The Most Unlikely Places

Psalm 30 ESV

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple. I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Psalm Reading

Psalm 30 ESV

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple. I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

New Testament Reading

Acts

Acts 9:1–20 ESV

But 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 belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, 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 at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came 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 he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

The Most Unlikely Places

Surely, this morning’s passage from Acts is one of the most dramatic stories we find in scripture – especially in the New Testament. Saul was breathing out murderous threats against Christians. He wasn’t just talking down about them, his hatred for them was what he lived and breathed. This isn’t the first appearance of this despicable character, either. Earlier in Acts, we’re told of a young man named Stephen: “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.” () After giving a great sermon proclaiming the gospel, an angry mob “cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” ()

When we fast-forward to , Saul has sought permission to arrest any and all Christians he can find and take them as prisoners. This is the sort of man who struck fear into the hearts of the developing Christian community. This is a man who wanted nothing more than to prove to the new sect of Jesus – followers that they were nothing more than a minor problem to be dealt with. This is a man, who in the eyes of the Christian community, was to be feared and for whom there was no hope or redemption. And yet. . . 

God chose him. 

God chose Saul.

Saul, the Christian killer - the man who persecuted those who dared to proclaim that Jesus was the living Messiah and not just a dead teacher – became in that moment Paul the great teacher and church leader to whom much of our scripture is attributed. Even Saul was not beyond hope.

Hear this passage from John:

John

John 21:1–19 ESV

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Paul and Peter make an interesting contrast in these two passages this morning. Paul is literally knocked off his donkey by a blazing light from heaven and is changed from one extreme to another nearly immediately. Peter, on the other hand, spent years physically following Jesus and watching his sermons and miracles firsthand and he still struggled getting the point after the resurrection. But Peter, like Paul, is a cornerstone of the church that springs up after Jesus’ ascension. He too is a key player in the development of the church. It’s just that the whole process for Peter is a far slower one. 

Two new names

Paul and Peter make an interesting contrast in these two passages this. Paul is literally knocked off his donkey by a blazing light from heaven and is changed from one extreme to another nearly immediately. Peter, on the other hand, spent years physically following Jesus and watching his sermons and miracles firsthand and he still struggled getting the point after the resurrection. But Peter, like Paul, is a cornerstone of the church that springs up after Jesus’ ascension. He too is a key player in the development of the church. It’s just that the whole process for Peter is a far slower one. 

Our passage from John, while less dramatic than the passage from Acts, is also a key moment in the call of one of the founders of the early Christian church. It’s sort of an “aha” moment for Peter. 

There are several words in Greek that are generally translated as the same English word: love. But they mean different things. There is eros love – romantic love. There is phileo love – friendship or brotherly affection. And then there is agape – unconditional, unrestrained, full on, always love. If we spoke Greek here, my husband would often use the word “eros” when talking about his love for me. My best friend would probably use the word “phileo” when talking about her love for me. God’s love. . . that’s agape. Agape is love with no boundaries or restraints. It’s unstoppable.

In this question and answer series between Jesus and Peter, there are two types of love used: phileo and agape. At first, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him with agape. “Do you love me unconditionally with all you are?”

And Peter answers by using the word phileo. “Yes. You know I am your friend.”

Jesus asks, “But Peter, do you love me with all that you are no matter what happens?”

And Peter repeats himself, “Yes. You are my friend and brother.”

Jesus, I imagine with a sigh, finally asks, “Peter, do you love me like a brother?”

Peter realizes that he and Jesus are talking about two different things and says, “Yes. I do.” It’s an eye opener for him. He realizes that Jesus is asking for more than he’s been giving. 

God does not ask for our affection. Jesus does not ask us to simply be on friendly terms with him. When we talk about loving God and loving neighbor like Jesus calls us to, it is not phileo love that we talk about. It is agape. It is the sort of whole hearted passion that we see Paul launch into after his dramatic experience on the road to Damascus. It is a love that for some people seems to come easy and others take longer to settle into it. If you struggle to find passion and energy regrading the mission of the church, perhaps you, like Peter, are showing God phileo love, not agape.

