The Third Sunday of Easter

ACTS 9:1-20: This is one of at least four accounts in the New Testament of the conversion of Paul. The others occur in Galatians 1:13-17, Acts 22:4-16, and Acts 26:9-18.

There are many valid attempts to understand the differences in the three accounts given in Acts. I will try to chart some of the significant distinctions between them.

The above appears to be three re-tellings of the same story. The first is in narrative, third-person form. The second and third are in first-person narrative form. Paul must have told his story many times. The stories of his conversion were remembered by the many groups and persons involved in the Christian mission, and each of them re-counted those features of the story that were most important to their own group. If I had to identify an account with a group, I would say that the earliest account was that remembered by the Apostles of which Paul was a leader. The second was remembered by the Hellenists of which Stephen and later John were leaders. The third was remembered by the Brethren of which James the brother of Jesus was the leader.

The greatest differences from these three accounts comes when Paul refers to his moment of conversion in his Letter to the Galatians. There Paul says, "1:11 I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; 14 and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus."

In this account there is no mention of a blinding light or of a voice from heaven. In this "revelation" Paul received a new perspective on his life. He was given a new past, a new present, and a new future. He saw his future as that of "preaching Christ among the Gentiles." He saw his past as a preparation to do this. God had set Paul apart from his birth, because he was a Jew (one of the chosen people ), a Pharisee (an especially zealous one of the chosen people), and a Roman citizen (this opened doors to Paul that few other Christians could open). All this was important to the particular functions in Christian history that Paul was about to fill. He saw in his present a resolution of his problem of identity. No longer was he a Jew fighting against another Jewish sect. The revelation of "Christ in me" gave Paul a sense of being a personal recipient of God's gracious act in Christ. Paul now interpreted his life in terms of Jesus Christ. Paul's past and Paul's future gave him a new understanding of himself as an agent of Jesus Christ.

In the account before us from Acts we can note a number of important things.

1. Paul himself had gone to the high priest to receive a commission to go to Damascus and root out the Christian community there. The Christian faith had spread rapidly and was already active in this major city of Syria. Paul had thought it was his duty to eradicate it there. He did not yet know what God in Christ had in mind for him.

2. It is said specifically that the Christian community in Damascus was made up of "disciples of the Lord." These persons had come into the Christian faith through the activities of the disciples of Galilee. "Damascus" was part of the Decapolis, the Ten Cities of Galilee and Syria, where Hellenistic culture was vying for leadership with the Torah and synagogues of Judaism. Jesus himself and his disciples had visited in this area. They had initiated the community of "disciples of the Lord" that Paul meant to destroy.

3. On his journey a light from heaven flashed around him and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He fell to the ground, blind. His blindness is symbolic of his failure to understand the Christians' place in the movement of God's people and of his own future involvement in that. Paul heard the voice from heaven and fell speechless. His companions heard a voice but could not make sense of it.

4. Paul spent the next three days without sight, without food, and without water. These are signs that he was preparing himself for some new great event in his life.

5. Ananias was the one through whom resolution was to come to Paul. Ananias was a "disciple," one of the very persons Paul had come to destroy. Ananias had a vision. The Lord said to him, "Go to the street called Straight and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul. Saul is praying," said the Lord, "and he has seen a man named Ananius come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." Ananias was understandingly reluctant to follow through on this vision. "This man kills people," he said. "He is here to bind us who call upon your name." The Lord said, "He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name to the Gentiles and the sons of Israel. He must suffer for the sake of my name." Ananius was hesitant to act. Yet he holds before us a strong pattern for bold Christian spirituality: openness before God, obedience to the word of the Lord, immovable courage, calculated surrender, and reliance on God's grace.

6. Ananias did as he was bid. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me to you. You will regain your sight, and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately Saul regained his sight. He arose and was baptized (note that the baptism is in response to the action of the Holy Spirit. It was not the Holy Spirit that was in response to the baptism.) He took bread and was strengthened.

7. Paul remained several days with the disciples in Damascus. He went to the synagogue and instead of breathing fire against those present, he announced to them that "Jesus is the Son of God."

PSALM 30: I was just reading an article on the changes that have taken place in Americans in the last one hundred years. In 1900 the typical American was a pre-teen boy named John who lived with his parents and sisters on a farm in New York or Pennsylvania. In 2000, the typical American was a young woman, 25 to 34, Lisa, living in a California suburb with a daughter named Emily. John's family had no indoor plumbing, no phone, no car. He probably would not finish high school. Lisa has a household income of $45,000, two cars and cable TV. Lisa has been to college, of course. John could expect to live to be 46, Lisa's life expectancy is 79.

The psalmist of Psalm 30 has undergone similar radical changes, except that most of his have been spiritual changes. As the Psalm begins, he (or she) recalls that his foes were rejoicing over him; that he was ill; that his soul was mired in the Pit; that his life was one of mourning; that his soul was silent. What a change had come over him. Now

He extols the Lord that his foes no longer rejoice over him.

