Amazing Race week 6 Acts 18

The Amazing Race - Paul in Corinth

            We have been on Paul’s Amazing Race for the past six weeks.  For us, this has been a short period of time, but for Paul, it has actually encompassed about twenty years of his life.  According to historians, Paul’s conversion occurred around 31 CE and with the historical names and events we have in Acts, today’s passage is roughly 51 CE.  During this time, Paul has endured great things to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people throughout the region.  In his own hand, he writes to the people of Corinth about his journey. 

            2 Corinthians 11:24-29 (New International Version)

24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

            This is a journey that I do not think I want to go on.  Is it no wonder that Paul finally takes a break and stays in the city of Corinth for a year and a half?  Now, of course, while Paul stays rooted in one place, he does not stop sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  While in Corinth, he not only preaches in the synagogue, he also writes letters to the churches of Thessalonica.  1 Thessalonians is believed to be the oldest book of the New Testament. 

            Today’s passage is interesting because it gives us a little more information on the life of Paul.  We know he is a Jew from Tarsus and is a devout Pharisee.  But what did he do for a living?  Surely he had a trade.  As Paul travels from city to city in his Amazing Race, he is able to connect with people and the scriptures tell us that he is hosted by believers.  On his missionary travels, he is cared for by others so he can work to the up building of the church.  But now he is in one place for an extended period of time and it appears he needs to support himself or at least contribute to his own expenses. 

            And so we learn that Paul is a tentmaker by trade.  Have you heard that term before in reference to a pastor that works at another job on a more permanent basis and is part-time with the church?  We have had several tentmakers here in our presbytery.  One of our pastor’s was a school teacher while also serving a very small church.  This is where the term came from, Paul, the tentmaker.  And so we know that Paul connects with a Jewish couple recently expelled from Rome.  They too are tentmakers and become believers in Jesus Christ. 

            Now, Paul is a rather controversial character when it comes to women and leadership in the church.  His writings on women being quiet in the church have been used for hundreds of years to prevent women from entering the ministry.  But here, and in various other passages, we see that Paul was very much involved with giving women leadership in the early church.  Aquila and Priscilla eventually join Paul’s missionary team and travel with him as he leaves Corinth.  They are mentioned in the letter to the Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Timothy.    It is noted that in Romans and 2 Timothy Priscilla’s name is listed before her husband’s indicating that she has assumed a greater role of leadership.  In those days, for her name to be mentioned at all, indicates great respect and importance. 

            So, what about these people in Corinth?  We know that many heard the word, became believers in the Lord, and were baptized.  Even Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer.  In this passage we are told that Paul has a vision and God tells him to stay in the city, “for there are many in this city who are my people.“  This reminds me of God’s call of sending Jonah to Nineveh.  God desires for all people to know his loving, healing, and redeeming word.  God desires all people to repent from sinful ways and become a community of faith together. 

            According to Bibleplaces.com, the Temple of Aphrodite is located in this city.  Aphrodite is the goddess of love. Greek writers in the 5th-4th centuries B.C. characterized Corinth as a city of commercialized love and a "Corinthian girl" meant a prostitute. The Corinthian church of Paul's day struggled with worldliness and sexual sin, both of which were typical of this cosmopolitan city.  Reminds me a little of Sodom and Gomorrah.  This time, instead of destruction, God sends redemption.  One of my favorite passages comes from 1 Corinthians and it makes more sense when you know that this city was known for the goddess of love.  Paul, once again, is trying to connect to the culture and apply it to the teachings and understandings of Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 13:  If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.  Paul is taking a concept that is well known to this city and is re-teaching how love should be interpreted. 

            Another thing we learn about the early church in Corinth is that they are struggling with the understanding of the Lord’s supper.  In 1 Corinthians 11:17, Paul writes in response to abuses of the practice of communion.  He writes that there are divisions in the church and factions among the people.  He is basically telling them that because of their strife, because of their selfishness, they really are not participating in the Lord’s supper.  They may be going through the motions of this meal, but because of their behavior, God is not present in it.  He scolds them that some eat too much while others go hungry and some even get drunk on the wine. 

            I heard an amazing sermon while in seminary by Jim Forbes, the former pastor of Riverside Church in NYC.  He preached that when we come to the table of our Lord Jesus Christ and we have anger, or division, or sinful ways that need to be repented of, the aroma of communion becomes a stench to God, like the manna in the wilderness that goes bad.  On that day, I was sitting next to a colleague that I had had a falling out with and we were hardly talking.  After that sermon, after coming to our Lord’s Table together, we both heard the call for repentance and began the process of healing our differences. 

