A New Creation **Sermon for The Conversion of St. Paul (1/25/25)

 

Before marriage           after marriage

Before children            after children

Before cancer               after cancer

Before divorce             after divorce

Before retirement         after retirement

                                                    Before heart surgery    after heart surgery

 

            These are just a few life-changing events.  I’m sure you can name events that have transformed your life.  I think the Apostle Paul can relate.  Before he became Paul, he was Saul.  Saul was a zealous persecutor of Jesus’ followers in his younger years.

Here is Paul, in his own words, talking about when he was known as Saul.  This is as Paul tells his testimony to the followers of Jesus in Philippi:

“You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book.”

                        Philippians 3:6 (MSG)

            In other words, Paul says he is from an elite, privileged background.  Saul, as he was, and his family are ultra-religious.  They strive to follow the Torah and live rightly before God.  They regularly fast and pray.  Paul was the protégé and likely successor of the great Jewish leader Gamaliel (see Acts 5:34).

            As Paul, however, he counts that all as nothing.  None of that now matters.  The life-changing encounter with the Risen Jesus renders that illustrious background as nothing.  You could say that Saul saw the light, quite literally!  Now, all Paul longs to know is Jesus and the power of the Resurrection (see Philippians 3:10).

            Paul finds his life’ purpose completely up ended.  Saul wanted nothing more than to wipe out the band of Jesus followers.  He even received official orders to do so.  As Paul, the Apostle becomes the greatest defender and planter of the faith.  Paul uses the same passion and zeal he had as Saul as he brings the Jesus movement out of Jerusalem to the seat of power, Rome.

            No one, absolutely no one, is beyond the love and grace of God.  If God can transform Saul into Paul, there is hope for you and me.  You and I are not bound by our pasts or our backgrounds.  We are only bound by the limitless love of God.  Thich is boundless.  That is the power of Paul’s witness for us.

            Indeed, as Paul tells the early community in Corinth:

“Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look.  We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know.  We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore.  Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.  The old life is gone; a new life emerges!”

II Corinthians 5:16-17

            We are living in a deeply divided world.  A world that is broken and hurting.  The Church can be a powerful voice of inclusion and love.  God’s gracious love is for ALL.  May we, as All Saints’, find hope and inspiration in Paul’s example.  May you and I go forth to be a strong and courageous witness in the world.

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