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| June 8, 2008 |
Reading time: about 6.5 minutes Reader one: Next to Jesus, the most famous person in the Christian story is Paul. Reader two: Paul the Apostle. Reader one: Paul of Tarsus. Reader two: Saint Paul. Reader one: Paul, the most famous Christian evangelist, never met Jesus. Reader two: Well, not in the flesh. But he certainly met Jesus. Reader one: True. Reader two: When we first meet this man in the book of Acts he is called Saul. Saul is the Hebrew version of his name. Paul is the Greek version. Reader one: Saul was a Pharisee – which meant he was trained in Hebrew law and tradition. He was also a Roman citizen, which meant he was a man of considerable status. Reader two: And Saul traveled around the Roman Empire finding Christians, also known as People of the Way, tying them up, and bringing them back to Jerusalem to stand trial before the Jewish Council. He quickly gained a reputation in all the tiny Christian communities, as a man to be feared and avoided. Reader one: Here’s the story of Saul, or Paul, as it is told in the book of Acts. Reader two: Saul, breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and 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. Reader one: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Reader two: “Who are you, Lord?” Reader one: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” Reader two: The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul 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. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Reader one: Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision. Reader two: “Ananias.” Reader one: “Here I am, Lord.” Reader two: “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. 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.” Reader one: “But Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” Reader two: “Go, for Saul is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel. I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Reader one: So Ananias went and entered the house. He spoke to Saul and laid his hands on him. Reader two: “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.” Reader two: And immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. Reader one: “He is the Son of God.” Reader two: “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” Reader one: Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. Reader two: When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. Reader one: But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. Reader two: So Saul went in and out among the Christians in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. Reader one: And Saul, who became known by his Greek name of Paul, traveled throughout the Roman world, to Corinth, to Ephesus, to Rome, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of Christ to any who would listen. Reader two: And Paul wrote letters. He wrote letters of counsel, of inspiration to the young churches he founded. And sometimes his letters scolded those new Christians, who had many of the same problems we do in our world. Reader one: And that’s why the letters of St. Paul continue to inform and inspire us today. NOTE: The above is written in the style of “Reader’s Theatre,” a very simple but effective way of presenting the biblical story that can be done in any church, large or small. For more information about how to do Reader’s Theatre, click on this link. Note: You have permission to use this in any worship service. No credit line is required, though it would be nice if you put in something like, “A Readers’ Theatre presentation of the Story-Lectionary.com project.” |