Our Road to Damascus


Now as [Saul] 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.’ Acts 9:3-5

I grew up (and was deeply formed as a Christian) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bound Brook, NJ. Like most children, I did not really understand the pattern of our worship, but I knew there was a rhythm that was repeated every year, especially Christmas, Easter and Pentecost (to a lesser extent). As for minor feast days, they were a mystery, unless they happened during Sunday worship.  For example, we at St. Barnabas celebrate our patron saint on the Sunday closest to his feast day, June 11.  I am sure that we did that for St. Paul as well – the Feast of his Conversion is January 25th.  I don’t remember a specific celebration, but I remember hearing Paul’s story many times, being confused by the name change and more confused by his dislike of Christians.  I thought he was one!

Indeed, the Church as we know it today exists because of St. Paul’s conversion and subsequent ministry on behalf of Jesus Christ.  His writings to various Christian communities make up a significant portion of the New Testament, and they offer wisdom and challenges to practicing our faith every day. Paul’s epiphany on the road to Damascus invites to reflect on our own journeys and see where we have encountered Christ and when we have not.

The blessing and curse of Saul/Paul’s dramatic encounter is that many wonderful why they don’t have a similar experience – some want it and others fear it.  It is understandable that being struck blind would be frightening, although the trade-off is being in the glorious presence of the risen Lord.  The critical point is that Saul was acting against Jesus when this event happened, so I trust most believers would not need such an intervention.  Most to the point, Saul was uniquely qualified for the ministry to which he was called – to use his position and skills as a persuasive leader and writer to proclaim Jesus as Lord.  Paul needed that radical Damascus experience to change radically his entire approach to life.

While most believers do not need to do a 180 turn in our lives, a course correction toward Jesus is never wrong.  We need to always orient ourselves toward Jesus to remind ourselves what and how we believe.  That is way our Bishop has asked all churches in the Diocese of New Jersey to think of ourselves as Schools for Discipleship, of places where we learn how to learn about Jesus Christ and share his message of redemptive love.

This included having opportunities to encounter the risen Christ, both in worship and study, as well has developing spiritual practices that offer the tools needed to have an intimate relationship with the Trinity.  Such skills strengthen our foundation of faith and enable us to step out in faith into the unknown.  Yes, it can be scary and intimidating – the fear of failure is ever present. It is then that we remember Paul, whose ministry involved many “failures” and yet we are still talking about him today.

This Sunday St. Barnabas will have our annual meeting, which is great opportunity to reflect on the previous year and look forward to the year to come. In that vein, I offer these questions for your reflection: How can we develop a school for discipleship at St. Barnabas that encourages and challenges us?  Can we look for ways to have our own Damascus experiences with the risen Christ?  Are we willing to invite others on this journey? 

In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+

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