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This Week's Sermon The Conversion of St. Paul 25 January 2004 "For My Name's Sake" Luke 21:10-19 LW Series C [Revised] Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

Besides our Lord Jesus Christ, no other human being has had such an impact on the life of the Christian Church as the Apostle Paul. This celebration has been in the Church since at least the 8th century. Some say that it originated with the transferal of the remains of the Apostle to the Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls of Rome. Whatever the case, the conversion of this man to the Christian faith is perhaps the most dramatic and most important one that has ever taken place because no other man or woman has had as lasting and deep effect as has St. Paul.

The first two readings give us the account of his dramatic conversion. It is the most famous conversion story in all history. It is so famous because this man who was once the most ardent persecutor of the Christian faith became its most zealous missionary. But this morning I want to focus on the words of Jesus in the Gospel reading because they not only describe Saul before he became Paul, but they also describe him after his conversion. These words of Jesus are true also for us, to a greater or lesser extent. Twice in this text our Lord Jesus uses what I believe is the key phrase, "For My Name's Sake" to describe the life of the Christian. It is particularly appropriate in looking at the life of Saul of Tarsus, a.k.a., St. Paul. The very things that Saul was doing to the first Christians ended up being done to him "For My Name's Sake."

I. CALLED BY GOD'S GRACE

Our Lord Jesus warned his disciples of what would happen to them. Enemies would lay hands on them and persecute them, delivering them up to the synagogues and prisons. They would be brought before all manner of civil magistrates, kings and governors. All of this treatment would be "For My Name's Sake," said Jesus, that is, "because of me, because of your connection to me, because you bear my name." Hands were laid on these early Christians, not in blessing, but in violence. No sooner had Stephen finished his sermon when the enraged crowd took up stones to kill him, and as Luke records, they laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. Not only did Saul witness his execution, but Luke records, "And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. . . " [Acts 7.58; 8.1].

The very actions that Jesus predicted soon came true for those in the early Church. Saul had begun an ambitious program to root out the disciples of Christ, having secured the permission of the high priest to begin his reign of terror. Anyone connected with the name of Christ was found in the crosshairs of his anger. At the beginning of our First Reading, Luke simply records,

"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 of Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." [Acts 9.1-2]

Here the stage had been set to tell us of the conversion of this feared man. There on the Damascus road our Lord Jesus himself confronted Saul. Saul fell down because the force of the divine confrontation. Saul's blindness was of more than one kind. Struck blind physically was only symbolic of the inner blindness of this man. He was about as far from the kingdom of Christ as one could get.

But the miracle of Paul's story is the miracle of God's grace. It is the miracle of what God did with this murderous, hateful man. Before he could become Paul, the man Saul had to die. The murderous, hate-filled Saul had to die a real death. His Old Adam had to die. One of the disciples from Damascus, Ananias, brought the Holy Spirit to Saul. Ananias baptized Saul and Saul died. A new man arose, a man named Paul.

Isn't this really the way it works in us, too? Like Saul, we must be on the receiving end of God's grace. It's really all about grace, isn't it? Saul has nothing to present to God on his behalf. Quite the contrary, he has only his violent hostility to offer. He certainly hasn't been neutral has he? He had not treated Christ's Church with benign neglect—he had engaged in malignant persecution resulting in the deaths of others. What could he possibly plead on his behalf? In short, he could plead nothing, and Luke makes it clear that there is no plea bargaining here! Our risen Lord directs him what to do—he receives Holy Baptism for the forgiveness of his sins.

How well Luther understood how much like Saul we are by birth! We don't choose to come to Christ; Christ chooses us and comes to us. He causes the death of our Old Adam in the waters of Holy Baptism, drowning the Old Man. And then he brings us out of our watery tomb, resurrected with Christ, the New Adam. Every Christian Baptism is an act of God's grace no less than it was for the Apostle Paul. In Holy Baptism you and I were converted and brought to the true knowledge of Christ. We were given new hearts to believe and trust in Christ our Lord. We bring no more to it than did Saul. It is the miracle of God's grace in Christ! Your Baptism is your Damascus Road experience!

