Today’s message centers on the story of Saul on the road to Damascus as found in Acts 9:1-20, with a spattering of Fleetwood Mac, the movie Sliding Doors, and Peter Frampton thrown in for good measure.  Enjoy!

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

If you don’t recognize those words spoken, you may recognize them sung, it’s a very catchy tune.

The song Go Your Own Way is one of several hit singles by Fleetwood Mac on their 1977 album, Rumours.  Rumours was critically acclaimed and popular: it won the Grammy for album of the year, and went on to sell over 40 million copies. That puts it in the top ten of album sales of all time, right up there with the likes of Michael Jackson, the Eagles and Pink Floyd.

Rumours was also featured on an episode of the TV series Glee a few years ago. I remember watching that episode with my wife, falling in love with the songs all over again, and seeing the lead character, Will Schuster, pull the album from his personal record collection, and play it for his students, in hopes of encouraging them to sing some of the songs. Within minutes of watching that episode I hopped over to my laptop and purchased a used copy of the album, on vinyl, a record. Suddenly I just had to have that album in my collection too.

And yes, my wife and I still have, and use, our record player on occasion. There is just something special to me, about listening to music on an old-school record player. Perhaps, at least in that regard, we go our own way as well.

Saul
The reading from Acts today tells the story of someone definitely going their own way, Saul, of Tarsus. Before the events we heard about in Acts 9, Saul has a pretty bad reputation. Saul’s one burning desire as a young man was to find and jail, and sometimes kill, early converts to Christianity. In Acts 7 we hear the story of Stephen, the first martyr in Luke’s depiction of the early church in Jerusalem, who was stoned to death by an angry mob. Some of the people who watched the stoning put their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. It was a sign of respect, of importance. This Saul was a pretty central character in the effort to squash out the spread of the Jesus movement in those early years.

In modern terms, at best, you might label Saul a religious zealot. At worst, considering the nature of what he was up to, perhaps a terrorist. Labels or no labels, based on his actions, Saul was no role model any of us would aspire to be like.

Today we find Saul on a mission to see the high priest. Saul is hoping to convince local synagogues, to allow him to arrest these early Christ-followers, and take them back to Damascus, in chains. At the time the term Christianity wasn’t used. The label Christian was not common. Instead, the term followers of the Way was used to describe people drawn to this early Jesus movement. Not followers of “A” Way. Followers of THE Way.  And Saul was hoping to collect this next batch of followers of the Way and haul them off in chains.

But then, on the road to Damascus, something happened. As Saul approached the city, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. Likely in shock, he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” Looking to understand what was going on, Saul then asks “Who are you, lord?”

The voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up, go to the city, and await instructions.” Saul then gets up off the ground, realizes he is blind, and asks his companions to take him to Damascus. And there he waits, blind, fasting for three days. Not eating or drinking, just praying, awaiting what was to come.

Ananias
SIDE EFFECTS :If you go through any of following purchase generic viagra soft tab, stop taking this medication and seek emergency medical care immediately. These lessons are not boring unless one is too much interesting in playing video buy at website cheap cialis games. Mineral water alkalinizes the body’s fluids including bile, improves digestion, and viagra 10mg lessens abdominal pain, heartburn, spasms, reflux, diarrhea, and constipation. In order to avoid buying viagra professional price http://davidfraymusic.com/project/dont-miss-david-frays-german-tour-with-academy-of-st-martin-in-the-fields/ from a fraudulent website. There is another main character in our text today, Ananias. He is described as a believer; he too had a vision where the Lord spoke to him, calling him by name, “Ananias!” In this vision Ananias is given some marching orders of his own: go to this street, to that house, ask for a man named Saul. “I have shown Saul a vision of his own,” the Lord says. “And told him you were coming, to lay hands on him, to give him sight.”

When Ananias heard this, well, he wasn’t exactly thrilled. “But Lord,” Ananias retorts, “this Saul has done terrible things to believers! And he can arrest those who call on your name!” I can’t say I blame Ananias for this response, this mission sounds like a dangerous one.

The Lord would have none of that. “Go!”, the Lord says. “Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to kings, to Israel, to Greeks, to the world.” Perhaps not wanting to argue more, Ananias chooses to listen to the Lord, gets up, and finds Saul. He then lays his hands on Saul, saying “regain your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Saul, now healed, gets up, and is baptized.

