Acts 9:1-6 [7-20]
1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder
against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and
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. 3 Now as
he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven
flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are
you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But
get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." [7
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the
voice but saw no one. 8 Saul 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. 9 For
three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now
there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a
vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 11 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, 12 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." 13 But
Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much
evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14 and
here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your
name." 15 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; 16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my
name." 17 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." 18 And
immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was
restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food,
he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in
Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying,
"He is the Son of God."]
John 21:1-19
1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the
disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered
there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in
Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon
Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We
will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night
they caught nothing. 4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not
know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?"
They answered him, "No." 6 He said to them, "Cast
the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they
cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many
fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the
Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some
clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But
the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they
were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. 9 When
they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and
bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just
caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large
fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was
not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the
disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was
the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with
the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after
he was raised from the dead. 15 When they had finished
breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me
more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love
you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16A
second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He
said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to
him, "Tend my sheep." 17 He said to him the third
time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he
said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to
him, "Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your
own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch
out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you
where you do not wish to go." 19 (He said this to indicate
the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him,
"Follow me."
After this he said to him, "Follow me."
·
This morning we are faced with two
very different stories of conversion and discipleship: that of Paul and that of
Peter. The reading from the Book of Revelation has more to do with the worship
of God by the whole of creation – angels, all creatures on land, under the
earth, in the sea, and in the heavens, the four living creatures, and the
elders who are elsewhere listed as numbering twenty-four, one for each tribe of
Israel and for each apostle. That passage would take too long to go into just
now.
·
In the Book of the Acts of the
Apostles, Paul is converted from a murderous, fanatical persecutor of the
Church to staunch and skilled preacher of the Gospel. This did not happen
instantly; real conversion takes time. Paul wrote in his letter to the
Galatians that he spent time in the desert following his conversion experience
and then spent about three years with the disciples in Damascus before seeking
out the Jerusalem church and the apostles there.
·
In Peter’s story from John’s Gospel,
he is asked three times if he loves Jesus, even to the point of frustration and
hurt. Each time, he’s counseled to feed the flock of Jesus.
·
Both of these men have different
stories of conversion. Each of us has a different story of conversion. Some are
more dramatic than others. Drama is not the point, however; conversion is. Paul
did a complete 180º turn-around. Peter’s story was more of a 360º spin, which
included misunderstanding, denial, and betrayal.
·
Could we have done better? Could
Peter or Paul have endured what some of us have endured? Who knows? What we do
know is that it isn’t a contest.
·
Each of us has our own story of
conversion. It is true that almost all of us here were baptized as children, so
there might be a few instances of a dramatic conversion story. In many cases of
people raised in the Christian faith, conversion and discipleship comes from a
moment when the person has to take their faith seriously. There comes a time
when something – an event, a birth, a death, a change of some kind of other –
causes a person to look at their life and discover their need for God. Often
they hear the Gospel with new ears, as it were.
·
Paul was quite opposed to the
follower of Jesus, opposed to the point of persecuting them. After his
experience on the road to Damascus, he could do that no longer; his life was
changed and he applied that same dedication and vigor to spreading the Gospel.
·
Peter had been a close follower of
Jesus, and had denied his master when things got really tough. His encounter
with Jesus on the shore involved forgiveness, an invitation to serve, and a
renewed dedication to “feed my sheep.” Peter’s
encounter reminds us that with Jesus, forgiveness is always there and it goes
far beyond any offense we may have done.
·
Both men encountered Jesus in a
particular way. In truth, each of us has encountered Jesus in some way or other
as well. It may not be as dramatic as the incidents involving Paul or Peter,
but our encounters with Jesus are no less real and no less powerful.
·
How do we encounter Jesus? Probably
not like either Peter or Paul, although it is possible. Most us encounter Jesus
in the ways he left for us to encounter him – the Scripture, the sacraments,
and the body of the Church.
·
Does this make us less a disciple
than Peter or Paul? I admit that our discipleship might not have the impact on
the entire church that the ministries of Peter or Paul had. Yet, that having
been said, we are no less followers of Jesus than they were.
·
Remember last week’s reading from
John? Jesus told Thomas ‘Have you believed because you
have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe.’
·
After that John wrote this (and he
wrote it to us!) Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may
come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that
through believing you may have life in his name.
·
We read the stories of Peter and Paul
and are inspired by them. There is no use comparing. To that end, I found this
little list to help us remember the value of our discipleship.
·
The next time you
feel like GOD can’t use you, or if you think that you can’t “follow” as Jesus
said… just remember…
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a
womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a
murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt & demanded that
God explain
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while
praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced,
more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer..AND
Lazarus was dead!
·
If God’s grace can overcome all those
things, why not trust what God can do in our lives?
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