and we as American Christians: we need to forgive our enemies and pray for those who malign us. Yes, the Holy Scriptures exhort us to forgive those Muslims who have, and still do, desire to attack and kill innocent American men, women and children. In many instances, such forgiveness will go unreciprocated and unmerited. Perhaps our enemies will sneer at us, think us weak and repay loving-kindness with spiteful hatred.
            11. Let our foes think us weak, consider us infidels worshipping the wrong god and plot our demise. What others consider complete foolishness and utter weakness is our greatest strength. Our faith is established upon the crucified and risen Jesus Christ whose love and forgiveness is far stronger than any might or power wielded by man: be it force of arms or religious zeal.
            12. Six years after Jesus ascended back to heaven, the Church’s great first century foe, Saul of Tarsus, was called by Jesus to faith in Him. Saul the Persecutor became Paul the Apostle and the forgiveness and grace Jesus worked upon him and through him still forms a formidable bulwark twenty centuries later that the great worldly and religious powers continue to smash against to no avail yet today.
            13. Through our Heavenly Father’s left hand He uses our government, military, police, firemen and EMTs to keep us safe from those who seek us harm, and He uses their vocations to help us in time of need. Through our Heavenly Father’s right hand He uses His Church to preach the gospel and render spiritual comfort to those suffering. Let us pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. May our foes sue for peace and be converted unto the Christian faith.
            14. The Lord Jesus choose Paul to carry His Name before the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel (Acts 9,15). May the Holy Spirit raise up new 21. century Pauls for the glory and benefit of His Church, yes, raise you up to be a consolation to your neighbors as we remember the events of this day.  Amen.
            15. Let us pray. O Lord God, who is blessed for all eternity, inspire us to continually praise You with our mouths so that when we leave this house of prayer our lips daily speak kind, encouraging words to our neighbors.  Amen.