Sliding Doors
Thinking about this story of Saul and Ananias I can’t help but be reminded of a movie from the 1990s, Sliding Doors. In it, the main character, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, either catches a train, or doesn’t. It’s those sliding doors of the train that either let her in the train, or keep her out, stuck at the station. The film alternates between these two parallel universes, outlining how important this one moment in time, of train catching, is for her. As the movie unfolds you see how whether she catches the train impacts what she does for her next job and who she falls in love with. Eventually it becomes a matter of life or death for her. It’s fascinating to see how these two parallel universes play out next to each other, scene by scene.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, we don’t have parallel universes like that playing out in our reading today. It’s just one narrative, some action, some drama, a conclusion. But what we do have is a train catching moment. Actually two of them. One for Saul; one for Ananias.

After hearing the voice of the risen Christ, after finding himself now blind, Saul had a decision to make. Would he listen to this voice, the voice of Jesus, who asked him to travel to Damascus and wait for the Lord? Or would he pull a Jonah, turn around, and go in the exact opposite direction? Said differently, would he catch that train, to Damascus? Or, in Fleetwood Mac style, would Saul continue to go his own way?

Ananias has a similar moment, a similar choice. He too, heard the voice of the risen Christ, and it asked him to do something. Go see a man with a reputation for violence against your kind. Lay hands on this man, heal him. Would Ananias heed this voice, to go, to heal? To gift Saul the Holy Spirit, to baptize him? To help launch Saul’s evangelistic world tour? Or, would Ananias go his own way, leaving Saul blind, and waiting for a train that would never arrive? These two men had some important decisions to make. Decisions that have shaped how we view faith for almost two millennia.

We know the end to this story. Both Saul and Ananias chose not to go their own way, but instead followed THE Way. But I think it’s worth talking about what was at stake here.

After Acts 9 Saul is often referred to in scripture as Paul. This experience, on the road, changed him, so much so that the author of Acts uses a new name for him. His choice to follow THE Way netted him a new identity.

There was also something rather novel about Paul, he was both a Jew and a Roman citizen. He used this dual identity to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences. His choice to follow the THE WAY allowed him to spread the Good News in ways and places that others simply couldn’t. He was the right man for the job.

Paul is credited with writing up to fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament. That’s a big chunk! In his book called Paul: The Mind of the Apostle, best-selling author A.N. Wilson concludes that, “Christianity, without Paul, is literally nothing.” Let me repeat that: “Christianity, without Paul, is literally nothing.” That’s a powerful and provocative statement about the importance of this one person on the birth and expansion of Christianity in our world. Had Paul and Ananias not caught that train, had they gone their own way, we likely wouldn’t be sitting in a worship service here today. Human history, and our understanding of the divine, would not be the same.

Show Me The Way
So what happened to Saul and Ananias? Here’s one way to look at it. Initially they were singing some Fleetwood Mac, some ancient form of you can go your own way was bouncing around their subconscious. Then they had a change of heart, and a change of tune. Instead of Fleetwood Mac their tune now sounded a little more like Peter Frampton. More like his song Show me the way. Oh, won’t you show me the way, everyday.

Going our own way is a natural, very human thing to do. We want what’s best for ourselves and our families, or at least what we think is best. We can go our own way, we really can. That option is always out there. And it has been, ever since the very beginning. Adam and Eve had that option, to eat, or not eat the fruit.

But what do we miss out on when we do go our own way? There are about 2.2 billion Christians in the world, or roughly a third of the world’s population. Imagine what would be possible if we changed our tune too, from going our own way to asking to be shown the way. Jesus fed 5,000, miraculous. How many can we feed, in the name of Christ? When you go not on your own way, but follow the way, just about anything is possible. In the name of Christ we can give sight to the blind, heal the sick, feed the hungry, love our neighbors, both here and abroad, as ourselves. When we follow the way we do no less than change the world, living into the promises of our salvation.

You can go your own way. You really can. But once you’ve walked with the risen Christ, and experienced what that’s like, why would you want to? Lord, I’m tired of going my own way. Lord, won’t you show me, show us, THE Way, everyday. Amen.

This message centers on the apostle Thomas, and reflects on John 20:19-31.  There are a couple of funky things about this one.  It was given at Bar Church on the stage of The Kelsey Theater, a truly unique setting and way of doing church I’ll blog on shortly.  Second, a funky setting screams for a funky message format.  In this case the message is a series of letters, or perhaps emails, written to Thomas.  He never wrote back.

Bar Church featured a ton of pop-culture songs, including U2’s Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.  In a few spots the message reflects back on lyrics from this song.

The idea for this email format came from a seminary bud who took a similar approach with a most excellent message she did recently, Dear Woman, that one is highly recommended as well.  Either listen or read, Dear Thomas below, whichever option suits you.  Enjoy!

