But now thus says the Lord, he who
created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have
redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you
pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall
not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the
flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the Lord
your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
This is a long passage and I want you to hear it first as a
whole. The Bible is one story, about God’s love for us and the twists and turns
that takes. It’s also a bunch of stories, each with its own integrity. So I
want to talk about this whole story before we dive in. We read earlier about
how Saul was an approving witness when Stephen was executed. We also read that
he was a leader in the persecution that drove Christians out of Jerusalem. Here
we continue the strange story of Saul.
Acts 9:1-9
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against
the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him
for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged
to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3Now as he was going along and approaching
Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell
to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?” 5He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6But get up and enter the city, and
you will be told what you are to do.” 7The men who were traveling
with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8Saul
got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so
they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9For three
days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10Now there
was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision,
“Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” 11The Lord said to him,
“Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look
for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12and
he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so
that he might regain his sight.”
13But
Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil
he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14and here he has authority
from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” 15But the
Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my
name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16I
myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
17So
Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said,
“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.” 18And
immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was
restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some
food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in
Damascus, 20and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the
synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21All who heard him were
amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those
who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing
them bound before the chief priests?” 22Saul became increasingly
more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that
Jesus was the Messiah.
23After
some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24but their plot
became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they
might kill him; 25but his disciples took him by night and let him
down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 26When
he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all
afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
27But
Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on
the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he
had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28So he went in and out
among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He
spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him. 30When
the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off
to Tarsus. 31Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and
Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the
comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
----------------------------------------------------------
Now that you’ve heard the whole
story, I want to focus on one part of it, but without losing the whole story
we’ve just read. As I’ve read and reread this passage the word that keeps
tugging at me is “instrument.” Maybe the first time you read or hear this
passage the word doesn’t make much of an impression. Can you remember where the
word “instrument” comes up in the passage?
The
Lord is talking to a disciple named Ananias. God tells him to go to Judas’s
house and there he’ll find a man named Saul, who is praying. Saul will be
expecting Ananias and Ananias is supposed to lay hands on Saul so he can get
his sight back.
Ananias
is taken aback. Saul is the biggest enemy of the church right now. He’s in
Damascus to arrest disciples of Jesus and take them to the chief priests in
Jerusalem. God tells Ananias: “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen
to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I
myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
That
word, “instrument” has been tugging at me all week, and even before. And then
it broke open for me in a whole new way through God’s amazing gift of music.
Maggie and I went to see Pink Martini on Friday as part of Jazz Fest. If you
don’t know Pink Martini, you really should. They’re incredibly eclectic. During
the concert on Friday they sang in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian
and Croatian. Most of their songs are jazz with female lead vocals. Some are
new renditions of old favorites and others are original. One piece was
basically straight up classical music with a violin and guitar. The band on
stage included a trumpet, trombone, violin, cello, piano, upright bass, guitar
and two drum sets as well as tambourines and such. The concert as a whole blew
me away and opened my heart and mind in some ways I’m not at the bottom of yet,
to say the least.
The
part of the show that’s related to our passage was a song called U Plavu Zoru,
which means “At Blue Dawn” in Croatian. The song starts out with an
unbelievable cello solo. Unbelievable, not because it is technically difficult,
though I’m sure it is, but because it’s so emotionally intense. For that moment
the cello is the whole world. It’s speaking right to your heart and all you can
do is listen totally captivated.
As
the piece moves on, the cello takes on a rhythm that reminds you of a train,
because the song is about a train taking the singer far away from someone she
loves. Then the cello steps out of the spotlight and becomes just a sound
effect of a train running on its tracks. The other instruments take over and
the cello disappears completely to make way for the rest of the band. That
piece and the show as a whole made me think a lot about what it means to be an
instrument.
What
is an instrument? Usually we think of musical instruments, but we can also
think about scientific instruments like test tubes and stirring rods. We can think
about architectural instruments like a straight edge and compass for drawing
buildings not yet built. An instrument is something that someone uses for a
purpose; it is a tool.
