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United Church in the Valley: May 8, 2016
Student Minister: Matthew Heesing
Encountering the Risen Christ:
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
“Reaching out with Resurrection!”
Scripture Reading:
Acts 9: 1-20:
Years after the resurrection of Christ, there was a man named Saul. Saul persecuted the early
Christians, uttering threats with every breath, eager to capture and kill the Lord’s disciples. One
day, Saul went to the high priest and requested letters for all the synagogues in Damascus; he
wanted to ask for their cooperation, so that if he found any in the area who belonged to the Way,
whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound, but did not see
anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they
led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink.
Now in Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision,
“Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Get up and go to a house of Judas on
Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has
seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.
“But Lord,” Ananias answered, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man
has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he has come here with authority from the chief
priests to arrest all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Get up and go! This man is my chosen instrument to take my
message to the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. He has a special role to
play! A role that will not be easy, filled with suffering and hardship.”
So Ananias went and found Saul.
Reaching out, Ananias laid his hands on him and said,
“Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might see
again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.
Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days, and soon began preaching about Jesus
in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
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Sermon:
It’s the seventh Sunday of Easter:
the last Sunday in the Easter season,
the concluding service in our current liturgical time.
Soon, we’ll swap out these decorations:
shifting colors from white to red,
from resurrection to fire and wind—
signs and symbols of the spirit,
for Pentecost is almost upon us.
And Easter is almost over.
Easter is almost over.
But we still have one more story.
One more moment of resurrection,
one more encounter with the risen Christ.
So far, over the last few weeks,
we’ve moved from early Easter morning,
to Easter afternoon,
to the evening of Easter Sunday,
to a week after Easter, on the sea of Galilee.
But now, we fast forward five years into the future:
to the formation of a common faith,
the emergence of a movement,
the uprising of the earliest Christians—
and their persecution by the person named Saul.
Saul, a devout and zealous individual.
A Jewish Pharisee, a student in Jerusalem, an expert in Jewish Law.
Saul, who persecutes “the early Christians,
uttering threats with every breath,
eager to capture and kill the Lord’s disciples.”
Saul, who sets out to stamp out this swiftly growing sect,
these heretical Jews who hold up Jesus as Savior, Messiah, and Lord.
In an earlier passage, the author of Acts describes Saul
“destroying the church by entering house after house,
dragging off both men and women and committing them to prison.”
When the apostle Stephen is stoned to death,
Saul is in the audience: himself, a stone-cold witness, “giving approval.”
He’s the “employee of the month,” oppressing early Christians;
if you want to catch them all, you Better Call Saul.
But then, something happens.
On the road to Damascus, Saul encounters the risen Christ.
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And there’s so much we could say about this experience:
the ways we’ve been blindsided by the holy,
the ways we’ve been nudged and budged by the Source of Love,
the ways our own lives have done 180’s,
the ways we’ve turned around:
Found new life, fresh purpose, been put on a different path.
For as most of you may know,
Saul becomes Paul: an apostle of the faith,
the most influential early Christian,
the author and inspiration for nearly all the New Testament.
But Saul’s not the only one who encounters the risen Christ.
There’s someone else in this story:
another character, another valuable voice,
one which often gets drowned out by the dramatic Damascus road event.
The disciple named Ananias.
There’s so much we could say about Saul.
But this Sunday, at the end of the Easter Season,
let’s acknowledge Ananias.
For the story of Ananias asks us a question—
and millennia later, in a world far removed,
in a place and space completely different,
this story—his story— still clearly speaks,
inviting us to wonder,
offering a challenge:
When Easter is over, how will we respond?
“Now in Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias.
The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’
‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered.
The Lord told him,
‘Get up and go to a house of Judas on Straight Street,
and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.”
“Get up and go,” says the Lord to Ananias.
Get up and go.
Every single story we’ve heard this Easter season
ends with a similar instruction:
leave the empty tomb—go and tell the news
leave the locked-up room—go now in peace
leave what was, your old routines—go fish on another side.
get back on the road, go back where you started,
Get up and go.
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Don’t be scared, stuck, stagnant or restricted,
don’t hang on to the former, filled with fear,
but move forward, move onward
from our places of sorrow, death and pain.
Be filled with the Spirit, be filled with God’s peace,
for behold! Behold! I am making all things new.
The old has gone, the new has come,
and resurrection awaits.
Easter is all about getting up and going.
In fact, the earliest Christians referred to themselves as
“followers of the Way”:
because this was a belief in transformation.
An organic faith of movement, growth, and change.
A path of possibility, potential, and progress.
Not a final destination, not a finished project,
not a one-time passage or perfect ending
but a Way:
a way they walked and followed by getting up and going forth:
sent out to serve, commissioned to care, called to share,
to reach out to others with light, life, and love.
To reach out to others with resurrection.
“Get up and go,” says the Lord to Ananias,
“and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.”
“But Lord,” Ananias answered,
“I’ve heard many people talk
about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!
