People of God, we need to allow ourselves to be converted! We gather this morning, each and every one of us, seeking a closer relationship with God. We come into this space ready to be transformed by the healing grace of God. We come seeking conversion.

Or do we? Maybe we’re not in the market for an experience of the risen Christ. Maybe we think we’ve already had our conversion experience. We like Saul and Ananias believe that we know the good guys from the bad guys. And we’re ready to settle for a religious faith that is comfortable and secure. We boldly speak of God’s limitless power, but who’s ready to follow the risen Christ into the streets of Chelmsford to share with neighbors what God has done for them? Who is ready to have their belts fastened around them and led to places they do not want to go? Actually, we’re probably quite comfortable with a reasonable, predictable, and manageable divinity.

But today’s lesson from the Book of Acts is calling us to move beyond the safety and security of our predetermined, ordinary lives. God is calling us to open ourselves to the possibility of conversion. Sometimes we have to be opened in order to hear God’s call in our lives. We often put up walls of reason to explain why we can’t possibly think that God is calling there. It sometimes takes a conversion, before we are able to hear God’s call.

God is calling us to conversion through this scripture passage. God is calling us to the kind of conversion that Ananias and Saul had in Damascus. Yes, I know that most of the attention over the years has been given to Saul’s conversion and we will think about this recognized conversion. Yet, I want us to think first about the second conversion.

Saul was on his way to Damascus to silence the preaching of the early church that was growing there. He had papers from the Sanhedrin giving him permission to arrest and transport them to Jerusalem, yet the scripture tells us that he also wanted to silence this group of renegades.

Saul was well known for his hate-filled ways and the small group of Christians at Damascus must have celebrated when they heard that he had been led into the city blinded by a light from heaven. They knew that the light from heaven was from their God. Think about the celebration they must have had! For three days, they had been celebrating the reality that God had struck down their enemy! It was obvious proof that God was on their side.

Ananias was probably just as elated as all the others from the excitement and may have even wondered about the validity of his vision. Perhaps he thought it was an hallucination. It made absolutely no sense to him; go and heal the one who would haul them off to prison. Imagine the conversation, "You want me to do what? You’ve got to be kidding." What a conversion that must have been for him, to finally come around to hear God’s message?

It must have taken a great deal of strength for Ananais to go that house on Straight Street as his friends danced in the streets because they were now safe. Perhaps he even felt for a while like a traitor, but God was calling him to step out in faith. Ananais was willing to trust and let God take him where he did not want to go. He believed that God could use even this villainous man Saul for God’s purposes. What faith!

So Ananais went to Saul, the one called Paul in Greek and filled with the Holy Spirit he stretched out his hands and healed his enemy. Ananais’ conversion brought forth Saul’s more familiar conversion. There are actually two conversions in this passage, thus I am proposing a new title for today’s sermon, "MC²", miraculous conversion squared.

Saul had been a zealous participant in the persecution of the fledging sect that still followed this Jesus of Nazareth, even though he was dead. Although a Pharisee, Saul had been willing to negotiate with the rival party, the Saducees, to further his efforts of ridding his Judaism of these outlaws. He had wanted to maintain the purity of the Temple and his faith. Since Damascus was one of the central locations where those seeking to worship at the Temple were examined and their identity as faithful Jews established, it was important to wipe out the Christians in that town.

While on his way to Damascus, Saul was struck down by his God. A light from heaven blinded him and he no longer had the fire and strength to continue with his mission. He was led into the city as helpless as a child.

But Saul’s God wanted more from him. It was not enough to simply protect the early Christians; God wanted to open Saul to the grace that was available to even him. So God worked another conversion and brought Ananias to complete Saul’s healing. We speak about Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, but that experience was actually completed three days later in the city of Damascus.

This good news experience reminds me of another similar, yet very different story. Recently, I saw again the musical Les Misrables. This musical is the epic story of Jean Valjean, a French convict who serves his sentence for stealing and then is hunted down throughout the rest of his life by Inspector Jalbert. This is a long story stretching out over twenty years, so I will just mention the highlights.

