Sermons
A Message by the Rev. Harvey G. Throop
Palisades Presbyterian Church
San Diego, California
(4) THE APOSTLE: Transformation
(Galatians 1:11-17; Acts 9:19b-25)
"But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia and afterwards I returned to Damascus.”
(Galatians 1:16-17)
Every now and then, everyone experiences the need to call “Time Out” and get transitioned or re-transitioned on whatever it is we want our lives to be focused upon.
I appreciate a quotation attributed to Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline . He writes, “Superficiality is the curse of our age. …The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people” ( Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Harper Collins [New York, 1988].
The “deeper life” is something for which many among us yearn. Yet, it is also something for which most of us will not take the time to achieve. We're too busy … unless, of course, we are forced to experience a lengthy recuperation from a serious illness or debilitating injury. Then, with time on our hands, we are enabled to probe some of the deeper things in life.
We all need times of solitude, quietness and obscurity –concepts rather foreign to most of us who tend more to live our rather surface-level lives at a frenzied pace. Let's face it; we're just too busy!
When was the last time you set aside any meaningful time to commune with God, to ponder his word and to probe its meaning? If you're like most people, you probably can't remember.
Today, our focus continues on the life of Saul, following his Damascus Road encounter with the risen Christ and his meeting and baptism with Ananias. After a person has experienced a life-changing conversion, what comes next?
In a matter of the proverbial “blink of an eye,” God had transformed Saul from a vicious, Christian-hating murderer into a convert; from a man portrayed as a frightening terrorist, persecuting followers of Jesus, into becoming a passionate believer. What an incredible transformation!
But God had only begun. God's ongoing process of preparing Saul required time away for him to think through the implications of his newfound faith.
In Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter one, he writes of the experience he had following his Damascus Road experience and his meeting with Ananias. We read of that experience in this morning's Scripture reading.
There were two things that Paul goes out of his way to say that he did not do. First, he did not consult with flesh and blood, which is to say – with other people – to help shape his new theology. Second, he did not rush to Jerusalem to present himself to the apostles.
What Paul is saying is that he did not receive any learning from other followers of Jesus. He is telling us that he had been directly commissioned by Jesus. After all, where did he gain all his insight into the nature of the Gospel if not from his direct encounter with Christ?
Exactly where in Arabia Saul went we do not know. Most likely, he went just over the border from Damascus. He went there to be in solitude, quietness and obscurity before he returned to Damascus. It was during that time that Saul developed his theology, plumbing the depths and mysteries of Christ, the meaning of the resurrection and things related to the future. In essence, everything for Saul had changed!
From a hyperactive, always-on-the-go, never-settle-down “Type-A” personality, Saul set aside time to probe!
Several years ago, academy-award-winning actor, Tom Hanks, starred in a film many of us saw, entitled “Cast-Away.” In the film, Hanks plays the part of an executive with FedEx, whose fast-paced work took him on flights all over the world. While flying aboard a freight-heavy 747, he experiences the worst of his fears. The plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean not far from a tiny, uninhabited island. He is the lone survivor, and he washes ashore, bruised and shaken, but thankfully alive.
He will live – totally alone – on that remote piece of land for four years! The changes that occur within him are slow, but ultimately extensive. He goes through great bouts within himself, struggles too deep for words, and finally learns to live on the bare essentials of island existence.
Back home in the States, there's a funeral in his honor and life goes on without him.
How he escapes the island is intriguing (you have to watch the movie!), but the good news is that he is picked up by a ship and is, at last, returned safely to the now-unfamiliar world of life as it used to be. And he doesn't fit in at all. The changes that transpired within him are so radical, so all-consuming, he finds himself a different person – much deeper, much more observing, much less demanding – all because of the lessons he learned in solitude, quietness and obscurity.
So it was with Saul. For however long he was in Arabia, he was alone with God. How greatly he changed!
Well, God doesn't always require geographical isolation to teach us the lessons learned through solitude. But I do believe that we can grow deep through times deliberately set aside for quietness, reflection and meditation.
Saul did. I'm certain that during that time, he was able to see the darker side of himself and, against that background, to discover the greatness of God's mercy. Just as the scales had dropped from his eyes when he was ministered to by Ananias following his Damascus Road experience, so now, the scales of hatred fell from his heart as he gained a fresh glimpse into the mystery of God's plan.
By the time Saul left the solitude of Arabia, he was on his way to being transformed. Yet, he still had a long ways to go!
Luke tells us: “ For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:19,20).
Imagine it. Paul first came to Damascus to profane the name of Christ. Now he had come to preach the name of Christ. Previously, he came to Damascus to take followers of the Way as his prisoners. Now, these followers were making room for him in their homes.
Saul was amazing people with his turn-around. His listeners couldn't believe their ears! But, as the old saying puts it, “What goes around comes around.” In no time, his former friends became his enemies and Luke tells us that some “Jews plotted to kill him” (Acts 9:23).
When their plot became known, some fellow believers came to Saul's rescue, “took him by night, and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering in a large basket” (Acts 9:25). And Saul made his escape!
What an interesting way for Saul to begin his ministry. In the middle of his very first crusade, a threat on his life forces him to escape under the cover of night. It was a sign of things to come.
There would be many more attempts on his life before he was finished. But over the course of his life, God was going to transform him into one who was to become not only useful, but who would lay the foundation for the incredible growth the Church would experience.
Saul's story gives us a number of clues as to the way God transforms one into becoming a useful servant.
For one thing, I think we all have a need to carve out time to be alone with God. Saul went to Arabia. I don't know how exactly you and I can accomplish that. It probably involves, for starters, making time to turn off our cell phones, ipods, televisions and computers so that we can to take inventory of our lives and, perhaps, focus on what God would say to us. We mustn't wait for a doctor to tell us that we have only six months to live before we do that. Time spent in solitude prepares us for the inevitable challenges that life will bring to us.
For another thing, we need time to be quiet. Our world has become a noisy place. More and more, I've learned to enjoy the quiet of my early morning walks or the quiet in my car in between meetings and calls on people in the hospital, at nursing facilities and in private homes. I don't need constant noise to survive. None of us do.
When things are quiet, it's amazing the many thoughts that come to mind and the perspective on life that is regained. Some among us live amidst so much constant noise that we can't remember what it's like to be surrounded by silence.
Maybe you can set aside some time on a regular basis for a quiet walk around your neighborhood. The call to solitude and silence is a call that beckons to each of us. I believe that part of that is what happened to Saul in Arabia. He communed with God, who helped him figure out his life.
May each of us make time to allow God to cultivate within us a greater hunger for communion with him, and through that, come to experience a new and more authentic faith and dynamic discipleship.
"...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. "
(Ephesians 4:1-3)