Saul
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…and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
-Acts 7:58
This Sunday’s Acts reading is a sad story. It is the story of the stoning of Stephen, one of the earliest known deacons of the church. He is killed by religious violence, by hatred toward difference, by the worst of human nature. And a young man named Saul was there, watching the killing. It is suspected that he actually arranged it. He was a young man so reactionary and zealous about his own faith being the only true way that he devoted himself to orchestrating persecutions against the emerging Christian movement, resulting in both the torture and death of those who followed the way of Jesus.
Saul‘s eyes and ears were later opened on the road to Damascus, and his whole understanding was transformed, his name was changed to Paul, and he became one of the most passionate early Christians himself, traveling on Jesus’ way for the rest of his life, moving from place to place around the entire Mediterranean area preaching, teaching and writing a number of letters that we still read in church to this day.
The world is full of surprises.
God somehow took the violent and reactionary zeal of Saul and transformed it into a faithful devotion to Christ, and Paul’s ministry has had a lasting influence on our faith. You may love him or leave him, or your opinions on him might change with time, but he is a towering and dramatic figure in Christianity.
So why, you might wonder, would this terrible story of violent persecution and death be a part of the Easter season lectionary in all its gruesome and dark detail? Kenyan writer Enuma Okoro wrote in a recent commentary on this passage:
This story bears witness to the reality of the sort of world we live in, both inside and outside the church. It reminds us that children of God can and do turn against one another when we hear truth that offends our pride and threatens to crumble our cardboard temples for God. And it reminds us that bearing witness against falsehood is a calling that always has a personal cost.
Last Sunday we prayed Psalm 23, the psalm that compares us to vulnerable sheep, with danger and death all around who are in need of a good shepherd. Perhaps the stoning of Stephen comes on the heels of Good Shepherd Sunday to remind us once again that new life is always offered to us even in this valley of the shadow of death - even, sometimes, as the stones begin to fly - whether they’re flying at us, or even if we threw them ourselves.
Every day we’re faced with impossible choices, triggering offenses, and hurtful behavior in and all around us. But Christ has shown us a way to practice and follow that will help us navigate this confusing world - a way that shows us the way to forgiveness, healing and new life.
