A sermon from The Rev. Dr. David A. Marcus, Jr. preached on May 25, 2008. This sermon addresses the lessons we learn from the conversion experience of Saul and how we can share the gospel message with others.
Acts 9:1-19
Many of us here this morning will remember the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger was a long-running, radio and television show (221 television episodes to be exact) that ran from 1949 until 1957. Each episode began with the following announcement:
A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty ‘Hi-ho Silver away!’
In this age where comic book superheroes like Ironman come to life on the big screen the Lone Ranger was the first superhero for many generations. I always enjoyed watching episodes that ran in syndication with my father on Saturday mornings growing up. The Lone Ranger was different from other cowboy heroes. Noticeably different was the mask he wore that concealed his true identity. The history of the Lone Ranger is a very interesting one. John Reid was once a member of a band of Texas Rangers led by his older brother. During a particular gunfight, the Cavendish gang ambushed the Rangers and they killed everyone, or so they thought. Reid was only one who survived. A Native American named Tonto came upon Reid’s bloody and battered body. Ironically the two had met years ago as children when Reid had rescued Tonto from being killed. Tonto nursed Reid back to health, and together they would pursue Cavendish and other outlaws of the Wild West, not to kill them but to bring them to justice. Reid created a facemask from his dead brother’s vest and changed his identity from John Reid to that of the Lone Ranger. The mask created a new personality for him. The mask became the mark and sign of the Lone Ranger. People in that show wanted to know the true identity of the Lone Ranger. Every episode after the bad guys were tied up, the Lone Ranger and Tonto would ride off into the sunset, leaving the rescued people to ask the infamous question, “Who was that masked man?”
In this morning’s Scripture lesson from Acts, we are able to see the person who Paul was before his mask of hatred and prejudice was removed. The apostle Paul is one of the most important humans to have ever lived in my opinion. He led the church into a worldwide movement, formulated its theology and shaped its destiny. Without Paul, or someone like him, the infant church would not have grown into its spiritual and intellectual maturity. I have often marveled at how God decided to use one of the most unlikely persons to become one of Christianity’s greatest missionaries. The journey of Saul issuing threats and murder against Jesus to proclaiming him as Son of God is truly an amazing one. As we explore this passage we see that Saul believed that Jesus was a false messiah. Saul thought Jesus was someone other than the Son of God. He saw Jesus as a threat to Judaism and to the faith of Israel. Saul believed that Jesus and his proclaimed title of “Messiah” merely masked a person who was in partnership with Satan to destroy Judaism. For this reason, Saul was appointed to head the effort to rid Jerusalem of Jesus’ followers. Saul accepted this position with delight. Arguably he was the most zealous of those persecuting the early church. Saul was committed to hurting the growth of the early church as much as possible. He would enter house after house, and drag men and women off to jail because they were followers of Jesus.
As the events unfold in this chapter of Acts we see that the real masked man in the story was Saul. As Saul began his journey to Jerusalem there was a sense of growing uneasiness along the way. As Saul was determined to purge Israel of the followers of Jesus, many of his encounters with Jesus’ disciples left him with questions. Saul could not help but notice how resolute these people were. As a person of iron will, he felt in many ways he had met his match when Jesus’ followers seemed undaunted by his threats and actions. How could belief in a carpenter from Galilee produce such strong willed and devout people he might have thought to himself? As I think about this I am reminded that Jesus once told his followers that it is hard to see a speck in someone else’s eye if you have a log in your eye. In order for Saul to see the real Jesus, the log in his own eyes had to be removed and this was done when he was first struck blind. How ironic that Saul, the stalker of the disciples, became the one who was caught. The hunter became the hunted or so we think. In the middle of Saul’s blindness Jesus’ true identity is revealed to him. For three days Saul remained blind and he neither ate nor drank anything. Through this state of blindness Saul’s blind fear and rage is changed as he must rely upon others to assist and care for him, including those whom he was trying to persecute. When at last the blinded Saul was led to Judas’ house in Damascus he must have felt very alone, not sure what Jesus has in store in his future. He was without sight and for the first time in his life he was without the hate that had driven him to persecute the followers of Jesus. Ananias, under instruction from Jesus was asked to lay hands upon Saul so he can see again. While Ananias protested, Jesus assured him that Saul would be his representative to Gentiles, Kings and Jews.