He has been healed.

His soul has been raised from the pit.

His mourning has turned to dancing.

His soul cannot keep silent but praises the Lord.

The last is the key, of course. Americans credit their changes to good diet, public health policies, the scientific and technological civilization in which we live. The psalmist credits his changes to the God who made him and who has restored him to life.

This did not come to the psalmist without a struggle. When he had his moments of prosperity, he assumed that he had done it all: "I will never be moved," he said. "You had established me as a strong mountain." Then the psalmist realized that the Lord had hid his face from him. "I was dismayed," he said, in a statement as simple as it was profound. Until the Lord's face shines upon us again, we remain dismayed.

The psalmist had also faced the anger of the Lord. But, he said as he thought of it, "His anger is but for a moment, his favor for a lifetime."

The Psalmist had spent his nights in weeping, but that too had passed. "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

The psalmist had argued with the Lord. "What profit is there to you, Lord, if I go down to the Pit? Will my dust praise you?" He received his answer: "You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me instead with joy."

The beginning and the end of the Psalm tell of the reason for the change. "God has done it, and God needs to be extolled. God has done it for me, and I will give thanks to God forever." This psalm, almost a series of haiku-like verses strung together around the themes of God's healing and restoration, cries out, "Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones. Give thanks always to his holy name."

REVELATION 5:11-14: The Book of Revelation is a drama about God and humankind and the interactions between the two. We have to start by identifying the characters in the drama.

"The throne": this is really part of the stage directions of the drama. In the city of Ephesus, one of the cities to which Revelation was addressed, is a huge theater. It dominates the whole city. You see it when you enter the harbor of Ephesus on a ship. You see it loom in front of you as you walk down the quay from the ship. You see it when you shop in the Agora, or when you ascend to the government buildings beyond. At floor level, center, was the orchestra, where the actors carried out their roles. Rising above the orchestra was the skene, a separate stage building that was incorporated into the drama. This building was over 50 feet high. On the orchestra and on the facade of this stage building, John imagined his drama being played out.

"The throne" would have been located somewhere high up on the facade of the stage building.

"The living creatures": these were representations of all animals and all human beings.

"The four living creatures" were the lion, the eagle, the ox, and the face of a man. They also represented all living things in creation.

"The elders": these twenty-four men, seated on thrones around the orchestra, were "the twelve elders of Judah" plus "the twelve apostles,"

"The angels": the messengers that sang of God's glory, myriads and myriads of them. They were like the collection of retainers that the Emperors of Rome had to show their might and their power.

"The Lamb that was slain": This is another of the many-faceted symbols in Revelation. It could represent the Passover lamb, which was slain for the feast. It could also represent the lamb that was sacrificed to Dionysius at the beginning of every theatrical presentation; this practice would seem weird in our time, but in those days every drama began with the ritual sacrifice of a lamb. It was also "Jesus Christ on his cross," the lamb that was slain but which had come to live again.

On to the play!

When the Seer looked down upon the heavenly drama being played out in the cosmos, he heard voices singing: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." The living creatures began this mighty chorus, and the elders joined in. The voices of many angels were added, myriads and myriads and thousands and thousands. With a loud voice they sang, "Worthy is the Lamb."

The make-up of the chorus changed, and so did the words of their song. Every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea sang, and they sang not only to the Lamb but to him who sits upon the throne: "Blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever." The four living creatures said, "Amen." The elders fell down and worshiped.

John looked up into the heavens, and he saw everything that is worshiping God. He invites us to join in this worship. Only when the worship on earth unites with the worship in heaven to give homage to "the one who sits on the throne" and to "the lamb who is slain" is life put right again.

JOHN 21:1-19: Is this chapter integral to the Gospel of John, or is it an addition to it? This is the first question scholars confront when they turn to this text. The problem is that the last verses in chapter 20 seem to provide a fitting and total conclusion to the Gospel of John. Then chapter 21 intrudes. Was it part of the original gospel? For purposes of this study, I am going to say that it is, if for no other reason than the fact that we do not have a single ancient copy of the Gospel of John that does not include chapter 21. That said, let us proceed to look at this intriguing addendum to John's Gospel.

The events take place in Galilee, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This small inland lake figured prominently in the gospels. By it Jesus called his disciples. On it Jesus stilled the storm. Near it he taught and celebrated his meal with the crowds. Now Galilee returns to the center of our attention. The other resurrection appearances recorded in John's Gospel take place in and around Jerusalem. This appearance, when Jesus revealed himself, is located "by the Sea of Galilee."

