Amazing Acts: I Can See Clearly
“I can see clearly now the rain has gone/ I can see all obstacles in my way/ Gone are the dark clouds that blinded me/It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!” (from the song “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jonny Nash).
This is the song that comes to mind when I think of the Saul story of conversion in Acts 9. In a flash of light, he is struck blind and encounters the voice of the Lord crying, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” Then, days later, Ananias, one of the ordained leaders of “The Way”, receives the message to go and pray for Saul’s healing. The story has a tidy ending when Ananias faces his fears, heads to Straight Street and prays over the blind-struck Saul.
Oh if only all conversions and stories of faith were that nice and tidy. Saul changes from a persecutor of followers of “The Way” and becomes one of the greatest teachers of Jesus’ lessons, interpreting what it means to be righteous without “working” for it — righteous by the grace of God alone. Quite a turn-around for a Pharisee who had found his righteousness in rituals and following The Levitical Codes for cleanliness.
But for most of us, our faith journey neither begins or ends in a single moment. Rather it is a life-long journey that begins in our homes, perhaps — through the prayers and lessons of our parents or grandparents. And it continues throughout our lives.
We find moments where things become crystal clear to us — like the Jonny Nash song — “Look all around/there’s nothing but blue sky/ Look straight ahead/ nothing but blue sky!” These are moments when we touch the Divine — “Liminal” moments, where the space between the Holy and the worldly is very thin. But most of the time we trudge through, hoping for that clarity.
This Co-Vid time for me has been full of “the rainbows I’ve been praying for” as well as the “dark clouds that blinded me.” Sunday, I’ll ask you to look for those Divine moments of transformation. The kind that led Saul to begin confessing Jesus as the Son of God, and the kind that filled Ananias with courage when he wanted to do anything in the world except seek out the Saul who had murderous intentions for those who followed Jesus.
Tomorrow, we’ll begin with Fellowship & Prayer time on Zoom. You can join us at 9:15 am with this information:
Paula Steinbacher is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Sunday Prayer and Fellowship
Time: Jun 21, 2020 09:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Every week on Sun, until Aug 2, 2020, 7 occurrence(s)Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0sf-moqz4rHNHPn9Z5Hgs0Wd9m3qpLXLKt/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGhrzMqGtGQsR-CRpx5BYqgc_TwmCVcgo11rBG8OXV7ZRCmAeYbP-FuAPToJoin Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89180055165Meeting ID: 891 8005 5165
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Meeting ID: 891 8005 5165
Session met on Wednesday, June 18 and assembled a “Re-entry Team” to pray and discern when the best time to open back up for Public Worship will be. In the meantime, perhaps these zoom prayer and fellowship times will help us feel more connected.
Peace in Christ,
Paula
