In today’s story, Saul (later called Paul), had seen a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus (the one in present day Syria, not the one on the border of Montgomery and Frederick counties!). At the time, Saul was a dangerous guy. He had violently persecuted Christians in Jerusalem, and now he was on his way to Damascus with authority to arrest Christians there and bring them back for persecution by the Temple authorities.
Saul was the last guy you wanted to be around if you were a Christian. He was definitely outside the box, and that’s what Ananias says when he has a vision of Jesus who tells him to go and pray over Saul. Yet Jesus tells Ananias that Saul is going to be one of the ways that Jesus will make his name known. Saul, ironically, is one of the ways forward. God is thinking and acting outside the box!
The really remarkable thing is that Ananias is willing to go along with it! Ananias has no idea (and neither does Saul/Paul) exactly what Jesus has in mind or how God will make it all work out. But when Jesus tells Ananias that the way forward means thinking and acting outside the box, Ananias has the faith and courage to do it.
And as modern Christian disciples, sometimes that’s the biggest challenge for us. We know how things have been done in the past and the ways that we’ve been able to make things work for us. But moving forward often means thinking and acting outside the boxes of our comfort zones. And the example of Ananias shows us that sometimes, following Jesus means living outside of our boxes, and that when we’re willing to follow Jesus “outside the box”, God can do great things with us.
9Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ 5He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ 7The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ 11The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12and he has seen in a vision* a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ 13But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ 15But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ 17So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul* and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,
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