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Reuben's Sermon for Saint Paul's Day:
Reuben's Theme: "Is this the Word of The Lord?"
(The Conversion of Saint Paul) - MORNING
MASS
0800hrs. and 0930hrs at Saint George's Parish Church - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 25th. January 2004 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Acts: 9.1-22 Ps: 67
Galatians: 1.11-16a Matthew: 19.27-30
January 25, 2004 Cycle C.
COLLECT of the day:
Almighty God, who caused the light of the
gospel to shine throughout the world - through the preaching
of your servant Saint Paul:
grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion may follow
him in bearing witness to your truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever.
Morning Masses:
FIRST READING (morning Mass)
Acts: 9.1-22
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
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 travelling 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, and immediately
he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, 'He is
the Son of God.'
All who heard him were amazed and said, 'Is not this the man
who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name?
And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound
before the chief priests?'
Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews
who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
PSALM:
Psalm: 67 (morning Mass)
RR Let the peoples praise you,
O God; let all the peoples praise you.
1 May God be
merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance
and come to us.
2 Let your ways
be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations. RR
[ 3 Let the peoples
praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you. ]
4 Let the nations
be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth. RR
[ 5 Let the peoples
praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you. ]
6 The earth has
brought forth her increase; may God, our own God, give us his
blessing.
7 May God give
us his blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe
of him. RR
SECOND READING (morning Mass)
Galatians: 1.11-16a.
A reading from the letter of Paul to the
Galatians.
I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that
was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive
it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it
through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was
violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy
it.
I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same
age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called
me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so
that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer
with any human being.
GOSPEL (morning Mass)
Matthew: 19. 27-30
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew.
Peter said to Jesus: 'Look, we have left everything and followed
you. What then will we have?'
Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all
things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory,
you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father
or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive
a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.'
POST COMMUNION
Lord God, the source of truth and love, keep
us faithful to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, united
in prayer and the breaking of bread, and one in joy and simplicity
of heart, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reuben's Theme: "Is this the
Word of The Lord?"
+ In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I have never come across such a wealth of material, brought about
by the combination of just three readings.
The readings; from the Acts of the Apostles, part of a Letter
from Paul to the Galatians and Matthew's Gospel are rich with
material for any preacher.
Saint Paul, his devout religious background, his conversion,
his ministry and the place we give him in the Church (as well
as in our hearts) are just the main of many aspects of our liturgy
today.
This morning I want us to ask ourselves just one question.
At the end of our readings we say, "This is the Word of
The Lord"
After hearing parts of Paul's letters we hear the words "This
is the Word of The Lord".
The question I want to ask is:
"Is this the Word of The Lord?"
I have to admit that I am far more comfortable with the innocent
and pure faith of Peter, than the intellectual and practical
faith of Paul.
When we read Paul's letters - is it the Word of The Lord?
Paul, who in his letter to the Ephesians (3:8), referred to himself
as the very least of all the saints - the lowliest of all Christians
- has been raised to a position of great importance by the Christian
Church.
The first time we hear of Paul, he is known as Saul in Acts of
the Apostles at the end of Chapter 7.
During the stoning of Stephen (the first Martyr), Saul was in
charge. We know this because the witnesses laid their coats at
his feet.
As we heard today, he was responsible for systematic ethnic cleansing
in Jerusalem.
He ravaged the church by entering house after house; dragging
off both men and women, committing them to prison and was now
on the move.
Saul was a very special man...
An intellectual man...
A clever man...
A devout nan...
And very dangerous man!
Armed with letters, addressed to the synagogues in Damascus.
Letters from the high priest in Jerusalem, giving him the authority
to arrest (and bring back to Jerusalem) any men or women
who belonged to "the Way" (Christians to you and me),
he was travelling to Damascus, when something amazing happened.
We are given a description of "a light from heaven flashing
around Saul" and the voice of Jesus saying, "Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?" and directing him to
continue to Damascus where he would be, "told what to
do."
How vague can you get?
But, you see, that's how God works.
Trust in God and do his will and salvation will be yours.
Saul, in total confusion and blind, trusts God and continues
his journey.
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.
The first real proof that Saul has been chosen by God becomes
even more apparent when God speaks to someone, minding their
own business, at home in Damascus.
God speaks to a disciple (a Christian) called Ananias.
Ananias answers, "Here I am Lord."
God tells Ananias to go to a house in Straight Street and look
for a man from Tarsus names Saul.
Ananias is shocked!
Not THE Saul. The one from Tarsus, in charge of eradicating
the Christian faith and imprisoning all disciples of Christ.
Ananias had already heard of him.
You can imagine how Ananias felt.
Ananias has only God's word that Saul is praying and in need
of his ministry.
Every bone in his body is telling him that this is a mistake,
and Saul will have him arrested.
But God has told him that Saul 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.
God also tells Ananias, '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, trusting in God, Ananias goes to find Saul.
Trust in God and do his will and salvation will be yours.
On finding Saul, Ananias lays his hands on him and says, '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.'
Saul was blinded until he met Ananias when "something
like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored."
This Skilful use of metaphors, tells this very important part
of the story of Saul's conversion, very powerfully.
What happened (like a flash of light) on the road to Damascus
was that suddenly Saul started to understand what it was all
about. He had the intelligence and intellect to know that something
very important was going on here, but he could not make sense
of it.
He could not put the pieces together... ...He was blind.
God directs Saul to continue to the Damascus, and that something
would happen there. What? Saul did not know.
He was so confused (trying desperately to work it out) that he
neither ate or drank.
With Ananias' help, Saul now has what he needs to know what it's
all about. He is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Saul is baptised. He immediately begins to proclaim Jesus in
the synagogues, saying "He is the Son of God!"
Time after time, as the story of Paul's conversion unfolds, we
have powerful evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit working.
Paul is a very cleaver and intellectual man.
He worked out the theory of Christianity for himself.
But without the power of the Spirit he wouldn't have known the
truth of Christianity.
As Paul says in our second reading, "I want you to know,
brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by
me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human
source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation
of Jesus Christ.
You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was
violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy
it.
I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same
age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called
me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so
that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer
with any human being."
Saul, now known as Paul, goes on to spread the Christian
faith, and suffers deeply as a consequence.
Paul was prepared to gave up everything.
His home.
His way of life.
His business.
and even his freedom.
But as Jesus said in today's gospel, "...everyone who
has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or
children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Paul called himself the least of all the Saints.
As his letters spread throughout the world he has become, and
always was, one of the greatest.
So, when we read Paul's letters, is this the word of the Lord?
My answer is:
If you read a good translation and...
If you remember that he was writing for (and from) the point
of view of, a society almost two thousand years ago...
Then the answer, even for me, has to be YES.
And I strongly recommend you to take a little time out to read
his letters.
Either New Revised Standard Version or New Jerusalem.
Paul, chosen by God.
Believe me, Paul's letters are fascinating.
After all...
...they are the Word of The Lord.
+ In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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