"OF"
February 13, 2011
Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa

Acts 22:3-16

‘I, Paul, am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, [Jerusalem], at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. ‘While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” Then he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.” Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.” Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus. ‘A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me; and standing beside me, he said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!” In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have * seen and * heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.” [This ends this sacred writing.]

SERMON

A long time ago people were known by the tribe they belonged to, or their occupation, or where they lived. Now our last names tell of our families. So we have names such as Joe Carpenter. Also, John Benson, which is the ‘son of Ben.’ Or Maria Romano, which is Mary of Rome. In Irish names, Mac, sometimes written Mc, is the Gaelic word for "son" and was attached to the father's name or trade. O is a word all by itself, signifying "grandson" when it was attached to a grandfather's name or trade.

I found out that the origin of my last name is son of Simon; Simon is a Hebrew name from Simeon. In French names, such as Jean de Gaulle, we have John, son of Gaulle. Or Pierre Boulanger, which is Peter the Baker. We have scriptural names such as Paul of Tarsis Jesus of Nazareth, and Mary of Magdala. Magdala was a fishing village on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

When a person said his or her name, the hearer would pretty much know what family, what occupation, or the territory where the person came from. The hearer would know, perhaps most importantly to some, whether the person was part of their extended family, or tribe, in other words, was part of your group or strangers --- and, if a stranger, always to be suspect. Why? Because they were the ‘other.’ They were not part of who we were. Not part of our gang. In both olden and modern times we learn who the ‘other’ is by the way he or she dresses, and by their speech.

Today, we also find out about each other through Facebook and Linked-In. All that the people who were followers of Jesus knew was that a well-known and well-educated and well-connected Pharisee, Paul of Tarsis, was chasing them. If Paul was on Facebook or Linked-In he would have a lot of contacts!

Paul, for the followers of Jesus, was an ‘other’ person whom they wanted to avoid. But Paul was not a bad or evil person. He was following the letter of the law and therefore his conscience. As a Pharisee he was dedicated to help his fellow Israelites deepen their faith and become more serious in the practice of the Jewish rituals. His fear, and the anxiety of his contemporary Pharisees, was that the Jesus movement was rapidly growing. The Commandment that there be only one God was, in their view, being violated by the followers of Jesus.

The Way, as it was called, was a threat to what the Pharisees believed. The Way, was, for them, the ‘other’ Way – the wrong Way. Paul’s apprehension probably worsened as he would talk to the people he arrested, and tied up, and brought back to Jerusalem. I can picture the enthusiasm of the followers of Jesus – those early Christians who risked life and property in order to join The Way. Those early followers accepted the ‘Other’ who was Jesus.

Now, Paul was traveling to Damascus, which was, and is, the capital of Syria. The city, according to archeology, is over 7,000 years old. That means that when Paul was traveling to it, the city was over 5,000 years old. It was a worldly city, with Greek, Roman, Persian, other eastern, and Jewish influences upon it. It was a city that accepted strangers – it accepted ‘others.’ So the followers of Jesus probably had more acceptance in Damascus than in cities in Israel. But Paul was determined to stop that.

What had Paul found out from talking to the other Christians he arrested? He learned that Jesus was a miracle worker and a teacher. He learned that charges were brought against Jesus by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin. He learned that even after Jesus was executed as a criminal, people were calling him the Messiah. And, most importantly, Paul learned that the people who believed in Jesus reported that this Jesus had been resurrected from the dead! We know that all Pharisees were not actively persecuting Christians.

In the Book of Acts at 5:38-39 we are told that the teaching Pharisee, Gamaliel, who Paul studied under, told the High Priest and the Council, to “ . . . keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them —in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” Obviously, Paul did not agree with his very patient teacher, Gamaliel.

Yet, years later, after Paul founded the Christian community in Corinth, he wrote to them in 1 Corinthians 15:88 and said of his conversion experience: “Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Paul experienced a powerful encounter with an ‘other;’ This ‘other’ was the divine ‘Other’ Jesus himself.

