"About-Face"

A Sermon by the Rev. Amelie M. Sell

Preached at Pleasantville UCC, June 19, 2011

   Over the summer months, as we are in the liturgical season of Pentecost, the worship services at Pleasantville are going to focus on the early Christian church and the letters and work of the Apostle Paul.  A few weeks ago, we focused on the tragic death of Stephen, one of the early leaders of the church at Jerusalem.  As a consequence of Stephen’s death, a great persecution of members of the early church began.  The leader of these persecutions was a young Pharisee named Saul.  When Saul became a Christian, he was in the process of extending his attacks on Christians to Syria. 

   The conversion of Paul is one of the most inspiring “about-faces” in all of Christian history.  Saul, a man responsible for oppressing and punishing the members of the Early Christian church, was transformed into one of the most devout followers of the Gospel of Christ.  Paul is the most widely read apostle and is, for many Christians, the best-loved father of our faith. Paul’s letters to the budding Christian congregations share his struggles and hopes for what was to become the Christian church.  Paul experiences are a dramatic example of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives to change our hearts for the good—if Paul could become a Christian and turn his life around, then we each have the possibility to radically reform our own lives.  Like Paul, we may be blind to the work of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives until we reach a point of clarity and change.  Like Paul, when we reflect on our past, we may see God has been reaching out to us long before we accept God’s embrace.

   In his writings from late in his life, Paul mentioned that the prayer Stephen said while he was being murdered was the start of Paul’s conversion.  Stephen prayed that God would not hold the sin of his murder against those who were killing him.  Saul actively participated in Stephen’s murder and in the murder of additional followers of Christ.  When he reflected on his conversion in his letters, Paul felt Stephen’s prayer led to God’s Holy Spirit knocking at the door of his heart and slowing destroying his anti-Christian resolve.

   There is not a formula for conversion to Christianity.  Many of us don’t have a dramatic, Road to Damascus experience.  Some of us start our lives with Christian parents who teach us to believe in God by exemplifying Christian beliefs in their actions and words to us.  Some of us come to know Jesus through witnessing the faith of significant mentors in our lives, such as friends, school teachers, co-workers, or spouses.  And, some of us have conversion experiences that resemble Paul’s: we encounter Christ when we least expect and we have a rapid conversion to faith in God. There is no “correct” way to become a Christian. 

   St. Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, felt it was important to communicate that when people were converted to faith in Christ they were then given a responsibility.  Each conversion led to the new Christian having concrete tasks for the service of God.  Paul’s responsibility was to share his faith with others and introduce a new way of believing to those he met.  In his zeal to lead others to know Christ, Paul founded new churches and introduced Christianity to a non-Jewish audience for the first time. 

   We are also tasked with the responsibility to do something about our faith.  No matter how we were led to Christian faith, once we profess faith in God and Jesus it is important to do something with that faith.  And, just as each of us came to our faith in a unique manner, each of us is called to a unique expression of our faith.  As Christians, part of our job is to figure out what God is calling us to do for God.  Like Paul, we can make a positive change in the world.

   Today is Father’s Day Sunday, a day when we honor the many men who have acted as Fathers to us.  Many of us remember our biological or adoptive fathers today.  I would encourage us to also reflect on the many people who have been surrogate fathers to us: men who have taught us how to live lives of integrity and virtue.  May we appreciate our Church Fathers including Paul who shared with future Christians their testimony that those who once were lost can be found and those who were blind can learn to see.  May it be so.  Amen.