Dual Citizenship (Acts 9:1-22)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC...

[Slide] Dual Citizenship (Acts 9:1-22)

[Slide] Happy 250^th to America! During our bicentennial in 1976, I visited the Freedom Train, a museum of American history on rails. Jimmy Carter was in the White House. The number one song in 1976 was Silly Love Songs by Paul McCartney and the Wings. It was a great summer! I’ll be 114 when the tricentennial rolls around! Think I’ll make it? An artificial heart, hips and knees, and kidneys, liver and pancreas, I’ll be good to go!

[Slide] In our reading, we meet Saul, a Pharisee, of the strictest sect in Judaism. The Pharisees appeared shortly after the Maccabean Revolt against Greek occupation. In some ways, Pharisaism was a reaction to Israel’s unfaithfulness. In the Pharisee’s mind, oppression by foreign powers is the direct result of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. They created a system of over 600 laws to make sure Israel kept the law of Moses in every conceivable situation. The Pharisees believed their law-observant tradition was the way to keep Israel safe.

Saul zealously persecuted Christians. He wanted to end Christianity’s perceived threat to the security of the nation. He thought he was doing God’s work. But then Jesus happened.

[Slide] Jesus commanded Saul’s attention. By striking Saul blind, Jesus gave Saul a gift. He threw Saul off balance. He was sure of his mission to persecute Christians, but now he is completely shaken. His blinding experience with Jesus forced Saul to reorient his life.

[Slide] Jesus speaks to Ananias, while he is praying, and sends him to pray for Saul. Everybody needs an Ananias to come to them when they are struggling. I’ve had many occasions when Christian friends showed up when I was going through a tough time. Their kindness and faithfulness blessed me and eased my burden.

[Slide] Saul was a highly educated Jew, and a Roman citizen. He grew up in Tarsus which was the capital city of the Roman province called Cilicia, in southeastern Turkey. He studied under Gamaliel, a revered teacher in Jerusalem. Saul was a rising star among the Pharisees. [Slide] He describes himself in Galatians 1:14.

I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

[Slide] But then Jesus blinded him. There have been many times in my life when I have been blind to what God is doing in the world. My own prejudices and desire for comfort have kept my head turned away. Today, revisionists speak of white privilege in America. The world in which I grew up catered to white males. The civil rights movement happened. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr spoke to 250,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. There was the women’s liberation movement. Following these cultural shakeups, the government passed new laws that improved the lives of African Americans, women, and those with disabilities. Gay rights took center stage during the AIDS crisis. My world has changed to accommodate those who are marginalized. All change is uncomfortable, even good change. My blind eyes are open to the struggles of my neighbors who are not white, or male, or heterosexual, or Christian, or born in this country.

When Ananias prayed, Saul could see immediately. I didn’t get an immediate healing to my blindness. My blindness was the result of my desire to stay comfortable. I liked the world better when it was made for me. But the more the news revealed what was happening, and the more different people came into my sphere, my eyes began to open to their needs. My eyes are opened and so is my heart.

 

[Slide] Saul became the apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament. His religious tradition blinded him to what God was doing in the world. [Slide] In what ways has your desire for comfort blinded you to what God is doing? [Slide] Are your eyes open to the needs of others?

[Slide] Paul had a dual citizenship. He was both Jew and Roman. He was now, through faith in Jesus, both Jew and Christian. He was Jew by birth and by training. And he was convinced that Jesus was the Christ, the promised messiah. [Slide]

Paul wrote of Jesus, “For every one of God's promises are "Yes" in him!” (2nd Corinthians 1:20)

Far from leaving Judaism behind, Paul’s eyes were opened to the fact that Jesus was the completion of all God had been doing through Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s saving work in the world. Paul didn’t cease to be a Jew. He was Jew with His eyes opened to the truth of Jesus.

[Slide] We, too, have dual citizenship. We are Americans and we are Christians. We swear allegiance to the USA and to Jesus Christ. Like Saul and Ananias, we each have work to do as American citizens and as disciples of Jesus. Make an intentional effort to engage with those who are different than you. Engage with immigrants and people of different religions. Seek out those who are shoved to the edges of society. Every person is one for whom Christ died.

When the Jews were in exile in Babylon, they didn’t take up arms against their oppressors. They prayed for Babylon and sought its good. The Lord urged Israel,

[Slide] ^“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7)

We live in a time of great division. Perhaps you feel like you are in exile. The extreme politics of this age breeds extremism in both conservative and liberal camps. We belong to both America and heaven. God calls us to civility and to hope in the Kingdom of Christ Jesus.

[Slide]  We have a duty to God and country. Therefore, open your ears and your eyes. Open your hearts and minds. Open your hands to meet the needs of your neighbors. Be a helpful and productive American, and as an ambassador for Jesus Christ.

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[Slide] Let us join in the pledge to the Christian flag

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag,

and to the Saviour for whose kingdom it stands;

one family of God, united in service

and in love.