Sermon Index
May 1, 2022, The Third Sunday of Easter
First Lesson Acts 9:1–22
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.” 11And 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, 12and 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.” 13But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15But 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. 16For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17So 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.” 18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19and taking food, he was strengthened.
For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
If you want to know how a new food tastes, you have to come to the dinner table. If you want to understand a culture, you need to visit that country. If you want to understand Christianity, you must enter the chapel on Sunday morning. If you want to understand the Bible, you have to enter into the pages and become Moses or David or Paul or Peter. As we read about Peter, we must see how we are like Peter. We become Peter and the Risen Lord speaks to us words of forgiveness and strength. As we read about the conversion of Saul, we will clearly hear the word of the Holy Spirit when we become Saul who becomes St. Paul.
Saul starts the day full of confidence and self-righteousness. He believes in his heart that he is doing the work of God. He is even backed up by the religious authorities in Jerusalem. They gave him “ 2 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. ” Persecuting the believers in Jesus was evil, but he thought it was good.
I do not want you to become like this Saul. But even we Christians have to be careful. In the history of the Christian Church, a lot of evil has been done, and is even being done today by those who think they are pleasing God by their actions. We Lutherans remember how the Church in Rome tried to destroy the Reformers, or how they burned John Huss at the stake as a heritic for his reforms a hundred years earlier. They thought they were right doing this. Even today, for example, religion is used to destroy political enemies. It is easy to be wrong. Take a few Bible passages out of context and you have God on your side! In humility, we have to be careful. Of course, we are stubborn and bull-headed. I know, I admit that I am. Sometimes that is good. Most Christians have to be strong-willed to survive in this evil world. It is hard to know what to believe sometimes. And so we need prayer and a visit from the Risen Lord.
“ 3 Now as Paul went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Fear and dread, he fell to the ground and probably tried to cover his head. Saul was convicted. He feared for his life. He was a sinner in the presence [hands] of an angry God. [Jonathan Edwards in 1741.] The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah said, “6:5 “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”” Woe is me!
When the Risen Lord appears to us in Word and Sacrament, when we confess that we are sinners, we should be like Saul and Isaiah. Fear and trembling [Philippians 2:12]. As Martin Luther explains the Ten Commandments, we sinners must “Fear, love, and trust in God above all things” [First Commandment, meaning]. There will be a time when we will be like a little sheep following Jesus as our Good Shepherd. But when God cracks open our sinful hearts, when he confronts us with the blinding light of Judgement by the Word of God, for sinners: it is a time of holy fear. It is time, like Saul, to humble ourselves before God. Perhaps to knee in our pew. But with the wrath of God there is the love of God. He will send to us someone like Ananias.
And then we can become the new Saul who took the new name of Paul, St. Paul. It is a beautiful conversion story. “17So 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.” 18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.””
When the Holy Spirit reveals the Gospel of Forgiveness to us, it is like scales falling from our eyes. We see our old sinfulness. We repent. We are baptized, or return again to our baptism for cleansing and a new birth. The light of the Gospel reveals the love of God. We no longer persecute others or put shackles on them, we proclaim the Gospel of freedom and liberation.
When we enter into the Bible and encounter the Risen Lord, we become the new Saul, the new St. Paul.
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church