Rising From Hatred

RISING STRONG • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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In a divided world, hatred can bubble up even in the hearts of those who seek to do good. The risen Christ moves us from a place of judgement to a place of connection, so that we can work together for the sake of God’s kingdom.

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Scripture Passage

Acts 9:1–22 (NLT)

1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. 3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! 8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. 9 He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. 10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied. 11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” 13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.” 15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. 20 And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!” 21 All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?” 22 Saul’s preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

Focus Statement

In a divided world, hatred can bubble up even in the hearts of those who seek to do good.

The risen Christ moves us from a place of judgement to a place of connection,

so that we can work together for the sake of God’s kingdom.

Point of Relation

Going through any challenge in life can seem daunting, even when they are good and healthy challenges

When I decided to answer the call to ministry 19 years ago...

I had a looooong way to go before I would see ordination.

First, I had to get back to college as, at that point, I had only a Chubb Institute diploma, a Web Design certificate from SCCC, and a high school diploma.

Being an ordained elder requires a Master of Divinity degree.

It seemed so out of sight…almost impossible.

And there were people who criticized my choice because of what little money most pastors make.

There were people who criticized and even unfriended me…THE REAL WAY…you know where they stop answering calls and hanging out...

But there were the people who believed in me too.

My parents, Bernadette, Gary Mielo, who was at the time head of the Journalism department and a professor (a mentor of mine from back then for sure)...

Vernon UMC supported me, a necessary part of the ordination process...

And there were others as well.

When times were tough or I thought I was going to buckle under pressure....

These people helped, and others, helped me see it through.

These people never wrote me off…but stuck with me the entire way.

Things to Consider

In our culture, there is an increasing temptation to write people off or make judgments about them.

What are some of those judgments?

Perhaps people thinks some are too poor, or too stupid, or too lazy, or too WOKE, or too…place your judgment here.

Consider a time when judgment or fear kept you from connecting, interacting with, or seeing the potential in someone.

What are the reasons for this?

Pause

What Scripture Says

It’s interesting that at the beginning in this text,

both Ananias and Saul believe themselves to be faithful and doing what they were supposed to be doing.

They both refer to the voice speaking to them as “Lord,”

connoting reverence toward something outside of themselves.

How much time do faithful people waste judge the quality of another person’s faithfulness?

Saul persecuted the faith of Christians because they did not believe like him.

Ananias had preconceived ideas about Saul and wanted nothing to do with him at first (v. 13-14).

But God gets to decide who the instruments are going to be in God's band and the part they are supposed to play.

From our perspective, it is easy to see what Saul is doing (persecuting Christians) as hateful

and we may try to convince ourselves that we are not hateful like Saul is hateful.

It may be easier for people to relate to Ananias.

He wanted to nothing to do with Saul, but “for the right reasons”

- Saul was persecuting his people!

The degree and expression of the negative feelings that Ananias has towards Saul are certainly different and less harmful than Saul’s towards the Christians,

but notice that in both cases God seeks to overcome the judgment and animosity

with connection for the sake of the gospel, God’s greater project of love.

I WANT TO NOTE that the point here is not that Saul is being converted away from Judaism and to Christianity...

He wasn’t. He was being converted from a Christ-unbeliever to a Christ-believer ...

He still VERY MUCH remained Jewish.

Nor is God is saying that the Christian faith is superior to Judaism...

We have to remember that the point of Jesus Christ’s coming, teaching, dying, and resurrecting was not to create a new religion…as JEsus was TOTALLY JEWISH...

but to bring people back to God and SAVE them from their sins…once and for all…restoring them to righteousness and eternal life.

Just as in the last two weeks of this series,

it is in encounter with the risen Jesus

(for Saul as a light and a voice,

for Ananias, in a vision)

that meets them in their sin of hatred and/or judgment and being closed off.

It is an encounter with the risen Jesus

that has the power to overcome these sins

and raise both Saul and Ananias up to be strong, connected, and faithful followers of Jesus,

working together for the sake of the gospel.

Jesus reaches each one, Saul and Ananias differently.

Jesus shows up as a blinding light and bold voice...

Jesus, on the other hand, comes to Ananias in a vision.

Notice, also how at some point Jesus gives each one an instruction,

a call, that they must answer for themselves,

For Saul in Acts 9:6: “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

For Ananias in Acts 9:11: “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.”

With all of that pointed out, here’s another question to consider:

What is God’s method for moving toward justice and the beloved community?

Is it judgment, violence, and condemnation or something else?

Saul, eventually, becomes Paul and becomes one of the most important leaders in the early church.

He went on to spread the Gospel message to Jews and Gentiles alike throughout much of the Roman Empire.

He traveled from Judea to what is now modern day Crete, Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Rome…and almost even made it to Spain.

He also went on to write at least 7 of the books in the New Testament…with Tradition crediting him with writing 13, or nearly half of the NT.

Of the writings he didn’t write, ALL of the rest were certainly influenced by him.

If God could overcome Saul’s violent hatred and raise him up to become Paul,

this central figure in early Christianity,

is there anything that God cannot forgive?

Is there anyone God cannot work through?

We often carry such shame about our“worst” or seemingly unforgivable sins and

I want to invite you to see yourselves in Paul’s story.

Where is God calling you to “get up and go” beyond the place of your fear and judgment?

Finally, I want to note that the person named Ananias in Acts 23 & 24 is not the same Ananias we read of in this passage.

We do not hear much more about the Ananias from Acts 9, except that Paul remembers and speaks highly of him when he retells this story in Acts 22:12-16

12 A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. 13 He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him! 14 “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. 15 For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. 16 What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’ (NLT)

What This Means for You

I want you to consider some or all of the following questions:

How do you encourage the people in your life to respond to God’s call upon them to become instruments of God —

particularly the people you fear or don’t prefer?

Pause

Are there ways that you are prematurely condemning or judging others,

and is it keeping you from seeing their God given potential? Or even interacting with them in the first place?

Pause

Are you harboring hatred or judgment that could be preventing you from following God’s call on your life?

Pause

Imagine that other person as Jesus saying, “why do you persecute me?”.

How could letting go of that hatred transform and change your life?

Pause

What This Means for Us

Who do we expect God to call?

People just like us in our community, in our church, with our preferred set of gifts, graces, or baggage?

How do we learn to hear God’s truth about others, instead of prioritizing our opinions of them? ‘

What kinds of hatred/judgement do we excuse or justify?

We don’t decide who the instruments are.

The call of the Church is to give them a space in the band

and learn to use their gifts for the work of God in the world.

The question we should always be seeking out an answer to:

Who is God calling your congregation to connect with?

Let us open ourselves to being people who create safe and sacred spaces for people to grow into the Christian Disciples God is calling them to be...

utilizing the gifts God equipped them with to make that call become a reality. Amen? Amen.

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