Easter 3 C Conversion
Today’s Bible readings are about conversion – the Conversion
of St. Paul in Acts and in St. John St. Peter after the Resurrection on the
shore of the Sea of Galilee. Conversion is change of one thing into another.
Water at room temperature is liquid. Heat it and it becomes a vapor; when very
cold it turns solid. When Lucy and I
went to Mexico this winter I converted American dollars into Mexican pesos at
18 to 1.
St. Paul’s conversion was from hatred and anger toward
the disciples of the Lord to proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, saying,
"He is the Son of God." St. Peter’s conversion was from a life of guilt
and confusion to new life in Jesus in the truth and power of the Holy Spirit. Three times Peter denied; three times Jesus
commanded converted Peter, “Feed my sheep!”
Jesus appeared to Paul to convert him from hatred to love
and witness. Jesus appeared to Peter to convert him from guilt and shame to
truth and power. Acts tells us that Peter’s Pentecost sermon converted over
3000 people to faith and trust in Jesus. Paul’s ministry brought the good news of Jesus
to many parts of the Roman Empire.
In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles: “Saul,
still 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.” On the way he met
Jesus, was struck blind, received the ministry of Ananias and the community of
believers at Damascus, “and immediately . . . began to proclaim Jesus in the
synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."
Peter had confessed Jesus as Messiah by the stream at
Caeserea Philippi in Galilee. Peter was a leader among the disciples, chosen to
experience the Transfiguration, chosen to be with Jesus as he was questioned by
the leaders of the people, and there Peter, as Jesus had foretold, three times
denied knowing Jesus. But though Peter was a witness to the Resurrection, and
though he continued to be with the other disciples, he was a broken man, bowed
down by his memory of his betrayal. His
memory of his failure kept him from claiming the truth and the power of the
Holy Spirit given him at Easter. He fell back on what he had been doing before
Jesus called him; he went back to fishing. And Jesus met him there. Three times
Peter had denied Jesus. Three times Jesus asked him, “Do you love me?” Three
times Peter says, “Yes, I love you,” and three times Jesus calls Peter to love
and serve, “Feed my lambs; feed my sheep; feed my sheep.”
In the Greek text there is a play on words. I don’t want to push this too hard. The
meaning is that God loves us where we are, as we are, and works in and with us
to bring us to himself. Greek has at
least four words for love. C.S.Lewis wrote a book about them. St. John uses 2
of the 4 – agape and filia. The other two are eros and storge. Agape is used
for the unconditional love – the love of God for his people – “to will the good
of another.” The first two times Jesus
asks, “agapas me?” Do you love me with an unconditional love? Peter responds, philo se, philo se, philo se. Peter uses the word from which we get filial
love, or philanthropy. Aristotle uses philia to mean loyalty to friends, brotherly
love, love of family and community, a general type of love, like desire or
enjoyment of an activity. The third time Jesus asks, phileis me? Jesus uses the
word that Peter uses, not agape love but philia.
The other two words for love in Greek are eros, physical
attraction, and storge, for the sometimes exasperating love within a family. Storge
also is used to express mere acceptance or putting up with situations, as in “love”
for one's country or a favorite sports team. Lewis writes much about storge.
We sing an African American Spiritual, number 614 in
Evangelical Lutheran Worship:
Sometimes I feel discouraged and
think my work’s in vain, But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again. There
is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead to
heal the sin sick soul.
If you cannot preach like Peter,
if you cannot pray like Paul, You can tell the love of Jesus and say, "He
died for all." There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There
is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.
Don’t ever feel discouraged, for
Jesus is your friend; And if you lack for knowledge, He’ll never refuse to
lend. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There is a balm in
Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.
“Balm in Gilead” is a healing ointment, a balsam extract.
We read of it in from Genesis 43:11, when it is part of the present the Patriarch
Jacob sent to Joseph in Egypt seeking a second supply of famine relief. Joseph’s
half-brothers had sold him into slavery and told their father Jacob he was
dead. Joseph prospered in Egypt, and he sold the brothers grain in famine time.
The brothers did not recognize Joseph, and at their first visit Joseph did not
reveal himself to them. But he asked for
his full brother Benjamin. When Jacob sent them the second time with Benjamin
and the balm Joseph revealed himself; the family were reconciled, and the
family were invited to settle on the border of Egypt. We anoint with olive oil, praying for God’s
healing grace, physical healing, psychological healing, spiritual healing,
healing of relationships. There is indeed a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick
soul.
