I’d like for you to join with me in thinking back to your high school years for a moment, and in doing so, how many of you at your high school had a poll asking for who in your graduating class was most likely to do certain things? What was yours? I graduated from Garner-Hayfield High School in north-central Iowa in 1995, and by that time, we didn’t do polls like that. But if we had, I don’t know what I would have been voted most likely to do, but I can tell you what I was most unlikely to accomplish: being the shortstop for the Chicago Cubs since my high school baseball career consisted of starting a grand total of 2 games in 4 years, and a career batting average below my weight, which back then was well below 150.
Today, we are gathered for our monthly time together during our busiest week of the entire year: Holy Week. I’m thankful you all carved time out of your busy schedules to come here to Ladysmith today so we can gather together for worship, fellowship, and the mutual consolation of the brethren. And I also realize how important it is for me to share something with you to feed your souls with the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, as you prepare for all of the special services in your congregations later this week. So as I was thinking of what to share with you, fellow preachers of the Gospel, I settled on the two scripture readings for today, because I want you to take a look at two other proclaimers of the Gospel from the New Testament, because their stories have a lot of encouragement to share with us, as we prepare to share the greatest story in the history of the world.
So to lead things off, let me take you to Acts 9 where we meet Saul. At this time, Saul has earned quite a reputation for himself among Christians. But not for anything good. We read earlier in the book of Acts that Saul was present at the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the New Testament church. We read that not only did Saul approve of Stephen’s stoning, he was a known persecutor of Christians, looking to round up as many of them as he could find, and send them back to Jerusalem, likely to face death. Christians feared Saul! And as Acts 9 opens, he has gone to the high priest, asking for letters to take to the synagogue at Damascus, so that if he happened to find anyone who belonged to what they called “the Way”, he could lead them back to Jerusalem bound in chains simply because they confessed that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
But, along the Damascus road, Saul has an encounter with the risen Jesus, who asks why Saul is persecuting him, instructs Saul to enter the city of Damascus, and then, he rose from the ground, seeing nothing, needing to be led by the hand to reach his destination. And now, we meet Ananias, a disciple of Jesus who is there in Damascus. Jesus has some curious instructions for him:
“Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 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.” (v.11-12)
Anytime I read this account, I can just imagine that as soon as Jesus mentioned Saul’s name, that’s where Ananias stopped listening. When you hear his objection, it is as if Ananias is saying: “Uhm, Jesus, excuse me? Let me get this straight? You want me to go and talk to Saul of all people? Don’t you know who you’re talking about, Jesus? Haven’t you seen what he has done to your followers? Don’t you know why he’s here? Don’t you know what he could do to me? I think you got the wrong guy. There’s NO WAY Saul is going to want anything to do with you, Jesus!” Ananias believes that Saul is the LAST person in the world who would ever become a follower of Jesus, let alone a proclaimer of the Gospel, right. And yet, Jesus tells him to go. And we all remember what happens next. Ananias goes, he lays hands on Saul, something like scales come out of his eyes, he regains his sight, he’s baptized, spends some time with the disciples, and then, goes to the Synagogue, his original, intended destination. And what does Saul say once he’s there? “Jesus is the Son of God” and he continued to confound the Jews there by proving that Jesus was indeed the Christ! Saul the persecutor, became Paul, the great apostle and follower of Jesus, who would proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior who lived, died, and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins, for the rest of his life, even when it meant that Paul would die for his confession of Jesus.
So now, let me take you to a place we will visit at the end of this week with the people of our congregations: the hill the locals call “The Place of the Skull.” We look up, and we see three men on crosses, seemingly getting what they deserve: death for crimes they have committed. Two of them on the crosses on either side of Jesus are indeed criminals, men who have spent their entire lives not caring for the Law of God, or for their fellow man. And the one in the middle is Jesus, Immanuel, God in flesh, who is there because He claimed to be the Son of God and King of the Jews. As the crowd below hurls insults at Him, demanding that Jesus prove his claim by coming down off the cross, one of the criminals joins in, demanding that Jesus save Himself, and save them, too. It appears that in this moment, nobody is going to speak up and declare to everyone there the truth of who Jesus is.
