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1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 11 The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12 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." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." 17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." (Acts 9:1-20 NRSV)
Welcome dear Friend, to Wednesday; midpoint of the week! You've done much and there is much yet to be done; but you can do it, with God's help! We continue to pray for those who have asked prayers of us; those on our prayer list; our first responders, our leaders in the Church and in the world. We pray for some who recently underwent surgery and need our prayers for comfortable and speedy recoveries: Wendy Allen had knee replacement surgery and is recovering, and Phil Koehler. He had hip replacement surgery yesterday May God grace their recovery with His power and amazing touch! I also just received word that The Rev. Dr. Cristian de la Rosa, a prominent minister within the Hispanic United Methodist Church is in critical condition in a Boston hospital fighting cancer. May the Lord help her in her fight, may He defy all odds and bring healing to her, and comfort to those who know and love Cristan. Thank you all for sharing prayers on her behalf.
"But I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now." Words from the great Bob Dylan in 1964 when he stepped away from writing protest songs, and words that hit me hard when I first heard them in that song covered by many superstars, including Bob, George Harrison, Neal Young and so many others. I laughed and then said, "That's true of me in so many things as well." And it's true about the young man knocked off his high horse in this passage. He was a well-educated, credentialed man; respected widely and known for his commitment and hardheadedness for all things religion. Educated by the master rabbinical teacher of his day, he is introduced to the Christian world in Acts 7, where he was the official coat-holder at the first execution of Christian believers, that of Stephen. Arrested and accused of blasphemy, Stephen was sentenced to death by stoning for his unwavering belief and sharing of Jesus, and also for the zeal the Holy Spirit gave him. The young coat-holder witnessed and heard all that was said, especially by Stephen, but he was swayed more by the words of the accusers and he began a hate campaign to kill any and all Christians he could find. I should note he was very good at his job. Sigh. And he enjoyed it so much that he set sights on Damascus and the believers there. Having received permission to go and arrest all Christians there he sets off with a band of other haters. And then it happened...
BOOM! Off your high horse you go, down to the ground and a bright light blinds you and you hear a voice that begins with saying your name! Wait. What? And the question; darn, who is this who knows my name and dares ask why I'm doing what I'm doing? "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Ouch!
Saul was sure. He was sure he was right. Sure he was righteous. Sure that crushing the movement of Jesus was his holy duty. But resurrection has a way of upending what we’re sure of.
On the road to Damascus, Saul’s vision was arrested by the risen Jesus. He was blinded, not as punishment, but so he could finally see. This blinding encounter broke him open, and through Ananias' obedience and the Holy Spirit’s power, Saul emerged not just with new sight, but a new identity, and a new vision. To declare, "He (Jesus) is the Son of God," from his lips shows the power of the one true God! Just moments earlier his lips spit out anger and hatred towards Jesus and His followers, and now he has joined their ranks as a believer.
Easter isn't just about Jesus rising from the dead. It’s about how resurrection transforms lives—even the most unlikely ones. If Saul—whose hands once held violence—can become Paul, whose life bore the gospel to the world, then there is no one beyond the reach of grace.
Our Easter calling is not to admire the resurrection from afar, but to live in it. Like Saul, we are invited to die to our old selves and rise to new life. This transformation may blind us at first—forcing us to release our grip on certainty—but it opens us to the deeper vision of who Christ is, and who we are becoming in Him.
How I could go on and on about this man Saul, now named Paul by Jesus; but we have enough to begin our own journey of discovery about ourselves and our missions as believers. We may have thought we were "old" meaning at the point we thought was sufficient or comfortable, but now we are made young in our new visions for our faith and our Savior. Get busy.
PRAYER: Risen Lord, You shine brighter than our fears, and Your voice calls us out of our old lives and into the new. Break through our stubbornness, our assumptions, our certainty. Transform us with Your grace. Send us, like Saul, to bear witness to Your mercy. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Live as one raised to new life—speak words of life, extend unexpected grace, and trust that no story, not even your own, is too broken to be rewritten by the risen Christ. Isaiah was right; we have beern made young to do what needs to be done; so do it!
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
