Sermon Tone Analysis

I think we all know people who have chosen to have knee replacement surgery.

One common theme is the amount of suffering that they go through for this.

It begins with suffering from knew pain and other complications in the joint because of injury or disease.

After all, you would not choose to have some replace your knee if it were completely healthy.

So in time the person decides to have the procedure done.

The procedure itself would be extremely painful without anesthesia.

But thew worst suffering takes place after the anesthesia wears off and the therapy begins.

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.

He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.

So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias.

The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.

14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go!

This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it.

Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.

He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

Growing up on a small farm we had as many as 300 chickens in each chicken house.

At first they were allowed to be outside in a fenced in area during the day.

But although the fence kept the chickens in, it apparently did not keep the fox out.

When my father realized what was happening, he enlisted the help of his brother-in-law.

Uncle Ronnie’s mission was to exterminate that which was a threat.

He discovered where the den was, set up a sniper’s nest, and one by one shot the cubs with his M-1 as they emerged from the den.

He was successful.

This was my first memory of how someone would be enlisted to get rid of a threat.

As I grew older, I learned about more sinister attempts to eradicate a perceived threat.

I learned how in the 1800’s men would exterminate the bison in the plains states to remove resources from the Native Americans.

I learned how the Dodo bird became extinct because they were slaughtered.

I learned how Nazi Germany attempted to remove the Jewish people from Europe by means of the “Final Solution.”

History has many other examples of how people would hunt down animals or other people in order to exterminate them.

Diagnosis

Your surgeon will take several steps to evaluate your pain.

The first step simply involves talking with you and discussing your pain.

Pain can have many different qualities, and the type of pain described can help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.

While pain when rising—known as start-up pain—usually resolves within a few months, other types of pain may suggest a more serious condition.

In some cases, the location and timing of the pain can help a doctor pinpoint the underlying cause.

Common Diagnostic Signs

Persistent startup pain can be a sign of a loosening implant.Pain when navigating stairs suggests a kneecap problem.The sudden appearance of pain suggests a fracture or injury.Pain accompanied by swelling, redness, and fever are strong indications of an infection.A deformed kneecap is a sign of a patellofemoral problem.

Your surgeon will then want to examine the knee.

A physical exam can help identify infection, stiffness and alignment issues.

Ensuring that the mechanics of the knee replacement are sound is important.

Just like having the proper alignment in your car, it is important that the knee replacement is properly aligned and balanced.

Because of the suffering this common surgery can cause, one might ask, “Why suffer?”

Well, the answer is obvious.

The temporary pain as a result of the surgery is worth enduring compared to the desired outcome.

It is true with many other surgeries (or going to the dentist for that matter).

We are willing to suffer if we believe that the suffering will not last and that which causes us to suffer will produce good results.

Exercise would be another example.

But at other times it is a cruel tragedy.

Certain species were hunted into extinction.

Beautiful natural places have been destroyed for the resources located there.

Killing other people because they don’t agree with our political, social, or religious views can not be tolerated.

We have been reminded of this recently by events taking place in Sri Lanka, China, and the ongoing attacks by Islamic Jihadists.

The life of St. Paul reminds us of how at one time he was among those who persecuted Christians with the goal of making them extinct.

Even though a member of the Sanhedrin had cautioned against this (cite), it wasn’t long until his opinion was thrown out and that same group of people sanctioned an attempt to capture and kill Christians with the goal of stopping what was first know as “The Way.”

As Christians, we must be aware that Jesus himself teaches us that his followers are going to suffer.

St. Paul himself would later confess his mindset during this time.

21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.

Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.

25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters.

If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.

27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.