One of Paul’s stumbling blocks to belief in Jesus, other than remaining in his cultural and religious beliefs, was the resurrection of the man Jesus from the dead --- especially after a crucifixion. Romans did not allow criminals to be wounded and then taken off a cross. If a person was executed by crucifixion, that person was dead. Period.

In Paul’s mind, based upon all of Jewish teaching, no person who had set himself above the law, would be glorified. And the followers of Jesus certainly did glorify Jesus. But Paul had an upfront and personal and direct interaction with Jesus of Nazareth!

When Paul fell to the ground and heard the voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.” That is formidable! There was very little wiggle room there for Paul! God had his attention. Jesus was in Paul's face. Later, in his letter to the Galatian Christian community, [at Gal 1:15-16] Paul wrote: ‘God, 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.’ Paul of Tarsus accepted the Other, the Divine Other. And Paul accepted Jesus, not just as an ‘other,’ but also as his friend.

Let me switch gears. Even in a close friendship, especially as time continues, that initial experience no longer exists; and it becomes easier and easier to take the ‘other’ for granted. Let us look at people who really want to get to know another person in friendship: If we look at people who fall in love and begin to look to marriage, they see the ‘other’ person, but they also have the experience of the new love within themselves. They become ‘of’ the ‘other’ person. Yet, even in marriage, especially as time continues, that initial experience of love no longer exists; and it becomes easier and easier to take the ‘other’ for granted. Paul never allowed this to happen.

Let me give another way of approaching this. When children are born, they do not allow a parent to take them for granted. Children, who are also people, are ‘other’ individuals, and they demand attention. They will be the ‘other’, whether a parent likes it or not. And every parent of a baby has well learned this. Young children make their presence known. An ‘other,’ whether a baby or an adult takes a person out of him and herself. This is also true, if you will allow it, the Divine Other.

The accurate statement, “It’s not about you anymore,” is wisdom. It’s not about you - in marriage; or with children, or with close friends, not at your place at work, nor with Jesus.

As a person matures, they start to realize that there are ‘other’s around them. When true maturity starts to set in, a person gives all of who they are to an ‘other’.

A person grows in humility; humility defined as knowing who we are, and how we assimilate with our friends, and how we integrate with our God. So, as a person matures, and accepts what humility is about, they are able to begin to genuinely understand that the Divine ‘other’ is somehow present in their life. God is, in one way or another, behind and in their life.

The initial emotions when we meet a person, can last only so long. Emotions have a short life. Real friendship, real love develops over time. Real 'friendship love' has heart, but it also engages the mind and it captures the soul. What carries a person through life is true friendships.

That is what carried Paul through all he did – until his death. A friend, whether a person next to you, or the divine Jesus, is someone you can be with without talking. A friend is someone you can confide your deepest fears to. A friend accepts you for who you are. A friend does not gossip behind your back. A friend is there when YOU need a friend. Jesus' and Paul's friendship began on that fateful road to Damascus. Jesus was no longer the stranger to be feared; no longer the ‘other’ to be shunned. And the followers, the friends of Jesus, were no longer to be arrested. They became his fellow co-workers. They all became fellow members OF the Body of Christ. They now had a certain identity. They were OF someone.

In his letter to the Galatians [2:16-20] Paul wrote that the life that he was living in the flesh he lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself for him. We can make the same declaration, for this is the same Jesus who loves us, and gave himself for us – for you – for me.

Like Paul, we can accounce that the life that we are living in the flesh we are living by faith in the Son of God. For we are children OF God; members OF the Body of Christ; covenanted members with each other OF this church, Christ’s church, in this community called the First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa, living and working in and for the Glory of God.

In maturity, we no longer live just for ourselves, but for many ‘others’ and the divine ‘Other.’ That is maturity – to be a woman OF God; a man OF God; a child OF God. Amen.

ADDITIONAL READINGS

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Galatians 2:16-20

We know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.