[Is. 43:16-21; Philip. 3:4b-14; Jn. 12:1-8]
Peace to all of you who are in Christ. Amen.
Saint Paul’s story reads a bit like a crime novel: the villain, in pursuit of the innocent, has a change of heart and repents of his evil ways.
A classic story of the great turn around and redemption of a protagonist -in this case, an antagonist- in turmoil.
Was Paul compensating for something by being so strict, so convinced in his religious adherence? What had triggered the vehemence with which he persecuted the nascent Christian communities? He was even present at Stephen’s execution and condoned it.
We read in Acts chapter 9:
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest, and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1-2)
Paul’s religious pedigree was certainly impressive…and elitist.
“A Hebrew born of Hebrews”, he studied with Gamaliel the Elder (Acts 22:3), a famous rabbi and scholar, who himself interestingly enough had spoken out against the condemnation of the apostles by the Sanhedrin, the very same council which had condemned our Lord (Acts 5:34-39).
Then Paul experienced his Road to Damascus conversion, and it changed the course of history.
We still use that expression today, a Damascus Road conversion: “An important point in someone's life where a great change, or reversal, of ideas or beliefs occurs.” (Wiktionary.com).
“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” he writes in his letter to the Philippians (3:7).
That’s a very radical statement, in fact if someone were to tell us that from now on they regarded everything which had come before as loss, we would probably be worried for them, for their state of mind.
Paul’s reversal, his turn-around was so profound and his consequent actions so totally different than before, that many consider him to be the actual founder of Christianity as a religious system: Jesus Christ brought the message, Saint Paul moulded it into a Church; Jesus preached the faith, Paul turned it into a religion.
Whatever your feelings about Paul’s character -and there are many varying opinions about Paul as a person- most people will agree that he was a brilliant theologian.
He was able to formulate his theological thinking in a way that’s for the most part understandable and accessible.
Saint Paul also greatly and directly inspired the reformers of the 16th century, when the emphasis was put back on the Gospel message of Christ’s redeeming life, death and resurrection.
So, what’s so important about Paul’s message, about the way he describes what Christ has meant for him and for all of us?
It’s best summed up in our passage from Philippians:
“…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.” (Philip. 3:9)
How are we to be made righteous before God, how are we justified?
That’s our starting point.
The basic rule is simple: it’s God who does the justifying, the redeeming and we live in response to that.
It’s the Father who declares us righteous because of what the Son has done for us, namely die on the cross and rise from the dead.
We’re justified by grace through faith because of Christ alone.
(If you happen to read a book about the Reformation, you will undoubtedly come across this phrase.)
Or to put it differently: salvation is ours, but we don’t earn it, we receive it as a free gift.
What about the Law then?
Theologians have tried to explain the functions of the Law as follows:
· Firstly, there’s of course the practical side to laws and regulations, you can’t run a red light for instance: the Law’s there to organise society (which doesn’t mean that all of society’s laws are just);
· Secondly, the Law acts as a mirror for our behaviour, for our sins: the Law declares us guilty, but the Gospel declares us forgiven;
· Thirdly, the Law directs us in how we’re supposed to live, which doesn’t mean we can just copy-paste the texts from the Bible into our own time, we need to read the Scriptures attentively, in context in order to properly understand them.
Righteousness doesn’t come from the Law, Paul writes, no matter how many rules you abide by, it comes through faith.
It’s not our righteousness, but God’s righteousness based on faith…no matter how small that faith may be, or how insignificant or unworthy you yourself or others wrongly believe it is, because God’s grace is always bigger.
This in no way means that we can do whatever we feel like! This is not a carte blanche!
We can’t abuse God’s grace!
We live in response to God’s grace justifying us, with gratitude and praise.
Our lives are supposed to reflect the grace we’re given, grace that we ourselves are required to give to others, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer.
We make it our own, because Christ Jesus has made us his own.
This is especially relevant during Lent, when we’re asked to reflect on how we can enter into our relationship with God more profoundly, how we can turn around and face God once again in preparation for Easter.
This isn’t meant to cause us undue stress, neither is it meant to be negative.
It’s meant to be realistic and balanced: we sin, we all do, and we need to acknowledge that we sin against God’s commandments, just as we can trust that God’s grace and love and forgiveness cover all those sins.
Law and Gospel.
Your sins are forgiven…go and sin no more.
A Damascus Road conversion every day.
May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. Amen.