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Lenten Jewels - Courage

LENTEN JEWELS

Courage

March 25, 2007

Text: Acts 9:10-19 

Acts 9:10-19

10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." 11 The Lord said to him, "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,  12 and 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."  13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;  16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."  17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "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." 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength

NRSV 

How do you deal with a bully?

Here’s one approach.

What movie’s that from?  

Look at that yellow-eyed bully, Farkus. Yes, running is one way of dealing with bullies. The most natural. 

Another way is taking the “psycho” approach. You get up in Farkus’ face, open your eyes wide, and give an overall impression that says, “I’m crazy as a loon, and I’m going Charles Manson on you if you hit me.”  

This, unfortunately, doesn’t work if Farkus is five inches higher and a hundred pounds heavier than you.  

And sometimes, the bullies we face—not on the way home from school, but in life—appear five inches higher and a hundred pounds heavier. 

The bully could be a boss who’s overbearing, and has asked you to do something unethical, or else. 

The bully could be a class-mate, who won’t be your friend any more unless you do or say things you’re not comfortable with. 

The bully could be someone who’s said things about you behind your back—a “sniper” we call those types of bullies. 

The bully could be someone close to you, who has betrayed your love or your confidence. 

The bully could be a voice you hear in your head—the voice that says, “You know you can’t do that! You’ve failed before, you’ll fail again. Don’t even try!” 

The bully could be a disease you’ve heard of before, but now it’s personal, because it’s in your body. 

Fact is, bullies take many, many forms, but they all have one thing in common: the more you think about and worry over them, the bigger, the scarier, more powerful and awful, they become.  

Actually, the more you think about your bullies, the less you think of yourself. You just know that you don’t have what it takes to stand up to them. You don’t have the abilities, the stamina, the resources. You’ve failed in battle before, you’ll fail again, and this time it’ll be much worse. 

Thus, since bullies are so big and you’re so small, it’s easy to imagine how bad things will be if you confront them. You’ll be humiliated, embarrassed, hurt. You’ll lose your job, your status, your relationship, your security. 

So how do you deal with bullies? Run away? Go psycho?

How do you “get” courage?

That’s a tough question to answer, isn’t it? We can sound so tough in here, and trick ourselves into thinking we can go out like David, facing Goliath. But once you open these doors and get out onto the parking lot, that courage can evaporate like morning mist. 

Because it’s such a tough question, I’ve called in an expert today. He once faced a bully. Let’s hear how he handled it. 

Welcome, Ananias. 

Thank you for letting me tell my story to you today. My, churches have changed since I last walked the earth! 

I remember that day so well: I was praying, when I saw a light—a light! I trembled with excitement: Will I see Jesus? Will I hear him?  

I did, and…I wish I hadn’t. You know what Jesus said? “Go, and find Saul of Tarsus, and minister to him.” 

And I felt like saying, “Yeah, right. And while I’m at it, why don’t I lie down on a bed of nails???” It would be like a Jew going to Hitler during your World War Two and asking, “Would you like to learn Hebrew?” Saul hated Christians! His favorite hobby was rounding them up, throwing them in prison, and cursing them while he and others threw stones until they died! And Jesus wants me to go and talk with him? 

I have to tell you, I started wondering if I was having the right vision—maybe I’d eaten something too spicy before bed, you know? So I had to find out. 

“Lord, you do know this man’s a killer—are you sure you want me to go to HIM?” And I’ll never forget what Jesus said. “Go, for he 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 Saul [what he will do for me].” 

I instantly felt ashamed for questioning Jesus. How silly of me. Maybe my fear had dulled what my heart knew—fear has a way of doing that, you know. Because when Jesus asks you to do something, he has a plan—“I have chosen Saul,” he said. Makes no difference whether or not I understand the plan or agree to it—It’s JESUS’ plan, and I’m just a man. I trust Jesus to know what Jesus is doing.  

And did you hear what else Jesus said? “I MYSELF will show Saul [what he will do for me].” When Jesus asked me to go to that Hitler, he wasn’t asking me to go alone. “I MYSELF” will go with you. 