            Communion is more than just receiving God’s gift of spiritual food to sustain us through our daily walk.  It is about reconciliation, both to our loving God and to our greater community.  In taking communion, we need to seek to be active participants and agents in healing, in redemption, in sharing God’s love both here in our own family of faith and out in the greater world. 

Amazing Race week 5: Acts 17

The Amazing Race - Paul in Athens

            Today, Paul is in Athens.  This is an absolutely amazing city.  The Parthenon sits high up over the city, making a rather steep climb to reach the top.  Temples and marketplaces are everywhere.  The city teams with life.  And Paul goes from place to place teaching the message about Jesus Christ. 

            Today’s passage begins by stating that as Paul waits for Silas and Timothy to join him Athens, he is deeply distressed to see how the city is full of idols.  As a Jew, Paul has been raised with the strict understanding that there is one God and there are to be no graven images made of this God.  This understanding goes back to the Ten Commandments and is repeated over and over again. 

            Paul knows the reality of human nature, he knows that his people have turned to other peoples’ gods, he knows that even the Hebrew people worshipped the golden calves as Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments.  Idol worship is nothing new to him and yet he is greatly distressed.  Perhaps he sees that here, in Athens, the cultural center of the Greek people, speaking about an invisible God that does not want images to be made and then worshipped is going to be a hard message to convey.   Paul knows he is once again up for a tough battle. 

            In many of the reality TV game shows, there are competitions that the contestants participate in either to win immunity, or a prize, or a certain position of power within the game.  On the Biggest Looser they have many of these competitions, the goal of the game is to see who can loose the most weight.  But every once in awhile, instead of a competition, there is a temptation.  One such temptation was the gym filled with covered dinner plates.  Some of the plates had food, some had prize money, and some had bonus pounds lost to be used at the weekly weigh in, a much coveted award. 

            Once a lid was taken off the dish, the contestant either had to eat the food or won the prize.  The contestants went crazy, eating their way through the food to find the money and the bonus pounds lost.  They did everything they had been working against.  They had been training for weeks, eating healthy sensible meals, staying away from the sweets, and they threw it all away to obtain the prize.  Temptation.

            Worshipping false idols and gods in world today is our temptation.  They are all around us.  I remember in middle school it was the Benetton sweaters, the Guess jeans, the Reebok tennis shoes, the Ray-Ban sunglasses, and the CB jacket.  Fashion was the god to worship and if you didn’t worship the right one, you were not part of the crowd.  I saw in high school it was the car that you drove or the car your parents owned.  Anything that gave you prestige, such as where you vacationed or the size of your house.  When I moved to Charlotte, NC for my first call in ministry, I learned that being made-up was part of the culture there.  I needed to wear more make-up and have my nails done.  This was not my style, but I succumbed to the pressure and fell to the false idols imposed upon me.

            What idols would Paul see around us today?  What are our temptations?  Our Celebrities such as movie and rock stars are very much gods in today’s world.  When Michael Jackson died  people have made shrines throughout the US for him.  On a news caste - one person stated, she was at the stadium for his funeral rather than at her grandfather’s 100^th birthday party.  Did Michael Jackson really feed people’s soul?  Is his music really that powerful?  I was interviewing for a youth ministry position years ago, and during the interview one parent shared with me that he and his wife had been invited to the Kentucky Derby and missed their daughter’s ordination service as a youth elder.  What message does this send to our families?  Choosing celebrities or events over family moments and gatherings.  Have we masked our true hunger for seeking a deeper purpose in life with entertainment?  We worship our sports, we worship our celebrities, we worship our Tvs and our phones.  What would Paul have to say to us? 

            As Paul spends time in Athens, teaching in the synagogues and the marketplaces, he also spends time absorbing the culture around him.  He is trying to learn about the people that he is bringing this message to.  He does not just have a canned sermon that he can use everywhere he travels.   As pastor’s we know that if we re-use a sermon from place to place, it may go over very well in one church and not be well received at another.  Each congregation has its own culture and a pastor has to learn about the congregation in order to try and speak to them. 