Dear Thomas,
Where were you?
Ten disciples saw Jesus that day,
Not Judas, he betrayed Jesus,
So I didn’t expect him to show up.
But you, you were still one of the crew.

On the day He rose from the tomb,
You missed out. You missed Him,
Walking, talking, among them,
They saw Him in the flesh.
Saw where nails pierced His hands,
Where a spear pierced His side.
He gave them the Holy Spirit that day.
But you? You missed out.
You missed the very first Easter.

Dear Thomas,
Yeah, I’m talking to you.
When the other disciples told you,
That they had seen the risen Christ,
Why didn’t you believe them?
These are your people!
You spent three years with this group,
Your closest friends,
Living, learning, dining, mourning,
Watching miracles performed,
Right before your very eyes.
Didn’t you trust them?

But instead of belief,
Instead of trust,
You asked for proof.
To see the marks of nails,
Through torn flesh.

And not just to see,
You wanted more.
You wanted to put your finger,
In the mark of the nails.
To put your hand,
Where a spear pierced His side.
Unless that happens, you said,
You will not believe.

Wouldn’t it have been better,
In that moment, if you had believed?
A better reflection, on you?
A better example, for us?

Dear Thomas,
Many of us have a nickname for you,
Did you know that?
You’re not just Thomas, the apostle
You are doubting Thomas,
The one who struggled with belief,
Just a little more than the others.

How do you feel about this nickname?
Is it fair? Is it your reality?
Are you still looking for proof?
I wonder about that, Thomas.

Dear Thomas,
It was a week after,
After you chose, not to trust,
Your brother disciples.
To not believe what they had seen.
It was a week after,
When Jesus then appeared,
To you, as well.

He showed you those marks,
In his hands, in his side.
You then recognized your friend,
The Christ,
And proclaimed,
“My Lord, my God!”

Jesus then asked you a question,
“Have you believed, Thomas,
Because you have seen?”
“Blessed are those, who have not seen,
And yet come, to believe.”
Do you feel like you missed out?
Missed out on that blessing?
I wonder about that, Thomas.

Dear Thomas,
I didn’t have that chance,
To meet the risen Christ,
At least not in person.
Not like you.
You’re pretty lucky.

I hope we can meet,
You and I, one day,
Maybe have a coffee, and talk,
Talk about what it was like,
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That someone you loved,
So dearly, was more than a man,
More than a teacher,
More than a religious figure.

What was it like, to know,
With all certainty, that the One,
Who stood before you,
Was the Son of God.
I’d like to know more, Thomas.

Dear Thomas,
A confession, at times,
I too, have doubts,
Sometimes belief, in the unseen,
Is hard, right?
You must understand.

When you put your finger,
In the mark of the nails.
When you put your hand,
Where spear pierced His side.
In that moment, Thomas,
Had you found what you were looking for?

Dear Thomas,
Please accept my apology,
I’ve been too hard on you.
You lost a lot, that day Christ died.
How terrified you must have been,
Losing your teacher, your second father,
Scared for your very life.
No wonder you were running.

But me? Life’s been ok so far,
I don’t have too much to complain about,
Lost a couple jobs, lost a couple dogs,
Been hurt by love, a time or two.

Tho none of that compares,
To what you thought you’d lost that day.
I’m sorry, for not trying,
To understand your pain.
Forgive me, Thomas.

Dear Thomas,
I wish you could have seen,
This bible, that we have,
Tho I don’t think you had the chance.

In it, you’d notice,
That right after your story,
Of doubt, of disbelief,
The author of John tells us,
The purpose, of this book.

Do you know, why this book was written?
It was written, so people, like me,
Could come to believe, that Jesus is,
The Messiah,
The Son of God.
And that – through believing,
We may have Life.

You know what?
Your doubt, your disbelief,
Has led to my belief,
My life, in Christ.
And that, I think, was the plan.
You played a pretty important role, you know.
Thank you for that, Thomas.

Dear Thomas,
You know, at some point,
I discovered something.
It took a while,
It took a leap, of faith,
But I got there.

I found that, Thomas, I too,
Believe, in the Kingdom come,
When all the colors,
Will bleed into one,
Bleed into one,
But like you, dear Thomas,
Sometimes, I’m still running.

But then, dear Thomas,
Those times, of running,
Those are the best times,
For us, both of us, to look to the heavens,
And proclaim,
To the risen Christ – that :

You broke the bonds and you
You loosed the chains
You carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it.

You believe that, Dear Thomas.
And, truth be told, I do too.
Amen.