Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Today’s Reading  |  Acts 9:1–19
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 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. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 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. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

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. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus. (NRSV)

Reflection
The Apostle Paul (née Saul) has one of the most dramatic conversion stories imaginable, going from persecuting Jesus’ disciples to becoming one, all in the span of a single scene. This Damascus Road Moment is noted for Saul’s change of heart, but I’ve always been fascinated by the change of vision that plays in the story as well.

Saul is blinded by Jesus’ appearance on the road—a term used both literally in his present and figuratively for his past. Although Saul, by his own account, was quite accomplished in Judaism, he came to view his zealousness for the Law as being incomplete without an accompaniment by God’s grace shown in Jesus Christ. For him, he had been blind in his early life, but now, when touched by Ananias and filled with the Holy Spirit, the scales had fallen from his eyes and his sight was restored.

Have you ever had such a moment? A moment of clarity that jarred you or made you reevaluate your prior thinking? I cannot claim to have had a religious conversion quite like Paul, but I still remember moments like seeing, for the first time as a young child, someone who was homeless, or traveling abroad and seeing poverty firsthand. In those moments, I realized that I could never look at my possessions the same way again—much as Paul’s vision was irrevocably changed.

To be a part of a community of faith is to be invited (or sometimes dragged) into moments when our vision can change—so may God help us, so that just like with Paul, the scales may fall from wherever our vision might be obscured.

Prayer
Lord God, I know that my own vision is limited, so as the famous hymn goes, be thou my vision. Help me to see clearly that which you would have me do, and help me to be the person you have called me to be. Amen.

Written by Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children and Family Ministry

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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