            When Paul preaches in the synagogues he knows that those he speaks to are familiar with the Hebrew scriptures.  He has a common base to build upon.  But to the gentiles, the Greeks, Epicureans and Stoics, they may or may not know anything about the Hebrew faith.  He has to start at the beginning, give the basics, and teach in a non-judgmental way.  And so he finds something within their culture that he can begin connecting the beliefs he wants to share with those that his listeners already have.  They have an alter to an unknown god.  This, he claims, is the God to which he speaks.  He knows he is speaking to an audience that seeks, whether they seek knowledge, or faith, or a religion, or philosophy, they are a people that seek to know more.  Both the Epicureans and the Stoics sought ways to apply their beliefs to how they lived.  Paul is seeking to give them a belief system that they can also apply to how they live.  He shares that now is the time that God is calling all people to repent.  In this case, he is shares that one thing that the people need to repent of is worshipping God as if God is gold, or silver or stone or an image formed by mortals. 

            Paul meets them where they are, he speaks to them in a public place within their city.  He uses one of their cultural connections to begin a conversation, and then he shares the message of the one true God and the call to repent from worship of false idols.  Theirs is a temptation they didn’t even know existed.  Just like the people on the Biggest Looser, who have lived their lives eating in an unhealthy way.  Many of them do not even know what they are doing to themselves until they get on the show and have a wake up call.  On the show, the viewer can see how so many of the contestants grow in self awareness as they overcome insecurities, hurts, laziness, and just plain bad habits.  They become free of their burdens and renewed and energized.  So many of us are just the same way.  We are so use to our temptations we do not even know they are there.  I know mine is watching too much TV.  I really need to cut back, I really need to just turn it off.  It takes self work, self-awareness, and disciplined time in God’s living word to grow into the healthier person God has created us to be. 

            Paul meets the people where they are.  He goes out into the world rather than waiting for the world to come to him.  At one of my interim churches in CT, the joke was:  If we build it, they will come.  They built this new church knowing that the community was growing all around them.  And they waited, and they waited, and they waited, and the people did not come.  I am learning more and more that in order to do ministry, in order to bring people into the church, we must go out to where people are.  Some churches are started ministries in the local coffee shops.  The Truck Stop ministry does their weekly Bible Study at a diner.  In Florida we would meet with the youth at a local breakfast place, or in North Carolina I would go to the sports fields.  Ministry did not happen in my office, I had to go out to where the youth were and let them know that I was present, interested in their activities and hobbies.

            As missional church, we look out into the community to see where God is already at work.  We are seeking to engage the upcoming Habitat for Humanity Build, a place in our greater community where God is at work.  What is the common language of today’s world, and how might we learn to meet people where they are in order to share the good news of God’s story to the world today?  Amen. 

             

Amazing Race week 4 Acts 16

The Amazing Race - Paul in Prison

            A lot has happened to Paul since he began his Amazing Race.  He had a life changing moment where he went from Saul, the persecutor of the early Christians, to Paul, a messenger to the Gentiles in the name of Jesus Christ.  He has traveled from Jerusalem north to Antioch, across the sea to Cyprus, north to Lystra and now over to what is modern day Greece, the city of Philippi. 

            Last week, he and Barnabas were in Lystra and were being worshipped as the Greek Gods, Zeus and Hermes.  This time of misdirected praise for their good news quickly went sour as Paul was stoned and left for dead.  And now, in the city of Philippi, Paul’s ability to bring about God’s healing leads to a brutal flogging and imprisonment.  He has reached his elimination round. 

            On most reality tv game shows, there is a  process as to how people are eliminated from the game.  On the Amazing Race, it is based on who comes in last.  On some of the other shows, like Survivor and the Biggest Loser, people are voted off.  On most of these shows, once you are voted off that is it, you’re done.  But on the biggest looser, those voted off still have the opportunity to win second place.  Who ever can loose the most weight off the ranch, at home, wins a large cash prize.  A few seasons back, they really shook things up and brought back the voted off contestants and let them try to gain a place back on the show.  Ali managed to get back on and became the first woman to win the Biggest Looser.  So what appears to be the end of the road does not always end up that way. 

            So, here we have Paul, continuing to bring the message of Jesus Christ to as many people as he can.  Some major changes have happened since last week.  He and Barnabas are no longer a team.  They have had a falling out and Paul has recruited a new team mate, Silas.  He also recruits a young man named Timothy.  Timothy’s father is Greek, and as Paul journeys into Greek territory, having someone with strong cultural understandings is beneficial.