In the beginning, Valjean seems to give credence to Jalbert’s theory that once one is a convict they will always be a convict. When he is released from prison, Valjean steals from the priest who has fed him and given him a place to sleep. But when caught and brought before the priest, the generous man refuses to indict Valjean, claiming that he gave him the silver candlesticks. This one act of kindness leads to a conversion and Jean Valjean becomes a new man, but he can never use his real name for Inspector Jalbert is always looking for him.

After many years, Valjean and the Inspector are both old men. Valjean is given the opportunity to kill the Inspector, his long time foe, but he surprises the Inspector by letting him go. Valjean is truly a new man, having accepted the conversion that God offered to him.

Yet, the conversion that is offered to Jalbert is rejected. Jalbert has believed for years that God had called him to search out this convict and return him to prison. When faced with a new image of Valjean and thus a new image of God, Jalbert takes his own life rather than accepting a benevolent image of God. I find the end of this story disturbing; as a person in the business of trying to help in God’s conversion operations, I want a conversion experience for Jalbert.

What’s the difference between this story and our lesson from Acts? In Les Misrables, only Jean Valjean is open to conversion; Jalbert is closed to God’s voice. In the scripture, both Paul and Ananias hear God and accept a conversion experience. Where do we need to be opened to God’s call? When do we need conversion in our lives?

Recently, a reporter for the Maine Sunday Telegram explored what he saw as a division within the church. He wrote about two very popular pieces of media, a novel called The Divinchy Code and a movie called The Passion of the Christ and the struggle that these this popular movie and book represent. He suggests that one group within the Christian Church sees Jesus as a redeemer and labels them as conservatives and another group sees Jesus as a reformer, labeling them as liberal. In a sense this reporter has assessed the current struggle in the church accurately between those who read the Bible leaning towards a literal understanding and those who read in metaphorically. Yet, in other ways he has missed the point.

The good news this morning is that Christ is both redeemer and reformer and we all need conversion. Those who see Jesus only as a reformer need to acknowledge that he is their redeemer and those who see him only as a redeemer need to also see him as a reformer.

Conversion is not a once and for all experience; just as God calls us in new directions so also we undergo small conversions each step of the way. We need to acknowledge that no one among us has the eyes to see God in God’s fullness; no one has the mind to know God in God’s totality. God is far more than what our humanness can perceive, so we need to open ourselves to conversion.

Saul was a good man, following the direction that he believed God wanted; he was protecting his faith in the God of Abraham and Sarah. He came to see that God was a redeemer and a reformer. He came to a new understanding of the God of Abraham and Sarah. His eyes were opened to another way and he had the foresight to accept a broader vision of God.

Inspector Jalbert, on the other hand, was closed-minded. When he was confronted with a new understanding of God, rather than let go of the old, he took his own life. He believed in a God of retribution that punished those who did not live according to the law. When he was confronted with a criminal who had changed his life, his foundations were destroyed and he did not have the energy to rebuild them.

Biblically, there is a side of God that does judge between the obedient and the disobedient, yet this view is not the totality of God. Hebrew Scripture uses different names for God to represent these different aspects, helping us to realize that God is far more than just this one perspective. When we focus too heavily one aspect of God, we are in need of conversion. God is calling his church to a conversion.

The dialogue and conversation that we have had through our 40 Days is the first step in that conversion process. I have seen people become more integral to our church family through this process. I have seen people who are on opposite sides of the so-called division become friends in our small groups. We have given birth to new groups and I believe we will use this small group process again next year during Lent.

I pray that God will continue to work a conversion in our midst, and that we will reach out to one another recognizing our need for each other. I pray that we will continue to respond to the voice of God, which is leading us to go in places where we do not wish to go. I pray that we will respond to Jesus’ commandment, "Feed my sheep." and care for God’s people in many different ways. Amen.