II. "FOR MY NAME'S SAKE"

Jesus advises us that the world will hate us for his name's sake. I cannot help but think of the countless persecuted Christians around the world, those who suffer because they bear the name of Jesus. In many places they are hunted down as were the early Christians. They are arrested with the approval of the government and brought before magistrates who condemn them to prison or death. Especially I think of our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan who have experienced—in a very literal way!—exactly what our Lord Jesus says here. They have endured persecution and death because of the name of Christ. They have had their sanctuaries bulldozed by those who hate Christ. It is all very reminiscent of Saul and his henchmen.

But there is a divine irony at work here! The very actions meant to crush the early Church caused it to grow by leaps and bounds. Really, it was our Lord who was behind it. All those who were persecuted "For My Name's Sake" also heard what Jesus said next: "This will be your opportunity to bear witness."

For the sake of the name of Jesus we may be persecuted and even put to death, but it gives us the opportunity to bear witness. To be a witness is to be a martyr, literally. That's what the Greek word really means, "to bear witness." Martyrdom as we know it—that is, giving up one's life for this testimony—is the strongest form of testifying. That many of the early Christians did, especially Stephen.

One has to wonder about Saul as he witnessed Stephen's execution. Did Saul think to himself: How could a man willingly accept a death like that? Why did he pray for those who killed him? Why did he ask God to forgive those who persecuted them? Were there doubts in Saul's mind about the correctness of his position? What effect did Stephen's words have upon Saul? Perhaps we can not really move beyond speculation here, but it is clear that his actions did play a part in Paul's later humility.

When Jesus said, "You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake," little did Saul ever imagine that this would be true of him! Being on the receiving end of such persecution was the farthest thing from his mind, but it all came true of Paul! Listen how he describes his life as an Apostle of the one he had formerly persecuted:

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

The hunter had become the hunted, and in the end Paul was brought before Caesar himself. All the while he suffered God used it as a way for Paul to testify to Jesus Christ. "For My Name's Sake" Paul suffered so that the grace of God in Christ could be proclaimed to the Gentile world. Finally, Paul lost his life "For My Name's Sake" by beheading at the hands of the Roman government.

But how does this square up with what our Lord said next? "But not a hair of you head will perish." Didn't all those who died bearing witness to Christ have not only their hair perish but their bodies as well? Indeed, they did! What did Jesus mean? Very simply he meant that our hope is in the integrity of our bodies in the resurrection of all flesh. The early Christians confessed this especially in the midst of persecution. Our Lord has promised that we shall live again, according to both body and soul so that we do not have to worry about a death brought about by those who hate him. If he gives eternal life to our souls, will he not also give it to our bodies? So strong was Paul's conviction of this that he could wish to die and be with Christ which was far better than life in this vale of tears.

"By your endurance you will gain your lives." Endurance is key. It is the patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, and perseverance that our Lord gives that comprises our endurance. Here especially in the Lord's Supper Christ fortifies you in bearing your cross "For My Name's Sake." Here he gives you the food of martyrs, his own body and blood.

Not only did Paul endure, he rejoiced in his troubles for the sake of the Name of Christ. He was happy to have suffered for his Savior who redeemed him from sin, death, and hell. Whatever he endured, he considered merely temporary [Romans 8.18ff]. He looked forward to his ultimate deliverance by Christ.

And so, all persecution must be considered for what it really is, the opportunity to bear witness to Christ our Lord! That the Apostle Paul learned well! Our Lord said of him to Ananias:

"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." [Acts 9.15-16]

That's what his life teaches us. "For My Name's Sake" is a good summary of Paul's life. It was for the sake of the Name of Jesus that he persecuted the early Church, and it was for the sake of the Name of Jesus that Paul spent the rest of his life bearing witness to the grace that called him from persecutor to Apostle. May it also be true of you and me!

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.