            As they enter into Philippi, the team has a successful encounter with a woman named Lydia and she and her household became believers and were baptized. Now, just like last week, Paul manages to heal someone.  Last week it was a man crippled since birth and the outcome was that people worshipped him as the god Hermes.  This week, as he heals a slave-girl of her demon, he is arrested, flogged, and put into prison.  Perhaps, in the eyes of Paul, the slave-girl needed to be healed.  But not in the eyes of her owners.  She was a source of income, revenue, part of their lively hood that Paul had suddenly taken from them.  She was theirs, a slave, and Paul had no right to alter her in any possible way.  She was property and Paul had ruined her and so he must pay the price.  There is no rejoicing that this girl has been made whole.  There are no people coming to the faith and being baptized.  No conversions, no new disciples, no awe and wonderment that Paul was able to heal this girl.  Only anger and violence. 

            And so Paul, Silas, and Timothy are put into prison, into the inner most cell and their feet are put into stocks.  They are truly locked in.  That is until around midnight, when through the power of prayer and singing of hymns, the prison shakes as if there is an earthquake and the prisoners are unbound and the doors are flung wide open. 

            The most significant message of this passage is about freedom versus bondage.  Those that appear to be free, such as the slave owner and the jailor have structures of imprisoning them, structures they may not even be aware of.  The jailor is imprisoned by the code of honor for his occupation.  If he fails at his job, if the prisoners escape, he is disgraced.  So, instead of loosing honor, he is willing to take his own life.  Is that freedom? 

And then we have those that are imprisoned are made free, unfortunately, the slave-girl has two forms of bondage.  She is both mentally ill as well as being a slave.  Paul is able to free her of his demon, but she remains a slave.  While Paul begins this passage as a free man, he is the imprisoned, through prayer, belief and faith in God, the structures of imprisonment literally fall away and once again he is free. 

            Instead of escaping, he witnesses to the jailor, he reaches out to him and assures him that the prisoners are still all there.  This moment of personal relationship, of being present to another, brings this jailor and his family into the faith.  We have various things weaving together in this passage:  A dramatic healing only stirs up anger and violence, but compassion and outreach brings wholeness.  The earthquake and shaking of the prison got the jailors attention, but still was not the miracle needed to bring him to Christ. 

            It was Paul’s words, “do not harm yourself” that slowed the man down, and gave him the opportunity to learn more about the amazing work of God in the world.  And so the jailor, upon hearing the world of the Lord, brought Paul, Silas, and Timothy to his home, washed their wounds, and had his entire family baptized.  For all the violence this passage holds, there is such tenderness in its ending.  Such compassion and hospitality and ministry that is two-sided.  Paul ministers to the Jailor but the Jailor ministers to Paul as well.  What a gift. And then, finally, there is rejoicing.  Rejoicing was missing from the earlier healing, but now, as an entire family comes to know God through Jesus Christ, as an entire family is baptized, as an entire family breaks bread and practices hospitality, there is rejoicing. 

            Even in his possible elimination round, Paul is able to continue to bring in believers for God.  He does not allow prison to stop him.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he is able to allow God to work through him.  What man means for harm, God can use for good.  God is always calling us to freedom.  For Paul, bringing people to freedom meant his own imprisonment, his own beatings and persecution, but he was willing to suffer, to suffer for Christ who took his own cross for us. 

            We are called to look at our own lives, at the things that may be in our own way keeping us from the freedom God desires us to have.  It could be so many different things such as stress, or addictions, lies, or unhappiness, broken relationships, or grief.  I just attended an anti=racism training event through the presbytery, and our deep cultural structures, in this land of freedom, are still holding people back.  I struggle with globalization, and how we take advantage of low wage workers in other countries for the commodities we desire. 

            We all have barriers keeping us from wholeness, that is part of why we need the church, why we need a community to nurture and support us on our own Amazing races.  And why it needs to be a two-way street, where we minister to each other.  We are the priesthood of all believers, and we should all be concerned about each other, lifting each other up in prayer, getting to know each other more than just a simple hello on Sunday mornings.  Paul and the Jailor broke bread together, the jailor brought him to his home and washed his wounds, and Paul baptized his family.  They may never see each other again.  Paul is off and running, he has other places to go and other people to share God’s good news with.  But in their encounter God was present.  Ministry occurred.  A moment of wholeness was born. 

