To Live In Christ Is To Become AS Christ

 

The Conversion of Saul – Aelbert Cuyp – Cicra 1646

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles:

In those days, Saul, still breathing threats of death against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, authorizing him to bring back to Jerusalem all the men and women who followed the Way.

As he was approaching Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly enveloped him with its radiance. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The answer came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up, enter the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with him stood speechless; they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul rose from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could not see. They led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind and neither ate nor drank.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He replied, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said, “Go to the street called Straight and look in the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying, and he has seen a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man and the harm he has done to your faithful in Jerusalem. He has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call on your name.” But the Lord said, “Go, for he is an instrument I have chosen to bring my name before nations, kings, and the children of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my sake.”

So Ananias went, entered the house, and laid his hands on him, saying, “Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the way, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. He rose and was baptized. Then he ate and regained his strength.

He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus and began to preach in the synagogues, proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God.

- The Word of God.

✠

Today we are given the conversion of Saul, and his first steps into the life of “Paul,” the great missionary, the great disciple,... and one of the greatest pillars of the Church.

    What has always stood out with his conversion? He is an educated man, an intelligent man, and a man who fervently did his duty to his God; he pursued and persecuted Christians for his God.
    Then, in a single moment on the road, that same God changed everything and something happened.
He saw something.
He heard something.
And everything changed.
    The one who once persecuted now defends those once persecuted.

    When a change is that sudden and that profound, the question naturally follows: “What did he encounter!”?
    The only reasonable answer is that he truly experienced something real. We don't need to have it laid out in minute detail, as it was personal to him. But that is what it means to witness the Resurrection – a soul-changing encounter. Not a 20^th Century, psycho-babble “personal relationshitp,” but a transformative meeting.
    For some, the tendency is to bog down in details. They focus on how or when Christ rose. They count the hours or days of the crucifixion, or the number of hammer strikes on the nails. But the stronger testimony does not lie in such things, but in lives that are transformed into love BY the Risen Lord... and the resulting action.
    There is a saying that goes, “Holiness is not measured in words, or even in miracles, but in a changed life.”
    When a life changes, others begin to believe. People trust what they can see happening.
    When someone proclaims Christ, on the other hand, but lives in contradiction of that, belief fades. Words, pointing fingers and arguments alone do not persuade for long.
    That is why Saul, now Paul, stands as one of the greatest and holiest of witnesses to the risen Christ. His life, itself, became the evidence. The invitation to us is simple - but demanding...

”Change begins in one’s own life.”

    Many speak about God; they preach, or teach and insist they hve it all figured out and others better listen to them. Social media is filled with these folks. But few live it in a visible, consistent way. Odds are good if they do – you won't hear them much at all.

    I mean, it is easy to say, “God loves you,” and pluck verses from the Bible, yet fail to show the same love that Christ would have.
    One may say, “Keep calm and trust in the Lord,” yet live with impatience, harshness, loathing, belittling others and acting as if one is superior to them.
    The message of Chirsts love must be proven in one's life.
    Paul finally and truly encountered God through Christ - and his way of being changed. That remains the measure.
    Experiences, visions, or strong feelings may seem real enough, but their truth is revealed in transformation.    
    When a person truly encounters what is holy, something within them becomes different. Their actions, their character, and their way of relating to others reflect that. Over time, they begin to resemble what they love.
    So if what you get from them is something other than Christ's love, in the same manner of Paul, you must suspect their intent. Their many words simply don't cut it.
    So the call today is not only to speak the Word, but to BE it – to live it. Not simply to repeat what Christ said, or spout verses to win arguments... but to embody it.
    Because in the end, a life that is a doorway, or better yet, a window to the crucified, resurrected and glorified Word, well... that speaks more clearly than mere words and rhetoric ever can.

    Glory to the Father, to The Son and to The Holy Spirit.
+ May the Spirit of the Lord descend upon you and accompany you for all your days.
Amen