Not What They Had Planned

May 1, 2022

Hope Lutheran Church

Rev. Mary Erickson

Acts 9:1-6; John 21:1-19

Not What They Had Planned

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Saints Peter and Paul. Both men are full of zeal. They will both be instrumental in the spread and development of the Christian faith during the first generation of the church. They have much in common, these two, and yet they’re both quite unique from each another. Peter was one of the original 12 disciples. He was with Jesus from the start. Paul started out as a violent persecutor of the church.

Today we hear stories related to their futures. Both stories involve encounters with the crucified and risen Christ. Jesus tells each of them what will occur to them in the future. It was not what they had planned. They were both destined for futures filled with passion.

The meaning of the word passion has changed over time. When we hear it now, our first thoughts turn to very strong emotions. Someone can be passionate about a cause or attaining a certain goal. But typically, we connect the word passion with romantic emotions. We feel passionate towards another person.

The original meaning of passion, however, was far different. The word itself derives from the Latin word for “suffer.” In that vein, the word passion has always been closely tied to Jesus’ passion. It refers to the actions leading up to and including his death on the cross.

The word passion originally meant “to suffer, to bear, to endure.” This is the kind of passion that’s tied to the destinies of Peter and Paul.

Let’s look at Paul first. He originally went by his Jewish name, Saul. We encounter him on his way to the city of Damascus. Saul had procured license to round up Christians in that city and bring them back to Jerusalem where they’d be punished for their errant faith. But as he approached Damascus he was struck down to the ground and blinded.

The voice of Jesus said to him, “You’ll be told what you’re going to do!” Hint: It wasn’t what Saul had in mind! He was led by the hand into Damascus. A few days later his future was laid out for him. Paul was to be an instrument to proclaim the good news of Christ to Gentiles. And in the process he’ll also discover how much he will suffer for the Lord’s sake. This was Paul’s passion.

Blind Paul was led by hand into Damascus. And looking forward, Peter will also be led around. Peter had always been an action guy. He leaped out of a boat to walk on water to Jesus. It was Peter who boldly declared that Jesus was the Messiah.

But that morning along the shore of Lake Galilee, Jesus told Peter about a time when Peter would no longer direct his own path. He’d be led around and taken to a place he didn’t want to go. He would be executed. This was Peter’s passion.

Passion. It encompasses times when we’re not in charge. Other forces act upon us, bringing with them hardship and anguish. We’re not in the driver’s seat. We can only respond to the forces acting upon us.

The Roman Catholic writer Father Henri Nouwen reflected upon our passion:

“Just as with everyone else, most of my life is determined by what is done to me and thus is passion. And because most of my life is passion, things being done to me, only small parts of my life are determined by what I think, say, or do. I am inclined to protest against this and to want all to be action originated by me. But the truth is that my passion is a much greater part of my life than my action.”

Is Nouwen correct? Is the greater portion of our life comprised of our passion rather than what we initiate? As I consider my own life, I’d have to agree. As a child, certainly, we have no control over our family and life situation. We are led around by our parents’ decisions and movements.

As we pass into adulthood, we do achieve more self-determination. But even so, a great deal occurs that we have no control over, we can only respond. In parenting, in our jobs, facing sickness, through family duress, even in national and global crises, passion is thrust upon us. It’s a burden we’re given to bear, a responsibility. It’s a cross.

But it’s in these moments of our passion, when the world demands us to respond through our suffering and duress, here is where our destiny is most completely fulfilled. These are the moments when we become the instruments of God’s love. Many years after Paul was struck down on that Damascus road, he would come to know first hand that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And that hope does not disappoint us.