Introduction
Today the Church celebrates the Conversion of St. Paul - the story we heard read to us a moment ago by Pontus. To be converted means to be changed, to be turned around. Paul was turned around from being one who persecuted Christians, to becoming the main architect of the Christian mission to the gentiles.
The Story
The reading today tells one of the most well-known stories of the Early Church outside the Gospels. We see one man, Saul, who was a persecutor of the Early Christians. In the chapter before the one we heard today, Saul is placed at the stoning of the Deacon Stephen - the first Christian martyr. At the opening of today's reading we hear that Saul was "very angry" with the Lord's disciples. Some translations say that he was having "murderous thoughts".
This man asked permission from the High Priest to travel to Damascus to speak to the Jewish communities there. Saul was worried that the Christian heresy might spread there as there was a large Jewish community in Damascus. Saul, on the road to Damascus, experienced a bright burning light which left him blind. Scripture says that no one can see the Living God and so Saul is blinded by the light emanating from Jesus. Saul is puzzled, falls to his knees and asks who he is speaking to. He then encounters Jesus who turns his life upside down.
Saul is taken to Damascus and there he encounters a disciple called Ananias who instructs Saul in the faith, and baptises him. From then on Saul gives his life to follow Jesus and making Jesus known. As a sign of his conversion he changes his name to Paul. As a result of his radical commitment to following Jesus.
Conversion and Persecution
We are dealing with some potentially scary stuff here today. We are going to look at the topics of conversion and persecution. That's a lot for one day. But it's not possible to talk about St. Paul without discussing conversion and persecution. The link between the two topics is found in our understanding of Paul's "call." Paul's "call" in, the sense of "vocation," led to persecution. Paul was beaten, put in jail, and evaluated by the civil and religious authorities because the world-view that he presented challenged the world-view of those in power.
Paul's call, as described in Acts, was to bring the message of Jesus to all people, not just to the Jews so that they could live in the light. Paul's conversion was linked with his call to be a servant and a witness. He challenged the world-view of others because he would not be quiet. Conversion for Paul was not so much about his personal salvation, important though that was, as it was about his call to welcome all people into Christian community. Paul believed that he was sent to the Gentiles, "so that they may turn from darkness to light." For the pagan Gentiles, the darkness was their enslavement to the rules of idol-worship, to spirituality which was, no doubt, warm and fluffy, but which did not fulfil them. The light was their freedom found in God's unconditional love for them.
Conversion
"Conversion" is not a word that British people seem to be comfortable with. It means being turned around. We all know how irritating some kinds of Christians can be when they seek to share their faith. Often Christians can come across as being patronising and arrogant. Their understanding of conversion seems narrow and seems to condemn all those who do not experience God in the way that they described.
Talk of conversion can get stuck in the realm of personal salvation. Of course our own personal relationship with God is at the heart of all that we are as Christians, but conversion has a communal element to. We are converted to be part of a Christian community. We learn about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit - who themselves are a community, in the context of the community of believers called Church. All we know about God has been passed down to us from this community. It is only in community that our rough edges are knocked off as we are build up into being a Temple of living stones. It is only in community that we learn to offer, and accept, the help, love, prayers and concern of others. It is only in community that we learn about growing in love and discipleship. It is only in community that we find we are transformed. Satre said that Hell is other people. For Christians hell is avoided by our conversion and transformation in the context of being in community with each other.
In community we have to consider the needs of others. In community we learn to be more tolerant, to appreciate other points of view. In community we learn to accept help from others and we learn to offer that help to others too. Being converted, being turned around means we open our lives up to God and to other people. This happens not to make us doormats, but to make us open to God's Holy Spirit working directly within us and also working with other people in our lives and church.
Telling Others
British people are, generally, embarrassed about talking about God. Our relationship with God is precious and personal and sometimes we don't have the words to describe what we want to say. Our relationship with God is always personal, but it is never private.
St. Paul's life demonstrates that God's call is personal but it is not private. We do not come here today to celebrate the private spiritual life of a dead saint. We are here to celebrate the life-giving presence of God that Paul experienced and was called to share with the world.
We would not be here today if the life of faith were a private matter between an individual and God. People now are concerned with spiritual things - and that is good. They may light a candle, have a scented bath, play odd music, meditate - or at least attempt to, use essential oils and call all these things spiritual. They certainly help people relax and appreciate the otherness and beauty of life - but they are personal and private. They do not really help lead people into the radical discipleship that Paul had and which Jesus calls us to.
Paul talked about the message of God made known in Jesus. This was good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed. Paul shared the message that all people are equal. All people can have a relationship with God. Gentiles do not need to become Jews before they can know God. Paul talked about God's self-giving love. No one needs to worship idols and give money to idols to have blessings in life. Idols found in the temples do not have power. It is only God who has the power, and this power is freely given to all. Even the Roman emperor's power was not absolute. It is God who has the power to new life out of what was dead.
This message was, and is, good news for many and dangerous to some. If you were running a temple cult that made money from the fears and superstitious of the people, Paul's message was not good news. It was not good news because it threatened to take away your business. If now you peddle the myth that happiness can be found in the shopping mall, listening to the right music, wearing the right clothes, being seen with the right people and buying the right things, then this is not good news for you or your business. It is good news to those weighed down with constantly having to keep up with the changing fashions and aspirations of society.
If you were the Roman emperor, Paul's message challenged your claim to absolute power. The empire functioned on the conviction that there was just one Lord---the emperor. Religion, politics, and economics were linked---they still are today. Today we see Mr Blair and Mr Bush get irritated when the leading bishops of the Catholic and Anglican churches tell them both that the headlong rush to war is immoral. They do not like their power being threatened. Even Mr Blair, who constitutionally exercises power on behalf of the Queen, does not like being reminded that he does not wield absolute power.
St. Paul's message about God threatened the world-view of many. As a result Paul suffered persecution. The Christian message continues to challenge those who seek absolute power through politics and financial endeavours.
Conclusion
There are many idols in our world, and even those of us who chose to follow God find ourselves drawn to worship the idols of our culture. You may be thinking, "It is 2003; there are no more idols; what is all this talk of darkness and light?" We may not take money to temple gods, but people still lose sight of God when surrounded by idols that demand their devotion. The gods of TV, the celebrities whose fame is only produced because they look good, not because they have done anything particularly worth while! We put our faith in the gods of the economy, yet now we are told that the pension plans we have been paying into may not provide for us in our old age. Our culture worships these gods, and the lesbian and gay culture turns this worship of the gods of materialism into an art form. Long denied a spiritual life in the Church, the lesbian and gay community has turned to mammon and worships it with all the zeal of a new convert. But this worship does not satisfy and leaves us feeling even more isolated and empty. That's the kind of darkness St. Paul was talking about---the darkness that isolates a person and allows despair to grow. The light of God and Christian community tells us that we are not alone; we have value that financial trouble cannot take from us.
St. Paul was known for his ability and desire to meet people where they were. He would use their vocabulary and examples from their culture to speak about God. We seek to reach out in a similar matter. The ministries of our congregation engage the hearts and minds of many different types of people. We seek to express the kind of welcoming love that we have found as the result of our spiritual journeys.
As we consider the importance of Paul's conversion, we see the link between his relationship with God and his call. Conversion need not be understood in narrow terms. Conversion is about growing in knowledge of God's love for us and all people, and that is an on-going experience---even for those who have had mountain top moments. So, maybe the word "conversion" isn't so scary after all. Growing in knowledge of God's love, as we experience here in community, leads to a call. We, like Paul, are called to share what we know of God. We too are called to welcome all. In this way, we continue Paul's ministry.
Amen.
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.