Emphasis Preaching Journal

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The Buddhist approached a hot dog vendor and said, "Make me one with everything." The Buddhist gave the vendor a $20 bill and waited. Finally he said, "Where's my change?"

The vendor replied, "All change must come from within."

That is the Buddhist philosophy -- that change comes from within, and at first glance we might agree with that. But as Christians, we have discovered that an individualistic attitude toward our ability to change is full of inadequacies.

We are not an independent people. We are dependent. It is a lie when we are told we can do anything we put our mind to. It sounds nice, but it leaves out someone. Do you know who it is? It is God.

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George Buttrick told the story of an experience that happened when he was chaplain at Harvard. It was announced that Harvard would give an honorary degree to the first woman in its history. At that time the recipients of those degrees were always kept a secret until the day of commencement. On graduation day, the president of Harvard announced that Helen Keller would receive that honor. The crowd went wild. Helen sat there in silence until Annie Sullivan, her teacher, drummed the wonderful message into her hands. Helen was led to the platform and received that great distinction. As they were leaving, Dr. Buttrick turned to the president and said, "You know, we made a mistake today. We should have given two awards -- one to Helen and another to her teacher, Annie Sullivan. There would never have been a Helen Keller without her great teacher."

There never would have been an apostle Paul without that disciple whose name we hardly know: Ananias. When Paul was struck blind on the Damascus road, it was Ananias who helped Paul during those first fresh days. Acts says that Ananias met the blind Paul and said "Brother," and the scales fell off his eyes and this was the beginning of his great work. Behind almost every person is someone whose name we may never know who opened the door and made it possible for him or her to find the way. You might pause and help your congregation think about who it was that said "Brother" or "Sister" at a decisive time in their lives. Even as an old man with thinning hair and crooked fingers, Paul still told the old story of his conversion: "A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me: and standing beside me, he said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him" (Acts 22:12-13).

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Society has never tolerated differences well. Differences threaten tradition, power structures, and hierarchies; differences challenge and bring the possibility of change. Change is seldom welcomed by those at society's core and almost always demanded by those on society's fringes. When the issues and the differences run deep enough, they can lead to war. Our own nation fought a Civil War over issues some would call moral and others economic. Probably slavery and states' rights had elements of both. History holds the tragedies of religious intolerance: the Christian Crusades; Muslims fighting Hindus in India; the Holocaust; Protestants fighting Catholics ever since the Reformation; the horrors in Bosnia between Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. Intolerance is as ancient as humankind. The early Christians knew it well, suffering at the hands of Roman emperors and zealots like Saul of Tarsus. It is difficult for us to understand the magnitude of Saul's conversion experience on the road to Damascus, partly because religious intolerance is not as intense in American culture as other issues which threaten to fray its tightly woven fabric. Saul's conversion in terms closer to our own experience would be like an anti-abortion rights advocate suddenly becoming pro-choice, or a person who has spent a lifetime actively bashing homosexuals suddenly championing the cause for gay rights. These are deep issues without easy answers, just as Christianity was for Saul; just as Christianity needs to be for us today if we are to truly live by Christ's example.

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Simone Weil (1909-1943), a French social philosopher, religious thinker, mystic, and political activist, was the darling of intellectuals after her death. She identified with human suffering of every kind. She worked with women in an auto factory to be in solidarity with them, participated in French worker strikes, and even joined the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War, though she refused to fire her rifle. Her refusal to eat more than the ration of food allowed in German-occupied France contributed to her death. Born a Jew, she tells in her autobiography Waiting for God how she never sought God, but was sought by him. It was while she attended services during Holy Week in Solesmes, France, that the thought of Christ's Passion entered into her being once and for all. In the quiet of the French countryside, Christ came and took possession of her.

C. S. Lewis, in his autobiography Surprised by Joy, tells how he became a Christian in 1929. He had been an atheist and had tried many other religions. He says that on the evening when he got down on his knees and believed in God and Jesus Christ, he was probably the most dejected and reluctant convert in England. He says, "The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape?"

Saint Paul's conversion was dramatic. On the way to Damascus, a blinding light and the voice of Jesus stunned him and brought him to faith in the Savior he had persecuted.

Dramatically or matter-of-factly, suddenly or over a period of time, memorably or imperceptibly, the Holy Spirit of God transforms us into children of God, believers in Christ Jesus, and heirs of eternal life.

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The dramatic conversion of Paul, reported in Acts 9, is only the beginning of a long and exciting story of his missionary activity. One wonders what the apostle thought when it was first revealed to him that he was "a chosen instrument" to carry Christ's "name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (v. 15). He must have had second thoughts about his mission in life.