One of the most moving scenes in this Scripture passage (perhaps of all Scripture) is what happened when Ananias goes to Saul. He found the feared persecutor alone, blind and helpless. All the hurt and fright Ananias had felt for what this man had done to his brothers and sisters in Christ drained away in an instant. The same Lord who told him to go to Saul now lived within him. He could sense that Saul now carried with him love and compassion for those he had been persecuting. It was with compassion that Ananias says to Saul:
“Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Verse 17)
With these words his vision returned, both the blindness of his eyes and the blindness of his heart were healed in this very moment. There are several lessons for us this morning to learn through the conversion of Saul to Paul. Among them are the following:
1. Life really begins with a divine encounter with Jesus Christ. We are either being prepared for this encounter or we are living in the assurances of it.
2. God has a plan for every life which we discover only after we have placed our trust in Him.
We do not need to experience blindness in our lives to allow Jesus to heal our hatred or hurt. We only need to let him into our hearts and ask him to guide us. Through our faith in Christ we will be able to remove the masks which we may wear in our daily lives. As we think about masks which we may wear, in the book Simple Words the author Aidin Steinsalts wrote that we always play different roles in our lives and that we wear masks almost all the time. Humans are never completely vulnerable he contends. It is part of our human nature. We assume roles that may sometimes not really be who we are. We also deeply care about how others see us and want to protect that image especially if it is positive. Our challenge this day is to remove our masks so that we can show our true Christian colors. We often hear colors mentioned when we talk about gangs. Gang members are not embarrassed to show their colors. They do so proudly. Colors, names, numbers and clothing are all means of identification as belonging to a specific gang community. Wearing these items assures them acceptance into their family. Wearing your colors outside your gang’s territory can be dangerous it is often seen as a threat to members of other gangs. In spite of this danger, their colors are still worn proudly. How proudly do we show our Christian colors?
We should follow instructions of Scripture from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (6:13-17) when he wrote:
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
As the armor of God was being placed upon Saul, we learn from his experience that conversion never happens in a vacuum of independence. Conversion leads to a declaration of interdependence. The concluding verse of this passage from Acts reiterates this point in a dramatic way. Verse 19 shares with us that Saul spent some days with the disciples who were at Damascus. In that single verse we see how alive the Holy Spirit was in the church as a person was freed from their hatred and the disciples were suddenly freed from their fear. Together they would venture out to share the gospel in remarkable ways.
Tomorrow we celebrate Memorial Day. There is a story about two soldiers who were released from a prison camp near the end of World War II. Transportation was limited because of the threats of bad weather along with the possibility of further attacks. For this reason the remaining soldiers who were to board the last boat were told they could bring only one piece of luggage. There were two soldiers who had been together throughout the war and looked out for each other. They were both Christians and had often prayed together during their years together on the battlefield and in prison. Only one of the soldiers was selected to go, while the other was forced to stay behind and wait for a later boat that may or may not have arrived. The first soldier upon learning that only one piece of luggage could be taken emptied his duffel bag of all his personal possessions and told his friend to step into the bag. With a great deal of effort, he lifted the bag onto his back and carried his most important item of luggage onto the ship. As this story illustrates there are certain moments in our lives that reveal our true colors and priorities in life.
For Christians one of the most important priorities in life is spending time with God and time spent serving God. Throughout Scripture we see that Saul lived out his faith passionately whether he was persecuting Christians or proclaiming Christianity. Either way, he was not afraid to show his colors, even if it meant his own suffering.
The Lone Ranger wore a symbol that transformed his identity from that of an unknown to a famous crusader for justice. There is a symbol in our lives that we can’t take for granted. This symbol transforms our identity from an individual to a member of God’s family. Our symbol is not the mask of a dead brother’s vest. It is the symbol of the cross. We should never forget that Jesus is our blood brother. During the week ahead let us venture out and show our Christian colors. Rather than wearing masks, let us remove them and proclaim Jesus’ love to those around us.
Finis
The Rev. Dr. David Allen Marcus, Jr.