( a draft sermon for the Conversion of Paul): 25 January 2026

I am a fan of the Apostle Paul – and his writings. They are sometimes provocative, often robust, but always rooted in his pastoral commitment that the church should reflect Jesus Christ.

But often we are uncomfortable with him

He is forensic in pointing things out that should not be

He says things about women – and we are horrified, because we no longer are inclined to investigate what he might have meant in his cultural context.

And yet… his words echo through the centuries. On this feast of Santes Dwynwen, what words could be better that those found in 1 Corinthians 13?

This passage from Acts 9 is about how Saul begins his journey to become Paul.

In the Acts we last met him when he was holding the coats of mob who stoned Stephen to death. He then gained a reputation for being an opponent of the way. Followers of the way was the term used for the earliest Christians. This was not surprising, the Jewish law (in Hebrew) is pronounced Halakhah, which literally means the right path. Christians were therefore initially Jews who followed the way of Jesus. This is why for Paul is sometimes ruthless in his writings about how to behave. Being a follower of Jesus (when he became one) was his everything.

Saul gains permission to go to Damascus to arrest followers of the Way.

It is on his way that everything changes. This is what happens. A light shines.

There is the link back to the OT prophecies that we know well. The light invades Saul’s life and he is thrown to the ground. When that happens changes all.

Why are you persecuting me, or more literally: why are you hurting me?

Saul’s theology was good enough to know that the voice he heard was that of the Lord. He did not yet know who that Lord was.

I am Jesus comes to the reply.

Saul is left vulnerable and alone, led blinded into the city awaiting what would happen next.

The strong man who dominated people is now dependent. For Paul and for us being dependent on Jesus is a hallmark of our faith

Saul is taken to wait. His process of change has begun. Saul needed someone else, a hero called Annanias. Annanias is only mentioned in the accounts of Saul’s conversion. God gave him a vision. He faced a choice. He knew who Saul was. Saul, for Annanias, was a clear and present danger to the church. This courageous disciple was honest with God. How often are we honest with God? Dare we be so? Nevertheless, Annanias chooses to follow God’s path and go.

Touch is important, isn’t it? Jesus touched people that the Pharisees said he should not. Annanias here touches Saul physically, and with the words, ‘Brother Saul’, welcoming him into the family of the way. Annanias is clear it is Jesus. The one who Saul had hurt, and yet the one who had called him that had sent him. After Saul is baptised, Annanias disappears.

In a passage about Saul’s calling, we have this section with Annanias. He listens to God, follows the way of God, and remarkably for a moment in time holds someone else’s calling in his hands. He was told that Saul would carry the message to peoples across the world.

As a church we are called, and as a called people celebrate the calling of others.

I wonder whether you have ever reflected on God’s calling. We sometimes call it vocation. Vocation has its roots in the Latin word for voice. We restrict vocation these days to ministry within the church. Not so long ago, medical professionals and teachers were said to have a vocation. All of us are called by God not just those with dog collars or robes.

God calls us first to be part of his family; hence the importance of ‘Brother Saul’.

Second, Our response to the call of God is in baptism: a public declaration of our faith and an acknowledgement that we are people who belong to him.

Third, we follow the Jesus way by learning and doing

Sometimes that way involves being on a journey we do not want to go on. (maybe the story of Roz’s stole)

As importantly, fourth our vocation involves others. We cannot usually be a Christian alone. Saul needed Annanias. Saul’s journey to become Paul started in prayer. It did not start in his prayers necessarily, but in those of Stephen who asked that God not to remember the sins of those taking his life. Saul would have heard those words, and Stephen’s prayer would have been heard… and lit a fuse that would detonate on the Damascus road.