Christ is risen!
“Vision” has been something of a buzzword in the Leadership Training manual for some time. Of course, these Leadership gurus get this foundational principle from the Holy Scriptures when King Solomon declared “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18)
I like how that verse is translated elsewhere when it translates “the people perish” as “the people cast off restraints.” There is some powerful wisdom in the truth that without a controlling vision, a goal, an understanding of ultimate purpose, we humans will wander around, trying this or that path, not knowing that most of these paths, fed by selfishness, lead us to destruction.
Look at our lesson today in Acts 26:1, 12-20:
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself:
“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
Here we have St. Paul, under arrest, as usual, giving his testimony before King Agrippa. By the way, this stint in jail for Paul will see his appeal to the Roman Emperor and be sent to Rome for trial.
Paul tells the king that he was once a persecutor of the Christians, but that all changed with the encounter on the Road to Damascus. Paul saw the Risen Jesus and was confronted with Christ. That confrontation, as dramatic and powerful as it was, changed Paul forever. And he got his marching orders from the Lord for the rest of his life!
Paul was to be a Minister and a Witness.
- A Minister in the sense that he was to dedicate the rest of his life to making the revelation of Jesus accessible to everyone, even the Gentiles. This radical message given to such a zealous Jew as Paul, who was on a mission to arrest the Christians in Damascus, was certainly a shock. Someone who was meticulous in obeying the Torah would know that a good Jew had nothing to do with the Gentiles. But now Paul would bring them the Gospel.
- A Witness because that is the primary task of someone who has encountered Jesus. Paul is a witness of the resurrected Jesus, and he tells the king “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” And he wasn’t. Paul spent the rest of his life before his martyrdom, preaching and raising up churches among the Gentiles!
Today, how would you describe your encounter with Jesus Christ? Have you ever had one? Of course, most of us won’t have as dramatic an encounter as St. Paul. But every time you hear the Gospel read you are invited to encounter Christ. Every liturgy you attend you are invited to encounter Christ. Every icon you see is an invitation to encounter Christ. Even every person you meet! If you are ever going to be Orthodox on Purpose, you are going to have to come face to Face with Jesus Christ!
P.S. Dear Lord, every time I take seriously my life with You, I am changed for the better. Every time I wake up to Your Presence in my life I am confronted with an encounter that never leaves me the same. You have changed my life, and You continue to change my life. And I need my life changed, Lord. I need to become accustomed to Your Light and Your Presence because there will come a moment of final encounter where I won’t be able to keep pretending You are far away! Give me the grace and strength to not forget that encounter and to wisely prepare myself with “a good answer before the awesome judgment seat of Christ.” Amen