So
if Saul is God’s chosen instrument to proclaim the gospel, especially to
gentiles and people in power, that means that God will use Saul for that
purpose. And even though Saul is the author of a quarter of the New Testament,
it is not about him. He is a servant in a bigger story. Sometimes, like the
cello solo, he is the central voice. His teaching and preaching ministry was
important, and even early on, he was the target of criticism and persecution.
But even when he’s the center of a community or a book, the story isn’t his. He
is an instrument, not the composer.
As
I think about this passage and about instruments, I think also about the
lesser-known characters in this story. As far as I know, this is the only time
we hear about Ananias. But at a time when the world was turned upside down and
everything was dark for Saul, Ananias is the one who brought healing and hope.
Ananias was the one who first welcomed Saul to the community of disciples, who
restored his sight and baptized him into the body of Christ.
Barnabas made a brief appearance
earlier when he sold a field and gave the proceeds to the church. Here he
appears as Saul’s way in to the community in Jerusalem. We don’t know how he
and Paul met, but Barnabas believed him and helped convince other leaders he
could be trusted. Paul and Barnabas end up traveling together to spread the
good news. Ananias and Barnabas don’t have huge parts in the symphony of faith,
but without their roles, without them as instruments of God’s grace, the song
wouldn’t be the same.
The
community of faith is like an orchestra. Each instrument is important, but it
is the sound of the whole thing that matters most. For the whole orchestra to
sound good, every musician has to practice on their own with dedication and
they have to play their heart out on stage. At the same time, they also have to
put the whole ahead of themselves. They need to merge their sound with that of
their neighbors. Sometimes they have to hold themselves back so their
neighbor’s sound will come through more clearly. Sometimes, they have to be
totally silent for the sake of the overall effect, though even in silence, they
are part of the composition.
Sometimes
in your walk of faith you need to play a solo. Maybe there’s a friend who only
you can walk with, someone who needs the gifts and perspective that you have.
Other times you will have to hold back your own expression or desire to make
space for someone else. For instance, those of us with strong ideas sometimes
need to hold back so someone else can lead and grow through that experience.
And like with an orchestra, we can only be our best if each of us is committed
to practicing our faith all the time.
Today
celebrate leadership and about being instruments for God’s message of love. We
celebrate Pauline Braggins’ ordination anniversary. By spending much of her
life here as a committed member of the church Pauline grew in her faith. She
felt a call in her life and a need in the church for her gifts, so she was
ordained as an elder when women elders were quite rare. Years later, continuing
to sense God’s call to leadership, she went to seminary and was ordained, 28
years ago, as a minister of word and sacrament.
Pauline’s
ministry focused on working with older adults, but also included preaching the
word and working for justice. That work and witness continues today, because
Pauline is God’s beloved instrument, and God is not done with her yet.
As
we celebrate Pauline’s ordination, we also ordain two new elders to lead us in
this chapter of Laurelton’s life. Dale Ericson has been a deacon before and has
been feeling a call to get involved in ministry here in a new way. Karen
Simpson has a strong faith and has been finding ways to serve and get involved
since she came to Laurelton just over a year ago. She felt God’s call to serve
as an elder through her work on the nominating committee.
We also install four elders to new
terms today. Karen Kingsbury finished two terms on session recently, but felt
like there was still work God was calling her to do on session. Donna has
served faithfully over the last thee years and begins a new term today. Charlie
and Jan finished one-year terms and are continuing on session with new one-year
terms. While we aren’t taking any official action with our other elders today,
we also celebrate and give thanks for the continuing leadership of Sharon
Greaves, Scott Fralick and Ella Van Loon. And we give thanks for Bob Hicks, who
completes his term today and moves on to new areas of ministry that we will see
develop.
God has blessed Laurelton with
faithful, open and wise leaders in the past and today. These men and women are
instruments of God’s love, called to unlock your potential as ministers of the
gospel. If we continue the orchestra analogy, these folks are section leaders
who lead us as we play together. We each have gifts to use, roles to play and
space to grow as instruments of God’s good news. So let us play boldly and with
great love, as the beautiful symphony of grace unfolds.
Thanks be to God.
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