As most of you have heard, we began a new Sunday school class for the adults called Faith Walks. Each week, two volunteers present the story of their spiritual journey, or how their faith was formed. We decided to do this because most people find it interesting to hear other people tell their stories. In fact, last week we had about 40 people there, probably because I was giving my talk, and they all wanted to hear how I used to be a no-good, low-down, dirty, rotten cheat and a scoundrel, until I was struck by a bolt of lightning, and turn my life around, so I could became a good and saintly Episcopal priest. (Yup! Just like Hank Williams...) But I think my talk must have disappointed some folks, because afterwards someone said, “I remember back when you first came to this church. You seemed like just an ordinary schmoe to me then. Then you surprised us all and went to seminary. And you know what? You’re still an ordinary schmoe. Only now, you have a collar.”
Life sure has a way of throwing us a curve ball. We start out, listening to our parents and our teachers, and try to figure out our calling in life. Maybe we join the band. Maybe we’re good in sports. Maybe we like accounting or science. One way or another, we try to learn what we’re good at so we can make a life. Then somewhere along the way, something happens.
Take today’s reading from Acts. One day a guy named Saul is traveling to Damascus. Now Saul is a very faithful Jew – he went to the best schools, he spoke both Greek and Hebrew, he studied Jewish law under the best teachers, he took his faith very seriously. So seriously that be became an enforcer of the Law, something like a prosecuting attorney for the synagogues. Saul was good at what he did. He would round up people who considered themselves disciples of Jesus, and arrest them. Then he’d take them to the Jewish authorities where they were tried, and often times killed.
Then one day, something happens. Saul is traveling on his way to Damascus, carrying arrest warrants for some of the disciples, when he sees a blinding flash of light. He is struck down, and confronted by the voice of Jesus. "Get up and go... and you will be told what to do." Meanwhile, Ananais, one of the followers of Jesus, is given a new mission to find Saul, heal him, and care for him. Meanwhile, Ananais, one of the followers of Jesus, is in Damascus. He also hears the voice of Jesus say, "Get up and go." He is given a new mission to find Saul, heal him, and care for him.
Saul has been thrown a curve ball. One minute, he is an up and coming scholar and enforcer of the Law. The next, he is struck blind and totally dependent on the kindness of someone else. He has been confronted by those he would have arrested, and was completely upended. He was blind, he was in a strange place, and he had no idea what to expect next.
People who lose a job, or who are suddenly stricken with a sudden illness, know what it is like to be Saul. One minute, things are going well. We are confident of who we are and sure of our place in the world. We are a father or mother, a business person, a manager, a mechanic. We are able to provide for our families. We are living lives that mean something. The next minute, something happens, and we learn that our employers can get along without us, or we wake up in a hospital bed. We find ourselves in a strange place, and have no idea what to expect next. We toss and turn at night. We walk from place to place looking for work. We think, and then we pray. That is when we might hear the voice saying, “Get up and go...” because I need you to do something for me.
Get up and go... Sound familiar? This is a “call story” – we might call it “the Call of Saul.” For just as surely as the disciples were called to lay down their nets and follow Jesus, so was Saul. The disciples were fishermen, whose skills God repurposed to fish for people. In the same way, Saul’s skills of prosecution and debate, and his knowledge of Greek and Jewish society were repurposed by God to build the Church, instead of tearing it down. It seems that that’s the way of God. Just when we think we’re doing what we’re best at, God calls us to get up and go, using our skills in a new way. And in case after case, once we make that transition, we are living happier, richer and more fulfilling lives. How many times have we heard of someone who was laid off, but found a different way of making a living where they had more time for their family? Or about someone who has transformed an illness into a ministry of comfort for others who are in need. In every case, God calls us and transforms us into more Christlike citizens of the kingdom of God.
But there’s more. Because the Church is also called to use its gifts and talents in new ways. We are called to be more open and welcoming to those who have backgrounds different from our own. Just as Ananais was called to set aside his biases and prejudices against Saul, and to heart and mind on teaching Saul how to be more Christlike, so the Church is also called to welcome those from different backgrounds and traditions. We are called to try new ways to reach those who are not part of any community. That might mean new kinds of music, or new ways of teaching, or new ways of worship. It might mean finding more ways to serve in our community. But the point is that we are called to reach out and show, by our example, what it means to be Jesus in the world.
Two people were transformed on that day in Damascus; two people were called into a new way of life and they changed the world. To what new vision of Christ are we called? To what new ministries are we invited? What will be our answer when we hear the voice that says, “Get up and go, because I need you to be doing something new?”
Thanks be to God.
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