Celebration of the Minor Festival of St Paul’s Conversion at Epiphany on January 25, 2009

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" ⁵ "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. ⁶ "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." ⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. ¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. ¹¹ The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." ¹³ "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." ¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." ¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord-- Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here-- has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

The Damascus Road

You sit a few feet from a man on death row. Jewish by birth. Tentmaker by trade. Apostle by calling. His days are marked. You are curious about what bolsters this man as he nears his execution. So you ask some questions.

Do you have family, Paul? I have none.

What about your health? My body is beaten and tired.

What do you own? I have my parchments. My pen. My cloak.

And your reputation? Well, it’s not worth much. I’m a heretic to some, a hero to others.

Do you have friends? I do, but most of them can’t visit for fear they’ll end up here, too.

Any awards? Not on earth?

Then what do you have Paul? No belongings. No family. Criticized by some. Mocked by others. What do you have, Paul? What do you have that matters?

Paul leans back against the wall of his cell and smiles. I have Jesus. He’s all I have. But He’s all I need. 

I was a Pharisee who had persecuted Jews who was called to carry Jesus’ name to Gentiles. I had believed that salvation is in doing works of the law, and I taught that salvation is by faith in Christ alone. I had persecuted followers of the Way and put them to prison, and now I have found my way into prison.

You want to ask Paul how this happened. When did the change take place in you? What happened to make you a changed man? But before you can ask, Paul offers his story. If you want the whole story, he says, you can find it in my friend, Luke’s epistle, “The Acts of the Apostles.” My name was different, then. Everything was different then. You see, it all happened on the Damascus Road.

I had been on a murderous rampage toward Damascus. I charged north out of Jerusalem with my blood boiling. I was borderline out of control. My fury had intensified almost to the point of no return. Such bloodthirsty determination and blind hatred for the followers of Christ drive me hard toward my distant destination, 150 miles to the northeast – Damascus. A follower of Jesus living anywhere near Jerusalem did not want to hear me knocking on their door.

I was so zealous for the traditions of my fathers (Gal 1:14) that I took it upon myself to stamp out this new religious movement called the Way. I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. Arrest some of these Christians, kill a few, and rest would surely give up their faith.

But then my murderous journey was brought to a divine halt. On the Damascus Road, I was slain. Struck down. Stopped dead in my tracks. A blinding light from heaven flashed around me and I fell to the ground, terrified. Then a booming voice spoke to me – the voice of the Crucified and Resurrected One. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And suddenly the shoe is on the other foot. The arrester is arrested. The slayer is slain. I got up, but my eyes no longer worked. No doubt, divine punishment for my past deeds.

And for three days, I was without sight. For three days I neither ate nor drank. For three days – the same number of days in my dark tomb that Jesus was in His.

Then after three days, Saul was dead. Paul was raised. I was given my sight back. I was given a new life back. I was baptized. This was no divine punishment. This was grace. And through the grace of this death to sin and resurrection to faith, I was forever changed. I was no longer a persecutor, but a preacher. I wasn’t simply given my old life back – a life to improve, a life that I was to change, a second chance to feel good about myself. No. I was given a new life. A different life.

You are in Paul’s jail cell. You look at him. You see a sinner, but God sees a saint. You know others had experienced Saul the persecutor, but then they experienced Paul the preacher. Paul admits that he had been a murderer of Christians, but God made him into a missionary to Jews and Gentiles.

You think about what happened to Paul on that Damascus Road. What happened out there? What could have changed him so completely? You know that no amount of exhortation, or urging, or instruction, could ever have changed Paul. And it cannot change us. If Jesus and His Scriptures are simple aides for our self-help and self-improvement, then it is no wonder that they are so ignored. They simply become guilt-inducing reminders of our weakness and our failure, the same as our broken New Year’s resolutions and the dust-covered exercise machine in the corner of the basement.

No. Paul didn’t need instruction – he was already very well-educated. Paul didn’t need encouragement – he was already very zealous. Just like you sitting in these pews are already well-educated and hard workers. More instruction and encouragement is not what you need! What you need is a new life. A life that will not wear out. A life that will not change. A life that will not be defeated by disease or violence. A life that is not obsessed with itself and characterized by greed and self-preservation. A life that is based on free and full forgiveness. What people need – what you need – is the Damascus Road.

You can see your breath in Paul’s jail cell. It’s cold in Rome this time of year. There is a frozen puddle of water on the floor. You look at it and see your reflection. What do you see? You see a husband who has failed his wife. You see a mother who her disappointed her children. I see a pastor who has faltered in his ministry. We see a creation who has failed his Maker. Again. And again. You were quiet when you should have been bold. You spoke your mind when you should have been silent. You took a seat when you should have taken a stand. You followed sin instead of following the leading of the Holy Spirit.  

