Scriptural Basis
Matthew 10:16-22 (NRSV)
Jesus said to the twelve, "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."Acts 26:9-21 (NRSV)
Paul said to King Agrippa, "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
"With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, `Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' I asked, `Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, `I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles-- to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
"After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me."
Blog Reflection
I think for LGBT people and many women if we were to meet St. Paul our first question upon meeting him just might be: "What the hell were you thinking when you wrote the things you wrote?" St. Paul is a hero to those who are white, male and heterosexual. At lest we think he is. Considering how much the whole Bible and particularly Paul is used against LGBT and the inclusion of women in the Church, many of us have painful memories of how Paul's writings have been used. That is of course until we read a good book about unraveling those famous "clobber passages" in Romans 1:27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1: 10. There are others who suggest that the "thorn in my flesh" that Paul referred to in 2 Corinthians 14: 7 was homosexuality. However, if we take that in light of what Gray Temple says in his book Gay Unions: In the Light of Scripture, Tradition and Reason, then there is a real problem. Because the Biblical authors including Paul did not have two abstract concepts called heterosexual and homosexual.
Today, we commemorate not so much of what Paul says, but his conversion experience. He was a man filled with misplace zeal as he was on his way to kill Christians before Jesus confronted him. How many of us wish that Jesus would confront the Tea Party folks and many others who continue to suggest gun violence towards President Obama and those of us who are liberals or progressives. Paul was told who it was that he was persecuting. Jesus in that moment personified in Paul the teachings he laid out in Matthew 25: 31-46. How well are we in this 21st Century personifying the words of Jesus who tells us "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."?
We continue to see Christians using the Name of Jesus Christ to justify scapegoating women, LGBT and many others. We also hear of Christians using the Bible as a WMD to individuals of other religions, such as Rep. Peter King who is determined to continue to vilify Muslims and Islamic people. On Martin Luther King's Holiday, an individual left a very destructive explosive during the MLK Parade in Spokane, Washington. As much as we don't really want to talk or hear about it, let us not forget that earlier this month a Jewish member of Congress was shot in the head as she was trying to meet with constituents in her district. The Westboro Baptist Church led by Rev. Fred Phelps was prepared to picket the funeral of the nine year old girl who was killed on that terrible day. They even produced a poster that suggested that the shooter did America a "favor".
When we see Christians using the Gospel as an excuse for violence and prejudice we need to ask the question, is the Church in 2011 still open to conversion? Do we understand that there needs to be some good conversation about how to help people on ground zero work their way towards some kind of personal independence? And that Christians do not exemplify a converted heart when we ignore our obligation to those who really do need us to love them as they are, welcome them in all hospitality and participate in the radical ministry of reconciliation for and with them? It really is not okay to justify the violence that refuses to see that Jesus Christ is suffering in the poor, the marginalized and the sick. When we turn our backs on the countless women and men who are unemployed, afraid of loosing their homes, not sure if they will have their health care because our Republican House and many Legislatures around the country want to take health care away from people, we are ignoring Jesus Christ who is being forgotten. We are failing to participate with the Holy Spirit as she calls us to conversion as the Church.
Conversion is something that is on-going. It is not a once done, it's done deal. Once we have experienced conversion there is no "guaranteed life insurance policy." Conversion takes place every minute and hour that we participate in God's Holy Spirit's call to allowing God to use us to influence the world for the better. When we work to bring peace where there is war. When we learn acceptance and let go of prejudice to learn about those things that we do not understand about other people, God is converting our hearts and lives. It is quite okay to face those things and learn that our former attitudes and actions were wrong. That is when we and the world around us experiences conversion. Kurt Kaiser in the hymn Pass It On wrote: "That's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it. You want to sing it's fresh like spring, You want to pass it on."
Prayers
O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the Conversion of St. Paul, Book of Common Prayer, page 238, 239).
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (A Prayer attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).
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