            Paul has been more than voted off the island.  Even after a public apology from the magistrates, team Paul is still asked to leave the city.  He has been eliminated, but will he be successful as he continues on his own?  Come back next week as we see how Paul does as he continues on his Amazing Race.  

Amazing Race week 3 Acts 14

The Amazing Race - team Zeus and Hermes

            The Amazing Race enters into week three as Paul and Barnabas continue their travels.  Last week they were on the island of Cyprus, where Paul won his first major completion against a magician and won a convert for the Lord.  This week they are back on the mainland but far from the promised land.  They are in Asia Minor bringing both the message of Jesus Christ and Paul becomes God’s instrument in healing a lame person.  Because of this action, Paul and Barnabas become team - Greek Gods.  In each Amazing Race, the teams of two usually have a theme that they are known by.  Contestants have been:  flight attendants, former NFL Cheerleaders, Harvard educated lawyers, parent child or sibling teams.  But never before has there been team:  Greek Gods. 

            The Greek influence was widespread through the region, as was an established Jewish population.   In various places, Paul and Barnabas would begin their teachings at the synagogues.  As Paul and Barnabas fled to Lystra they encountered a crippled man.  In the act of healing this man, Paul joins the cast of those whom God uses to heal.  First, of course, we have Jesus who heals.  But then in Acts 3 Peter also heals.  In all three cases it is a man who has been crippled since birth.  Without faith, without the word of God in our lives, without hearing the message of the good news brought to us in Jesus Christ, are we not all like the crippled man, unable to walk since birth?  And upon receiving this good news, upon hearing the message of God’s love, upon receiving the gift of faith, should we all not jump to our feet and begin a life of action?  A life that involves movement?  A life that involves wholeness? 

            Perhaps the crowd that witnessed this healing only saw the healing and did not hear the message of God’s good news.  But in this good work, in this healing, they jumped to conclusions.  They did not have the whole story and they misinterpret a powerful action of God.  They allowed their worldview, their understanding of life and the world around them to be reflected back out on Paul and Barnabas.  They cannot see things as they actually are because they are so focused on how things have always been.  And so it is only logical in their understanding that Paul must be Hermes and Barnabas must be Zeus.  Their gods have come to them in human form for there is no other way to explain the healing they have just witnessed. 

            Zeus is the Greek god of thunder and is the main god while Hermes is the messenger of the gods and is Zeus’s son.   Since Paul did the healing and the speaking he must be the messenger of the gods and is given the title of Hermes.  No sooner had word spread that Zeus and Hermes were present in the city than the priest of Zeus was in action.  If Zeus truly has come in human form, he must be given a sacrifice to keep him appeased.  So he came with oxen and garlands and the crowds joined him in making the sacrifice. 

            But Paul and Barnabas could not allow themselves to get caught up in the glory.  Here they were, being set up on a pedestal, being worshipped, glorified, and they did not wait to get knocked of the pedestal but rather jumped off themselves.  We do that to people, we put them up on a pedestal, we have expectations of them that are not realistic, and so when they do not meet up to what we want of them, they fall off.  But Paul and Barnabas do not want to be up on the pedestal, they do not want unrealistic expectations made of them, they know the real purpose behind their Amazing Race and that is to preach the good news of God made known in Jesus Christ and to make disciples. 

            And so as quickly as they can, they denounce their name of team Zeus and Hermes.  They proclaim that they are only mortals.  And then they make the hard sell.  They name things as they are.  They tell the people to stop worshipping their worthless gods and worship the true God, the God that made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 

            As Paul and Barnabas tried to convert the people of Lystra from following the Greek gods to believing and understanding in the one true God.  As they denounced themselves as gods themselves, the crowds kept coming and continued to give them sacrifices.  It was not until a strong Jewish delegation came and won over the crowd that finally the people of Lystra stopped and listened.  And again, they did not hear the message Paul brought but turned from worshipping him to stoning him.  He was beaten so badly that he was left for dead. 

            Team Paul and Barnabas have hit another roadblock, is their Amazing Race over?  After winning the crowds in city after city they have been denied, they have entered a place unwilling to participate in the amazing witness of God’s love.  Worse yet, they have been physically beaten and cast aside.   