Paul’s transformation is incredible. He launches into things immediately because he’s been so seized and shaken by God. But few of us, I fear, feel like Paul did. Many would like to have a “Damascus Road” moment so they could know that they are on the right track with their faith or so that they might “be fed” or have some sort of lightening bolt revelation. But that is not the only way God speaks. More often, God speaks less dramatically and over years, like Jesus did with Peter. 

Not all transformations are so drastic as Saul’s transformation to Paul, but that doesn’t make Peter’s transformation and call less important. Jesus still spent the time needed to help Peter realize who he was meant to be. Peter too was renamed by God. We can look back to earlier in the gospel of John and see that Peter was known as Simon before he met Jesus. says, “Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter)” Peter just took a little longer to grow into his new name than Paul did. 

We’re all given a legal name at birth, or around the time of our birth. Usually our parents chose that name either because it is a family name or they like the meaning of it. Some parents just pick names they like. My name comes from the Greek word charis which is used in the New Testament to refer to God’s grace. That’s why it has the “Ch” at the beginning - in Greek it starts with a letter we don’t even have in English. And while I have a deep attachment to the meaning of my name, easy to spell and read names were important to me in naming our kids because my name gets goofed up ALL THE TIME. 

Whatever our birth name is, as we grow, the world around us renames us. We’re still called Charissa or Gloria or Levi, but we also become things like “smart” or “funny” or “easygoing.” I’ve collected names like “intense” and “Energizer Bunny.” Not all of the names the world gives us are accurate and not all of them are good. Some people are renamed “hopeless goofball”, “dumb” or “no good” or “clumsy” or “lazy.” There are all sorts of guilt and shame inducing names that the world gives to us as our lives move on. Every one of us have names – good and bad – that the world has given us.

These names change how we feel about ourselves and how we act around others. They influence what we do with our lives and how we participate in our families and churches. They color how we believe God and others see us. We often fail to realize that we even call ourselves names like “loser” or “less than” or “guilty.” For some reason, it’s often easier for us to believe the negative names and labels than the positive ones. It can seem easier to just remain “Saul the Christian killer” or “Simon the nobody fisherman” than to become “Paul the Apostle” or “Peter the father of the church.” 

God has named each of you. That doesn’t mean that you have to change your legal name, but there is something so important about how we name ourselves and how we let the world name us and how we grow into our name that God gives us. What we say today as we celebrate communion together as a community is that being here means we are free from the old names and renamed by God who renamed Saul the Christian killer and Simon the plain old fisherman. Jesus grabbed ahold of their lives and renamed them. 

Sometimes, when we’re desperate to hear God speaking to us – waiting for that blinding light -  we miss what God is saying because we’re listening for the wrong name to be called or we’re waiting for a blinding light like Saul say when God is standing right next to us talking and we’re totally missing the point like Peter did. We hear God calling us by our God-given name and assume God is talking to someone else because we’re so used to the rotten, dishonest names the world has given us.

I hope that you all haven’t forgotten about your star  words yet. You see, that sort of meditation and self-reflection helps us to learn our God-given names. Perhaps you haven’t gotten very far in your reflection on that word and are feeling frustrated. Maybe God has just blown your mind with it. Either way, I encourage you to reflect this week on what that word has to do with your unhealthy world-given names and what it has to do with your real, God-given name. I have new journal pages for you to add to your journals today. You might have heard your God-given name and been terrified or surprised by it. You might not have found it yet. You might be in the process of growing into it more and more each day. Some people hear their names early in life, some don’t hear it until much later. But we all spend a lifetime growing into it. 

We hear our names in the pages of Scripture – what stories and people in those pages light something up inside of you? 

We hear our names in the gifts, talents, and passions we have – what are you truly good at and what do you love to do? 

We hear our names in the affirmations we receive from others – what does your church family see in you? 

We hear our names as a deep down stirring inside our souls – a feeling of excitement and dread that God might just be calling us to something that’s going to be hard and uncomfortable, but fulfilling and exciting all the same.  What excites you?

But we cannot hear God calling unless we’re willing to let go of our world-given names and labels to become who God created us to be.  It doesn’t matter what the world has named you, because God has a special name for you. Whether you are blinded by a heavenly light and knocked onto the ground by a revelation or you are in a process of long, slow transformation, God has a name for you. Listen. 

God is calling your name.