And he has come here with authority from the chief priests
to arrest all who call upon your name.”
Ananias gives a great excuse.
He carefully explains to God why he can’t go.
Instead of getting up, it’s safer to stay down.
Instead of going forth, it’s safer to stay in.
And the reply of Ananias causes me to wonder:
whenever God calls us,
wherever God calls us,
to whomever God calls us,
what will we say in response?
“But Lord,” we say:
“They don’t deserve it.
They haven’t earned it.
There’s simply not enough.”
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“But Lord,” we say:
send someone else,
send us a sign,
we aren’t adequate, worthy, qualified or courageous.”
Or the opposite, perhaps:
“But Lord, we’re above it all,
we’re too good for the task,
we’re meant for something more.”
As with Ananias,
will we get up and go:
even when we don’t get it?
Even when we can’t see why, or how, or the reason behind it?
Will we get up from our lives of comfort,
our positions of privilege,
our safety and security,
rise up from our affluence, apathy, and ignorance,
and go where God sends us?
“But Lord,” said Ananias.
And the Lord answers back:
“Get up and go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name
before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”
When we encounter the risen Christ,
when we get that nudge, that budge,
when we see that need, when we hear that call,
When Easter is over, will we get up and go?
Ananias does.
“So he went and found Saul.
Reaching out, Ananias laid his hands on him and said,
‘Brother Saul—Brother Saul!—,
the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road,
has sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’”
Reaching out, Ananias lays his hands on Saul.
Reaching out, Ananias offers Saul new sight.
Reaching out, Ananias offers Saul a new identity.
Reaching out, Ananias offers Saul a new way forward.
Reaching out, Ananias fills Saul with the Spirit.
In other words, Ananias reaches out with resurrection.
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Resurrection—new life!
Not physical life from death, but no less significant:
new light in Saul’s darkness,
new sight in Saul’s blindness
new hope in Saul’s helplessness
strength in Saul’s weakness,
solidarity in Saul’s isolation,
clarity in Saul’s confusion,
a new purpose and mission,
possibility and potential,
and from it all, comes Paul.
From an stranger, emerges a fellow servant,
Once an enemy, now a member of the family of God.
When Ananias reaches out,
something miraculous happens.
Resurrection happens.
For we’ve heard how resurrection is in the roots,
how resurrection is on the road,
in our rooms, and transforming our routines,
but today, we hear how resurrection is in our reaching out.
When we get up and go,
When we reach out to others,
we share the resurrection.
We share God’s life and light and love,
we reveal God’s possibility and promise,
we create new life—
life in places of death,
light in places of darkness,
we offer others new sight:
sight to see their story isn’t over,
vision of a hope-filled future,
illumination in the midst of uncertainty,
a reminder that we are not alone.
That God is with us.
Christ is alive.
Resurrection is in our reaching out.
Our service and selflessness,
helping hands and open hearts,
a touch, a nod, a note, some time,
our gifts of energy and talent, money and insight.
All of which further God’s work in the world.
All of which make resurrection a reality.
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So, United Church in the Valley:
When Easter is over, how will we respond?
How is God calling you to get up and go?
Where is God calling you to reach out with resurrection?
To offer new life,
hope, peace, purpose, restoration,
to help someone regain strength,
or see another way,
or see potential, worth and possibility,
to see God alive and at work in the world?
Maybe it’s with the fires around Fort McMurray:
getting up and going to a shelter or collection site,
reaching out with clothes and food, finances and time:
physical gifts, but sources of new life.
Maybe it’s with the Syrian refugee crisis,
and the family this congregation has agreed to support:
getting up and going to help clean the Okotoks apartment,
or once the family arrives,
getting up and going to help drive them around.
Help them settle in, feel at peace, find new life in this strange place.
Maybe it’s with those blindsided by tragedy,
their lives turned upside down,
who don’t know where to turn or what to do.
Families in Turner Valley,
dealing with the loss of a father, husband, friend.
Families in the area, suffering with illness, abuse, or hunger.
Will we get up and go—
go volunteer at the food bank,
go pay a friendly visit,
reach out with kindness, love, a card, a home-cooked meal?
On this Mother’s Day,
maybe we respond with gratitude:
getting up and going to see our mothers,
reaching out with thoughtfulness and thanks,
but also acknowledging those who are alone this day:
those with family far away, friends who can’t travel,
partners that have passed away.
Last week, our Pastoral Care Committee
hosted an amazing Mother’s Day Tea at Glenmead:
maybe at their next event, you’ll get up and go join them,
reaching out with presence, fellowship, refreshment for body and spirit.
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How is God calling you to get up and go?
Where is God calling you to reach out with resurrection?
People of God,
Easter is almost over.
But if we respond—
when we respond—
when we get up and go, when we reach out with new life—
when we walk the Way
and go forth from this place
faithfully serving as the hands and feet of the risen Christ—
we find that Easter continues with our actions.
The work of Easter is far from over.
For Christ is alive.
Resurrection awaits.
Thanks be to God.