Your eyes see faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see guilt. Your faith sees Christ’s blood. Your eyes see your grave. Your faith sees a city whose Builder and Maker is God. Your eyes see a sinner, a failure, a promise breaker. But by faith you look at the reflection in that frozen puddle and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.

You are crying now. Tears of sorrow and repentance. Tears of joy and forgiveness. You can’t see real clearly through the tears, so it looks like the prison cell suddenly looks larger. It looks like there are others in the cell with you and Paul. They are familiar faces. You know these people.

Over there is a council member. He has worked hard and prayed harder, but now he’s afraid. Stocks are down; inflation is up; business is bad. Beneath his flannel shirt lies a timid heart. Over there is a woman from the Home Guild who just learned she has breast cancer. The Morrison’s little girl has a hole in her heart. Sam and Louise are thinking of divorce. Sandy has tried her best to cover the bruises left by her drunken husband. The teenager in the back feels like he is pulled in two directions – parents and church pulling one way, peers and glands pulling another. You can see in the faces of others that they are hurting – hurting from an unresponsive spouse, a boring job, a poor grade, ailing parents. The lonely, the dying, the discouraged, the exhausted, they are all here. They are all in our congregation. And we need to journey with all of them onto the Damascus Road.

When you sit next to the hospital bed of a dying saint, holding her hand and praying for the Lord’s grace and forgiveness, we are on the Damascus Road. When you sit in your easy chair doing your daily Bible readings, you are mining the gems of God’s Scriptures. You are on the Damascus Road. In counseling, when I pound with God’s Law to break the stony heart of sin or when I soothingly apply the salve of God’s Gospel to the heart broken by sin, I am taking others with me on the Damascus Road. When life-giving baptismal waters are applied to the child born dead in sin; when Christ’s body and blood are offered to the weak and despairing; whether we sit in a congregation of 200 or 20, we are journeying with others on the journey of the Damascus Road. With the stained glass windows, the words of our hymns, the familiar texts of our liturgies, even the sounds of the pipe organ, we are journeying with our fellow believers on the Damascus Road.

Here on the Damascus Road, Christ’s Light shines. Christ’s voice is heard. Lives are changed. Faith is granted. Souls are converted. Spirits are sanctified. Death and resurrection take place on this road.

We don’t need fancy gimmicks. We don’t need church growth movements. We don’t need motivational seminars. We need God’s Word. We need God’s Sacraments. We need Christ. He gives us these on the Damascus Road.

Here on the Damascus Road, we meet Jesus. Here on the Damascus Road we come before the Savior who never turned away any person who turned to Him for help. We come to see the Christ who has never been too busy or too tired to meet the needs of suffering souls. He hears the cries of the needy. He quenches the throats of thirsty. He alleviates the sadness of the heartbroken. He brings peace to the frightened; joy to the depressed; and friendship to the lonely.

Your debts may be piling up, but Jesus is storing up your treasures in heaven. The cold and ice and snow may be depressing, but Jesus is leading you to the Promised Land of green pastures, quiet waters, and perfect weather. Your sin and guilt may be binding you, but Jesus has removed your sin and broken the shackles of your guilt. Your marriage may be faltering, but Jesus has enough unconditional love to rescue any failing marriage. Jesus breaks your addictions, takes care of your family, and wipes away your tears.

You will never find anyone who falls outside the circle of His care and compassion; who is beyond the reach of His cross and crucifixion. He loves those who rejected Him; reaches out to those who would not be gathered; forgives those who called for His crucifixion; and is gracious even to those who were zealous in His persecution.

You are in that Roman prison cell visiting your friend Paul. He had been Saul the Persecutor, but made Paul the Christian through the work and Word of Jesus. Paul the Christian made Paul the Apostle, not because he decided on his calling, but because the Lord called him to be an apostle. The Lord converted Paul from the chief of sinners into the missionary to the Gentiles.

You think about all that happened to your dear friend, Paul. It wasn’t the words of man that saved Paul. Man’s word could offer Paul tips on anger management. Man’s word could suggest that Paul use other outlets for his zeal or other ways to deal with those pesky Christians. But only God’s Word could raise Paul from death to life. Only God’s Word could turn him from enemy to child. Only God’s Word could make blind Paul see … in more ways than one (Acts 9:7-18).

It is this Word of God that you and I get to use every day. It is this Word of God that brings light to dark souls. It is this Word of God that heals the hurting, brings peace to the troubled conscience, and offers comfort to the grieving. It is this Word of God that causes the blind see, turns the enemy into a child, brings the dead to life, and even changes a trespasser into a pastor.

Travel the Damascus Road. Make this road well-traveled. For there we meet Jesus. In the end, like Paul in his prison cell, Jesus may be all we have. But He is all we need. Amen.