            William Willimon writes this:  “Power, even power for good, is liable to misinterpretation and misunderstanding.  Both believers and non-believers may mistake the gospel for magic or divine omnipotence.  Dramatic healings are sure to draw a crowd in Lystra, or on Sunday morning television - for all the wrong reasons.  Bearers of Christ’s power are always in danger of being mistaken as the sources of power in themselves.  Therefore they must be prepared to correct misapprehension of their good work and to point beyond themselves and their good work to Christ.”  This reminds me of John the Baptist.  People come and believe he is the Messiah and he remains humble and points towards Jesus. 

            In my youth ministry course work, we discussed this concept of the pied piper.  We get so caught up in personalities that we begin to follow the pastor rather than Jesus.  We all want a dynamic leader that we gravitate towards, that we connect with.       Sometimes in pointing away from ourselves, sometimes in jumping off the pedestal others want to put you on, leads to an unexpected outcome.  Paul was stoned and left for dead.  But just like Paul, the crowds of Lystra did not have the final word.  Paul miraculously gets up and continues on the Amazing Race.  God is not finished with him yet.  

Amazing Race week 2 Acts 13

The Amazing Race - Paul goes to Cyprus

Reader 1:                   

Welcome to week two of the Amazing Race:   The Amazing Race is a Reality program featuring 12 teams of 2 racing around the world for a cash prize of $1,000,000. The teams compete in thirteen legs traveling all over the world. In most legs the last team to arrive at the pit stop is eliminated. The team in first place is the winner of $1,000,000 and the winner of The Amazing Race. As in most of these reality game shows, there are competitions that each team must complete.  For example, in Hawaii the teams find beach access 118 where an exhausting task requires them prepare a pig for a luau. Once they have successfully completed this task they receive the next clue instructing them to travel to a buoy field where they must search amongst over 100 buoys for a clue. Upon completing this task, they travel to a surfboard fence along the Hana Highway. One racer gains a substantial lead at the leg's Roadblock when the other teams get lost on the way to it. Ultimately, the other teams catch up, making it a very close race for the finish.

Reader 2:

Last week, we met Saul, a Pharisee from Tarsus, a Jew that was persecuting early Christians in Jerusalem.  As these early followers of Jesus fled Jerusalem due to the persecution, Saul takes it upon himself to follow them and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial.  On the road to Damascus, he is struck down by the Lord, and blinded.  Through this conversion experience Saul becomes Paul and his journey to spread the word of God made known in Jesus Christ begins. 

Reader 1:

So, in true reality game show fashion, Paul and Barnabus, partner together and head off for the first leg of the journey to Cyprus where they must face their first competition.  The team is filled with the Holy Spirit as they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues there.  When they arrive in the city of Paphos, they encounter a magician.  He is their roadblock. 

Reader 2: 

The story tells us that the magician’s  boss, the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wants to hear the word of God but the magician prevents it.  We are not told how or what he does, but merely that he tries to turn the proconsul from the faith.  As Paul and the magician square off, it almost seems as if magic is being fought with magic.  Paul seems to put a spell on him as he calls out:

Reader 1:

 “you will be blind for awhile, unable to see the sun.” 

Reader 2;

This happens throughout our scriptures, amazing occurrences that seem to be magic such as  Moses and the plagues over Egypt.  Or Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.  Over and over again, there are these competitions of - whose God is more powerful?  From 1 Kings “How long will you go limping with two different opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Ball, then follow him.”  Elijah then goes on to state that it is one against four hundred and fifty.  He alone is the prophet of God against all these others that are prophets of Baal.  He then takes two bulls, one for each camp, and they prepare them upon a fire but no fire is set.  “Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.”  The result is that the bull of Elijah is burned and consumed but not that of the prophets of Baal. 

Reader 1:

            But this is not magic.  Somehow, the power of God unleashes itself at various times in our faith history in order to point people in the direction of the true God versus false idols, gods, and worship.  We have these amazing acts in our scriptures but we can struggle with how they work in today’s world.    How Paul is given the power of blinded another, remains a mystery.  What is made clear in this story is that there are things in our way that block us from hearing the word of God.  As in the time of Elijah, we go through life limping with two opinions, that of the world and that of God.  Who will we follow?  God’s power is unleashed upon these roadblocks opening the way for us to see God’s path more clearly.  As soon as Paul blinds the magician, he removes the Roadblock, and Sergius Paulus believes.  Not only does he believe through the act of the blinding, but the scripture tells us that he is astonished at the teaching about the Lord.  The thing that was blinding him from the word of God is removed and his eyes are opened and now he can see - spiritually.  The competition is completed, Paul’s team wins one for the Lord. 

