Have you ever been going along when something or someone stopped you in your tracks?
- You were jogging down a path and you saw a snake? Heard that ominous rattle?
- Or when you were driving down the road and the sunset inspired you to pull over and pause for a moment…
- You were walking out of a store and you witnessed a mother and her daughter skipping and singing gleefully and you were so caught up in the joy you had to take a moment
- Perhaps you witnessed a moment of great suffering or received surprising news
- Maybe a new thought or observation came your way and you had to stop everything and give it attention
Have you ever been stopped in your tracks?
Paul, Saul rather, is stopped in his tracks on the Damascus Road (Acts 9).
He is overwhelmed with God’s presence, the presence of the Risen Christ in his midst…
The light of Christ brings Saul to his knees, he is reoriented and set on track for a new purpose, for God’s mission. As Saul answers the call and is sent, the way he sees – or doesn’t see – is at once changed.
This is a moment of conversion and call, in that Saul is changed, his way of seeing and understanding God, the world, and himself is transformed.
But there’s another transformation in this story – that of Ananias – who must experience a transformation of heart and thought in order to answer God’s call and help and love Saul, an enemy of him and the church.
The call comes, transformation takes place, both for the “outsider” to the church, and for the “insider”. We, too are transformed by God’s word and the call and transformation of others often calls for a transformation of ourselves. It requires that we, too, not remain the same. We are opened up to the presence of God in new ways. Paul’s transformation and call is bound up with Ananias’ call and transformation. We need each other and we need each other’s discerning and response to God’s call. And we need Paul and Ananias for the church, for the mission and ministry of God then and there and here and now.
God is all around us, and sometimes God stops us in our tracks, gets our attention, refocuses us for a life of discipleship, pointing us toward the future, toward God, toward our neighbor. God stops us in our tracks, overwhelms us with grace and love, then calls and sometimes drags us forward to do the next, right, faithful thing.
Let the presence and love of God stop you in your tracks this week.
When an idea, an observation, a message, a sight causes you to pause, spend some time in prayer and listen for God’s call. Get ready for God to reorient you and move you into what lies ahead, to all the places the risen Christ already is and will be going as you share the good news of God’s grace, love, forgiveness, and abundant life.
The risen Christ emboldened and empowered the disciples to live out this new life. That same Christ, risen and alive, is with us now, emboldening and empowering us to reflect the life-giving love of God in Christ.
God, who has brought you again to new life, sustain you in love to live the good news of resurrection.
Pastor Drew