Readings: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 117; John 6:52-59
Our First Reading of today narrates a very dramatic incident. It is the account of the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus, where he was on a mission to persecute the Christians. Jesus appeared to him, spoke to him on the way, and sent Ananias to him to pray for the recovery of both his physical and spiritual sight.
Today, there are two lessons for us and two prayer intentions.
A. God works in mysterious ways.
The conversion experience of Saul was a unique one. There is no record in the Bible of anyone else being converted in the same way. This reminds us that we cannot limit God by our method, expectation, or calculation.
We always like to ask “how?” – just as in today’s Gospel we had the audience wanting to know how Jesus would give them His flesh to eat.
We don’t have to know how; we only need to pray, trust and open ourselves to any means in which God chooses to work and move in our lives. He is an absolutely free God and He works in ways that beat our wildest imaginations.
B. God will take care of it.
When the Christians in Damascus heard that Saul was coming, how do you think they reacted? However, God took care of what must have made them panic and anxious. Dear friends, pray, do your best, and trust God. He knows how to take care of your situation.
Intentions.
I. Let us pray that the Lord may open our eyes to see where we might be in the wrong while thinking we are in the right, so that we may see the truth about ourselves.
II. Let us pray that the Lord may use us, as he did Ananias, to bring people like Saul to the knowledge of the Lord, so that by knowing the Lord, they may experience true liberation, transformation, and salvation.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on April 28, 2023