Reader 2:

            In true reality game show fashion, there now needs to be a prize or immunity for the winner.  As we seek to identify the Roadblocks in our own lives, as we seek to name the things that blind us in our own faith journey, we too are given a prize and immunity as we journey along this Amazing Race.    On a monthly basis, we receive the sacrament of Communion.  The challenges we face in our daily lives are exhausting and God meets us with spiritual food, spiritual nurture through this meal.  We are reminded that we are children of God, heirs of the Kingdom of God, brought into adoption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We do not worship Paul and his mighty acts.  We do not worship Elijah and his mighty acts.  We gather to give thanks that God’s faith history with Israel has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is still pouring forth into this world, empowering us to be God’s agents, seeking to bring God’s love, grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation into this world. 

Reader 1:

            We come to worship and God’s gift of love and grace, limping between our spiritual selves and the ways of the world.  We come with other priorities on own minds.  We come burdened with many obligations.  But we come.  We come because the prize has been won for us.  We come because we have had moments in life where we have seen clearly.  We come because we have known God’s healing touch.  We come because even in our doubt we believe.  God reminds us that Christ has given us our immunity.  We have completed this leg of the journey and gotten this far.  Now we are to be renewed and refreshed to move forward to the next stage of where God leads us.  Amen.  

Amazing Race Week 1: Acts 9

“The Amazing Race - Paul’s Conversion”

            Over the past decade or so, reality TV has really taken over.  Survivor, Big Brother, Real Housewives, the biggest Looser or the more talent focused shows such as  Dancing with the Stars and The Voice.   I, personally, am not a big fan, although I do watch a few minutes from here to there.  The biggest reason I do not like reality TV is because of how mean people can be to one another.  I guess this plays out more on shows like Survivor and Big Brother than on some of the others.  But people are in it to win, and so they form alliances and then break with the alliance and they stab one another in the back.  They are manipulative and do whatever it takes to get ahead in the game.  For, for all of these shows, it all boils down to winning the competition. 

            Now, a few years ago, I had the craziest dream.  I was on the Amazing Race.  Which is really weird because I had not ever even watched the show all the way through.  Maybe a few minutes here or there, but never an entire episode.  When I woke up in the morning, I thought to myself, here is an idea for a sermon series.  The Amazing Race - Paul’s journey.  If you think about it, Paul well that is Saul, has all the makings for a great TV reality show.  He is a religious fanatic.  He persecutes people.  He has power and influence.  He’s a real great guy.  He embodies drama and that’s what people want, right?  Some really good drama.  He would probably do really well on Survivor, but we are going to put him on the Amazing Race, because after his conversion experience, this man travels. 

            Here’s just a little bit of background information on the Amazing Race according to Wikipedia:  The Amazing Race is going into its 30^th season.   Season 14 lasted for 22 days and the partipants traveled over 40,000 miles. The teams raced in nine countries, including Romania , India, People's Republic of China and Russia , with the finish line in Maui, Hawaii.  The teams took a 13-hour train ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and got into a Siberian snowstorm with below-zero temperatures.   The teams suffered extreme climates, intense Roadblocks and less time in airports, which added up to an exhausting course for the racers. In addition, CBS revealed the Race included the world's second tallest bungee jump, suffocating heat in India, and an Olympic-themed challenge that left the teams "gasping for air."

            Well, according to one source, Paul traveled over 10,000 miles by foot and boat.   He didn’t do all this in just 22 days, but in those days, he covered a lot of ground.  On Paul’s first journey he traveled from Antioch though the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus then on to Pamphylia, visiting at least nine cities in various regions.  On his second journey he traveled from Jerusalem up to Antioch across the region to Greece visiting Philippi, Thessalonica, and Ephesus.  On his third Journey He traveled out of Jerusalem up through Asia minor to Greece and on over to Italy ending in Rome.  Through his Amazing Race he was imprisoned, stoned and left for dead, and believed to be a god. 