So I went—still afraid, mind you—and I found him. The second I saw him, my fear left, and my heart melted. Here wasn’t the Hitler I’d feared. Here was a man bent over, sobbing—with tears falling out of eyes that could no longer see. My heart went out to him. I knelt beside him, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, “Brother Saul, Jesus has sent me to you.” He turned around, rubbing and drying his eyes, and looked me in the face until he could see me clearly. I’ll always remember that face—not the face of someone I’d feared, but the face of one I could call, “Brother.” I helped him to his feet, we ate and talked, and the next day I participated in his baptism. In the years that followed, I kept tabs on him. He started churches. He wrote down what the Gospel is, what it means to be saved by grace, who Jesus is—he wrote all this down in letters that you’ve heard read in this very church.  

And just think—I had a part in all this—all because Jesus trusted me with his plan, and I had the courage to trust Jesus. 

YOU KNOW? WE’RE ALL AFRAID AT TIMES. I GUESS IT’S AT THOSE TIMES YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT? BEING SAFE…OR BEING FAITHFUL?” 

If you listened carefully to our friend Ananias, you would have heard three things you HAVE to remember if you’re going to face your bully. 

The first thing you have to remember is this:  

1. Jesus has a plan.

Saul, whom Ananias saw as Hitler, Jesus saw as a missionary. Jesus had it thought out, planned out. Once Jesus changed his heart, he would use Saul’s intellect, passion, and knack for administration to start churches and write half the New Testament. Indeed, Jesus saw Paul as his right hand man—THE man it would take to help the Gospel take root and spread.

And so he said, “Get up and go, Ananias—you’re part of my plan.” 

Could it be that the bully you’re facing is part of Christ’s plan? If your bully’s a person, could it be that Jesus will use you to change her/him? If your bully is that injustice you see at school or work or in society—will Jesus use you to let justice flow down like a mighty stream? If your bully is that voice in your head—will Jesus use it to help you grow your soul?  

Bullies aren’t what they appear to be. They aren’t problems to run away from. They are opportunities to grow through. That’s because Jesus has a plan. And maybe the greater your fear, the greater his plan may be. 

Second lesson: 

2—Jesus goes with you.

I imagine that Jesus is waiting to see if Ananias will indeed get up and go to Saul. The second he sees the man start to do it, I can’t help but think Jesus jumped up and said, “Yes!” He’s like Tiger Woods after sinking a birdie putt, arm pumping in air. 

Because now, Jesus could go on a trip. I can’t help but think that Jesus is brimming with excitement—like a kid on Christmas morning—as he walks and skips and runs around Ananias, as he heads to see Saul.  

When Jesus says, “Get up and go face your fear,” do you think he then adds, “And good luck”? No. When you accept Jesus’ call to confront your fear, Jesus says, “Great! Hold on a second, let me grab a snack for us, I’m going with you. YES!” 

When you get up and go to face your fear, NEVER underestimate the power of the one who goes with you. 

There was a story I read once in Christian Chicken Soup where a guy was out looking for a place to start a homeless shelter, when a group of thugs pulled up in front of him and got out of the car. They were about to mug him when they suddenly stopped, then ran back to their cars and drove away. What happened? Behind the guy appeared three huge men, one must have been seven feet tall. 

True or not? I don’t know. But I like the image that when you cross into the unknown, you’re not alone. Jesus goes with you—and he can appear bigger than seven feet tall to any bully! 

And speaking of bullies, here’s the third lesson: 

3—The bully isn’t as big and bad as you think.

Can’t you imagine the deep breath Ananias took as he opened the door and entered the room where Saul was? What would he find? A crazy man? Someone cursing, having to be restrained in chains?  

What he found was a broken, confused man. A man crying out of eyes that could no longer see. A man who needed a human touch, to explain the divine words he’d heard on the Damascus road. 

Isn’t this true in your experience? That which was your greatest fear, when you faced it, didn’t have the fangs you’d feared. Its bark wasn’t so loud, and its bite had a few teeth missing. 

It’s like a scene from a movie, where you see the villain’s shadow cast against a wall. It’s big, creepy, scary. But then you see the villain, and he’s only a fraction of the size of his shadow—and he looks more like Barney Fife than Adolf Hitler. 

General George Patton said, 'Fear kills more people than death.'  How right he was. We run away from the bullies in our lives, we’ll die the proverbial “thousand times.” We’ll always believe they’re more powerful than they are.  

Remember: The bully isn’t as big and bad as you think! 

Jesus said to Ananias, “Get up and go…Go to the very man who is your enemy.” 

In a few moments, you’ll get up and go.

Will you go saying, “I don’t think I heard Jesus right—he CAN’T be asking me to do that!” 

Or will you go saying, “Being faithful is more important than being scared. Lord Jesus, I’m going—and I can’t wait to see you in action!”