"Revealed himself" is a key word in this story. Not only did Jesus appear in identifiable form to these disciples - "they knew it was the Lord," says verse 12. This revelation is similar to his revelation of himself to Mary Magdalene and later to the Twelve in the upper room. John's Gospel wants us to know that Jesus revealed himself in his resurrection state, with all that implies of the revelation of the Father himself.

For the Christian enterprise as a whole, the incident had not started off well. "I am going fishing," said Peter to the others. He was returning to his familiar vocation and his familiar ways. "The dealings with Jesus are over," he is saying by his actions. "We thought he was the one to redeem Israel, but it did not work out. I am going fishing. The others say, "We will join you." The Christian movement was within an eyelash of flickering out.

As day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach. He called out from the shore, "Children, have you caught any fish?" "No," came the answer from the rocking boat. "Cast your net on the right side, and you will find some," he answered. They cast the net, that long narrow net that took the efforts of men in the boat and men in the water to put into place. They trolled for a moment, and there were so many fish in the net that they were not able to haul it in.

We need to note a theological point here. The disciples catch fish when Jesus directs them. Apart from Jesus, the disciples can do nothing. It was always so, and it is so now.

We also need to take note of the persons who are in the boat that morning. Simon Peter was there, Thomas called the Twin, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee. At the beginning of the Gospel of John, Nathanael had been given a promise: "Greater things than these you shall see (1:50)." Now he stood with the disciples by the seashore and with his own eyes saw the risen Christ. Jesus' promise to him had been fulfilled.

The sons of Zebedee were also in the boat. For those familiar with the gospel narratives, their inclusion does not seem strange. It does become strange, though, when we recall that this is the only mention in John's Gospel about the sons of Zebedee. Two other unnamed disciples are also listed as present. Since "the disciple whom Jesus loved" is quickly mentioned in this story, we can assume that he was one of the two. We are not given the slightest clue about who the last disciple was. Is it supposed to be you and me, also witnesses to Christ's resurrection?

The disciple whom Jesus loved was the first to recognize the risen Lord. That is a theme repeated over and again in this Gospel. This disciple is the one with the insight to recognize the presence of Jesus. He was the one who at the final supper in John rested at the bosom of Jesus, the place of greatest intimacy between host and guest. He was the one who reached the tomb first on the morning of resurrection, and he was the first to "see and believe." Now he is the first to recognize that the man standing on the beach is the risen Lord.

We are told that as soon as Peter found out who it was, he put his clothes on. We are not perfectly sure what Peter did or why he did it. The verb used in the sentence, "diazonnyai," can mean to put on clothes, Raymond Brown reminds us in his Commentary on John, 1072, but it can also mean to tuck them up and tie them with a cincture so that one can have the freedom of movement to do something. The same word was used in chapter 13 for Jesus tying a towel around himself. What we can infer is that Peter put on an ependytes, the fisherman's smock he was wearing in the chill of the morning. Peter had cast off this smock in order to get into the water behind the boat to help haul in the catch. Now he put it back on to greet Jesus. There may have been religious significance in the act. Barrett (483) reminds us that to offer greetings was a religious act and could not be performed without clothing; thus greetings were not given in a Roman bath where all the people were naked. Peter put on his clothes in order to greet his risen Lord in a proper manner.

They hauled in a great catch, 153 fish in all. The word for "haul" or "draw" had been used before in this gospel. Jesus said, "If I am lifted up, I will draw all people to me." At this moment, the disciples draw in the fish. Soon they will be drawing in people.

The number 153 is an enigma. It must have been a large number of fish to draw in in a single draught. All kinds of interpretations have been given to it. Maybe an eyewitness counted the fish. Scholars have noted that 153 is the sum of all the numbers from 1 to 17. 17 is the number found when the 5 loaves of bread were added to the 12 baskets of food left over from the great supper. Various other attempts to describe the number have centered around "17": 10 commandments plus 7 gifts of the spirit, 9 choirs of angels plus 8 beatitudes, 153 dots arranged into an equilateral triangle with 17 dots on each side. Others have said it is the number of perfection: 17 is made up of 7 and 10, two Jewish numbers of perfection. Another says that it represents the sum of all the numbers involved in the Hebrew letters for "the church of love." (These are reported in Brown 1074-1075). Perhaps the best guess is a report from Jerome. He tells us that Jerome tells us that Greek zoologists counted 153 species of fish; the 153 here would mean that every known kind of fish was caught in the post-Easter net - just as the disciples were to catch in their evangelistic nets every kind of man, woman, and child in all the world!

Peter, fighting his way out of the water from the rear of the boat, received a dreadful shock. On shore, Jesus had built a charcoal fire. When Peter saw it, it immediately reminded him of the charcoal fire by which he had stood in the court of the high priest in Jerusalem to warm himself. Three times by that fire Peter had denied that he ever knew Jesus. Now, emerging from the water in great haste, he sees before him another charcoal fire.