            But before we can get to his Amazing Race, we must begin with the beginning.  The first we hear of Saul is in the book of Acts chapter 7, at the death of Stephen.  According to William Willimon, “Saul is introduced as a violent, active, resourceful persecutor of the young community.”  According to Acts, Saul is from Tarsas, is a devout Jew, and a Pharisee.  The Pharisees emphasized laws of purity, they ritualistically cleansed.  They excluded unclean people.  They tithed, kept the Sabbath, and fasted.  Unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees did believe in the concept of the resurrection of the righteous.  He saw this movement of people following the teachings of Jesus as people breaking from the Jewish faith.  His response, to keep the faith pure, was to persecute those that defiled it.  He loves God and wants to stop others from defiling the true worship of our Creator. 

            As the persecution of the early followers of Jesus grew, many fled Jerusalem to other areas.  Saul, takes it upon himself, to follow those who have fled and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial.  And so his adventure begins.  He sets off from Jerusalem to Damascus, but before he arrives to his destination he is struck down and blinded.  A voice calls out, naming him, and him alone.  There are others with him, others that are participating in the persecution, but this conversion experience is for Saul and Saul alone.  This greatly differs from the mass conversions that have been happening in the book of Acts since the day of Pentecost.  Thousands have been coming to know Jesus through the out pouring of the Holy Spirit, but here it is specifically directed to Saul. 

            What I find the most interesting about Saul’s conversion experience is how others react to it.  This is their enemy.  This is the man that witnessed the death of their dear friend Stephen.  How are they to trust him?  How are they to accept him?  And how are they to give him leadership with in the community?  Saul did not just appoint himself a follower of Christ.  Ananias plays a significant role in affirming God’s call to Saul.  Ananias also receives a vision and is sent to the house where Saul is staying.  And even though he is having a vision, Ananias questions what he is to do.  Sound familiar?  So often, those called by God and question if this is really the right action to take.  So Ananias goes.  And when he arrives and speaks to Saul, Saul’s eye sight returns. 

            The Presbyterian Church follows a very similar pattern to this passage in Acts about the call process.  Jesus reaches out to Saul but also to Ananias.  There is a second party involved with this process.  There is someone else that can attest that yes, indeed, Saul has been called by God to be a part of this amazing experience of following Christ.  In the Presbyterian Church, we don’t question people’s conversion stories.  We welcome people as members of the church.  But, in bringing people into leadership, we have a process.  The nomination committee is suppose to spend time in discernment of who within the congregation has the gifts to lead the church forward at this particular moment in time, and then the congregation elects those that are nominated.  The same holds true for pastors.  As we feel called to enter seminary, we must spend time with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry.  This is a group of elders and pastors that discern whether someone is truly called to ministry and if that person is equipped with gifts for such a task.  Then the Presbytery affirms that call.  We just don’t appoint ourselves pastors, elders, or deacons. 

            Saul does great things in Damascus and Acts tells us that the Jews there plotted to kill him.  Saul then flees back to Jerusalem.  The disciples there were afraid of him and they did not believe he was a disciple.  And again, it takes the affirmation of another, this time Barnabas, to convince the disciples that Saul was no longer the enemy.   The strength of the way this early community works is that at first, they let the way of the world impact their spiritual call to leadership.  They are afraid.  But through trust and allowing their spiritual selves govern, they open themselves up to risk and practice hospitality to Saul. 

            Hospitality is a missional practice of the church today.  As we seek to be a welcoming place, we must also learn what is happening out in the world.  Who is it that we want to welcome?  And how is it that we can connect?  We say we want to welcome all.  Have we been out to understand how it is that children, youth, young adults and young families process information in the world of today?  Do we understand what is important to them, priorities, purpose and passion.  I, personally, find it interesting that after forty years, the church is still complaining about Sunday sports.  I played sports on Sunday when I was a child, this is not a new phenomena, we just have not adapted or responded, or tried to do anything different.  And then we lament the loss of our children and families. 

            Hospitality involves thinking about what time works f or families in today’s world, what means of communication works for families, what message do they need to hear of God’s love for them?  In the missional practice of hospitality, we need to go out and learn what it means to be a good guest. We need to get ourselves out of Jerusalem.  We need to join Paul on this Amazing Race.  We need to focus on the spiritual call that God has given this place and we need to bring it out into the world. 

            God’s mercy is greater than our human understanding and God’s plan will unfold using even the most unlikely people.  As Saul becomes Paul his life is transformed and he becomes not only an evangelist for Jesus but he the letters he writes to the congregations throughout the region have become sacred texts for us.  For God can take the most negative action and bring a positive response into being.  Let us celebrate with joy that Paul has was called by God and embarks on this Amazing Race.   Amen.