February 14

The Road to Damascus

                Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The 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, and 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.”  But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But 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; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So 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.”  And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Acts 9:10-19

            Paul was the single greatest missionary in history.  He was a gifted speaker and writer with great organizational and administrative gifts.  He had a sharp mind, an unmatched zeal for God, an endurance that knew no end, and a sensitivity to the challenges of this life.  He could be fierce, antagonistic and arrogant; he could also be gentle, nurturing and patient.  His life was filled with great success as well as entire regions falling away, but at the end of the day he was transformational in the birth and development of the church.

            There would be no Paul without his Road to Damascus experience.  There would also be no Paul without Ananias.  Ananias knew Saul’s reputation and feared, but he heard God speak and was faithful to obey.  Saul knew God.  He knew the scriptures backwards and forwards.  He met Jesus a few days earlier.  Ananias embodied something that Saul was unfamiliar with…the Church.

            Church is not just a building.  It is not just a 501 c3 non-profit organization.  It is not even just a group of people who regularly meet together because they share a set of beliefs.  There are lots of groups who share each of those elements.  The church is a group of men and women, boys and girls, who come together to share life in the certainty that God is with them, now and forever.  Ananias said yes to restoring his enemy because he trusted God to take care of him in the present and to welcome him into eternity in the future. 

            The Church is based on Faith, not fear.  When the church is grounded in fear, it resorts to politics and power struggles, gossip and shaming, fighting to keep members from leaving and altering the gospel in order to grow in numbers.  When the church is grounded in fear, it has no use for the special needs community.  We are loud and disruptive, do not adhere to agendas very well and do not have time or money to pay for their building campaigns.

            However, when the Church is grounded in Faith, something magical happens.  There is space to be authentic because the service is a communal time, not a performance.  There are multiple people who are happy to welcome our children and comfort us as parents.  Structural and programmatic accommodations are not a fight as they are with the world, they are a group effort.  Our kids’ abilities are seen and encouraged and utilized.  There are prayers for healing and celebrations of victories.  There are prayers of lament and shared tears during the hard times and losses.  We can do all these things together because we believe that God is good and carries us in the now and the forever.  That is what Ananias was for Saul and that is what the church is supposed to be.

              

A moment to reflect:

How does your church care for you and your children?