Damascus Vision
Galatians 1:11-24
There once was a man who felt passionately about his relationship with God. He was born into a family and culture that nurtured this relationship. He took to it with ardor learning everything he could and striving to be the best disciple possible. His passion was so great that any threat to his religion drew from him intense and articulate reprisals. He would hunt down those that claimed something in the name of his God that was different from what he believed. He would find ways to have them silenced, if possible. He believed with all of his heart that his actions were pleasing to God and that he was truly doing the Lord’s work. What a shock it must have been when this dedicated, committed, passionate man of faith finally encountered divine love incarnate! His whole understanding of the God he served was turned upside down. It would take him a while to get it all straight in his own head. After all, he had steeped himself in the traditions and the assumptions of his faith system. It had become second nature to make everything fit into that nice and neat worldview. But now, everything was different. Those whom he formerly despised were now his brothers and sisters. Those whose lives threatened the foundations of his own faith before were now his teachers and colleagues. And those whose legalism he had triumphed were now at odds with him. How does someone go through such a radical transformation?
Does that story sound familiar? It is the story of Dr. Mel White. If you read his book, “Stranger at the Gate” you get a clear sense of the passion with which he approached his life as a fundamentalist Christian. You also get a sense of the amazing transformation that happened in his life when he was able to experience God in all parts of his life as a gay man and activist. And as we saw in our scripture for today, it is the story of Paul of Tarsus. But did you know it is also the story of Paul of Hueytown? I too was raised in a fundamentalist Christian perspective and held it dear – defended it passionately – until I received my Damascus vision. Unlike the Apostle Paul’s experience, there were no celestial chords or blinding lights for me but grace transformed my faith just as completely. In fact, my life would never be the same. It is probably the story of many of us who were raised in conservatively religious homes. Being passionate about our faith has too often translated into requiring rigid conformity. “Believe, think, act, look like I do or you need to change!” It seems so odd to me now that people assume this is what it means to act Christian. When did Christianity change to being a religion about common assent to a belief, instead of a life that emulated the grace of Jesus?
When people encountered Jesus, he didn’t give them a litmus test for whether they knew the right information, whether they could quote the seven spiritual laws of salvation, whether they had correctly been baptized, or whether they prayed the Lord’s Prayer using “trespasses” or “debts.” When people encountered Jesus, those who were broken found healing. Those marginalized to the fringes were invited to the table. Those shunned by the religiously powerful were called “my people.” There was no robotic Christian assembly-line that cranked out clones. Instead there was an opportunity to escape the hold of a religious system that masqueraded as real faith. There is only one explanation. It is the power of grace that opens us to this new relationship. When you encounter grace, you really begin to see the differences.
What would the world be like if the story of our faith journeys were different? Imagine.
There once was one who felt passionately about a relationship with God. Although born into a family and culture that may or may not have nurtured this relationship, there was great ardor in learning everything possible about how to be the best disciple. Passion was so great that any threat to one’s religion drew not defensiveness or fear but a willingness to hold difference in tension and to remember that “who” we are is much more important than “what” we believe. The thought of wanting to harm someone who claimed something different about faith in the name of God was never a possibility. No one needed to be silenced because all gifts given in grace are pleasing to God and show that we are truly about the Lord’s work. What a transforming experience it is whenever this dedicated, committed, passionate person of faith offers divine love incarnate to those around!
Beginning tomorrow billboards will go up all over the Metro similar to this one that was used in Indianapolis with the question, “Would Jesus Discriminate?” We know the response to this question will be all over the board and that there is a likely possibility that some of the responses we receive in challenging the basic assumptions others hold about Christianity will not be pleasant. I watched the Town Hall meeting that Jesus MCC in Indianapolis held last year in conjunction with their WJD campaign and it did attract some people with strong views who cling to the hurtful interpretations of the clobber passages that we’ve all heard a thousand times. It was truly “graceful” to watch Pastor Jeff Miner and his congregation respond to those individuals without rancor, even though you could feel the tension level perceptively rise when the same old stuff was said. Not letting that kind of stuff get under your skin is not something that happens by accident, but takes preparation and prayer. It takes being open to grace. So take some time this week and look over the materials on the website and pray about how your life might be a reflection of grace. [PP5] I truly believe that more information is not going to change hearts or melt fear. The thing that will change our world and set people free is when you and I live our lives fully and freely with the grace we have received from God and freely offer that grace to others. It is the difference between knowing you are right about what you believe so others need to agree with you and knowing you have been blessed by God’s grace and choose to bless your world in kind.
We have the opportunity to re-write the story of Christianity – to change the common perception that being a Christian means being rigid, narrow-minded, or mean-spirited. Let it be said of us that how we live and how we love is an exemplary example of the power of grace, so that – like Paul says in our reading – others will glorify God because of you.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com Live Free! June 2007.
http://www.soulforce.org/images/stranger_at_the_gate.jpg Stranger at the Gate bookcover.