And in that moment, we hear these words from the other criminal:
“Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong…Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (v.40-42)
A criminal, someone who spent his life caring little if anything about God’s law and ways for living, with some of his last moments, declares to the world the truth of who Jesus is: He is innocent. He is a King. And he simply asks that Jesus would remember him, and what does Jesus do? We hear him offer a word of absolution as this man confesses his sins and unworthiness: “Truly I say to you, today, you will be with me in paradise.” (v.43) While yes, that criminal does receive the earthly consequence for his deeds, Jesus gives him the very gifts He is there to offer the entire world: forgiveness of his sins, and eternal life in His kingdom!
So what do Saul, and the thief on the cross have in common? When we meet both in the pages of Scripture, they are the least likely of people you would expect who would declare the truth about Jesus Christ as the Savior to the world in which they lived and to the people around them. Yet, God called them, as unlikely as they would be, to be faithful proclaimers of the Gospel of Jesus both to those around them that day, and through the Biblical record, to us yet today.
And now, that brings me back to that question I asked earlier of what were you most likely to do? If you and I are honest with ourselves, we’re unlikely preachers of the Gospel, too. I know I certainly fall into that category! I’m not a world class theologian with several books published and a wall full of academic degrees. I know there’s always someone out there who is a much better preacher than I ever will be. But more than that, I’m a sinner. And you know, so are you, too. We all are. In our sins and failings against God, it doesn’t take much for Satan to accuse us in those low moments of ministry and life: “You’re not worthy to hold this office you know!” You know, we’re just like Saul, and the thief on the cross. Think about it: if you were on a call committee, looking to call someone to serve as your Pastor, and you look at these two guys’ backgrounds, you probably wouldn’t even give them an interview, would you? A career criminal, and a persecutor of Christians. The world would say no, they can’t be public proclaimers of Jesus Christ.
But, that’s not what Jesus says, is it? He calls both, at important moments, to proclaim the truth of who Jesus is, and what He has done for us through His life, death, and resurrection. He forgives them, He sets them apart, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are led to proclaim the good news: Jesus is our Savior! There is forgiveness and life found in Him! He is the Son of God! And I will follow Him to death, and He will lead me to life everlasting. They’re unlikely preachers of the life-changing Gospel of Jesus!
And so are you and I, my dear friends! Despite our sins, despite our failings, despite the shortcomings we sometimes bring with us into the office of the ministry, God still uses each and every one of you, to be an unlikely preacher of the Gospel to the people you have been called to serve! That same message of forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ that you proclaim week after week to the people of your congregations, is also for you. That same body and blood of our Lord that you distribute to the people of your congregations for the forgiveness of their sins, is also given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of every last one of your sins, too! That same word of the Gospel that you will proclaim this Holy Week, and every time you step into the pulpit of your churches, is for you, too!
When I was serving at Emmons Lutheran Church, in the little village of Emmons, located on the lonely, remote border of Minnesota and Iowa, my secretary had this familiar saying printed up and put up on the bulletin board in her office there: “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies those whom He calls.” Over the 14 years of my ministry thus far, I can certainly say that’s been true for me. And I’d venture to guess that’s true for you, too. As you prepare to serve the people of your congregations throughout this journey through Holy Week and Easter, and beyond, my personal prayer for each and every one of you is that in those moments when you feel discouraged, or you hear the attacks of the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh try to tell you that you are an unlikely preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I want you to remember these two unlikely preachers of the Gospel we heard today. Remember their stories. Remember their failings and shortcomings. And remember the good news that they proclaimed to you today, and that we, in turn, are called to proclaim to our world, staring in the places we have been called to serve: Jesus Christ is your Savior, who has given His life for yours on the cross, and has risen from the dead, so that your sins will stay buried in the tomb, and so that you will be raised up on your last day from death, to live forever at peace with God. And it’s all because of the work of Jesus Christ that we remember this Holy Week, and every day of our journey of discipleship. May the Holy Spirit richly bless your ministries, and the people of your congregations, to be powerful proclaimers of the Gospel for Jesus’ sake. Amen!