We too may question our talent or ability to carry out our calling in life. We may doubt our strength to handle a crisis, but we can probably do more than we think we can. Sometimes we hear about a 100-lb. woman rushing into a burning building to single-handedly rescue a 200-lb. unconscious man. Or a man will lift a two-ton automobile off the leg of a friend and not even realize it.

Superhuman spiritual strength is available for all of us. Paul found his strength in the power and presence of God's Spirit. We too can do more than we think we can in spiritual matters, when we have the presence and gift of the same Spirit.

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Fred must have been born a workaholic. He was an overachiever in sports, music, and academics. He was optimistic, high-spirited, and always the motivator. Following high school graduation Fred worked nights in a factory and put himself through college and graduate school.

After graduating with honors, he was recruited by a medical research firm. By age 27 Fred was married with two children, had a nice home in the suburbs, and was advancing rapidly in his profession. Occasionally his friends would tell him to slow down and take more time to enjoy life, but Fred always shrugged off their advice.

One month after his 30th birthday Fred had a major heart attack and almost died. During his hospitalization the doctors told Fred that he would not survive a second heart attack. They said he must change his lifestyle and live with less stress.

From the day of that heart attack Fred's life was changed. Since then he has been a zealous promoter of healthy diet, exercise, and a more leisurely lifestyle. He celebrated his 70th birthday a few weeks ago.

Fred's heart attack always reminds me of Saul's trip to Damascus. He was dead sure about what he was doing, but he was dead wrong. It took a lightning bolt to bring him up short and turn his life around.

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Paul's conversion on the Damascus road is perhaps the most famous record we possess of the way God can turn a person's life around physically, spiritually, emotionally, and morally. However, some of the greatest evangelists the world has ever known have left no exact record of their own conversion experience. Dwight L. Moody, who spent most of his revivalistic and preaching career calling for conversions, left no extended account of his own conversion. In fact, his application for church membership in Boston was deferred because of the vagueness of his own beliefs. But, shortly thereafter something must have happened, even though all he could write about was his joy to be alive. "I thought the old sun shone a good deal brighter than it ever had before -- it seemed to me I was in love with all creation."

Billy Graham falls into the same category. He tells us that at the age of 16, an evangelist in a tent meeting "had an almost embarrassing way of describing your sins and shortcomings," and in that meeting "something began to speak in my heart." Later he wrote that when he began his ministry of evangelism, he "had not read a single book on the subject of conversion." But his teenage experience, he said, was still vivid and the "brilliance and wonder" of the encounter remained.

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Perhaps one of the classic conversion stories comes from David Wilkenson's The Cross and the Switchblade. Gang leader Nicky Cruz had been accustomed to running his New York street gang -- the notion of the Christian faith having any meaning for him seemed ridiculous. But because of his encounter with evangelist David Wilkenson, a country preacher from Pennsylvania, Nicky Cruz was converted to the Christian faith.

Cruz continued his witness for Christ for decades with the same energy and intensity that characterized his gang leadership. When Christ summons an individual into his work Christ does not insist on changed characteristics. Enthusiasm and energy are still vital; the goal changes. Paul remained explosive and energetic -- but his goals changed.

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Unexpected interruptions like the one experienced by Saul are powerful. In the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the character Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss) is simply working as an employee of the power company. He is out in his truck checking lines during a night when something is causing a series of blackouts. As he is consulting his map, something incredible happens. He thinks another vehicle has come up behind him and he waves them around. Instead of going around, the "vehicle" goes over the top of his truck. His electrical system goes screwy, the railroad crossing signs in front of him begin to shake, and he is illuminated by brilliant light. The experience literally pitches Neary's life into chaos. From that moment, he becomes obsessed with trying to re-create the experience. His mind is filled with images of a strange mountain. His family thinks he has gone insane. The remainder of the film follows his quest to recognize the location of the mountain and journey there as an invited "guest" of the alien visitors.

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The skill of a pool player lies in knowing how to get the balls to change directions. Seldom are cue ball, target ball, and pocket all aligned in a straight line. The challenge is to apply just the right amount of force at the precise angle that will deflect the target in the desired new direction. The greater the angle of deflection, the less room for error and the more difficult the shot. Most difficult are shots that require a complete change of direction, a shot that by banking off two or three cushions eventually sends the ball back in the opposite direction from which it came. Such shots require a great deal of planning and practice and are accomplished only by the real masters of the game.

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