Narrator: I knew very little about the people of the Way, but I did know that everyone in Jerusalem was talking about one of their leaders. We were all most upset about Paul. You see, Paul – actually we knew his name as Saul – Paul had been such a mighty force in our community only a few short years ago. He had studied with the great teacher Gamaliel, and had become one of the most zealous citizens of our city. Paul – Saul – had fought long and hard to put down the people of this Christian Way. So you can understand that we were astounded when we heard that not only had Saul stopped hunting down those who followed the Jesus way, but that in fact he had become one of them. Can you imagine? The person who did more than any other to stop this Jesus thing from spreading had become a Jesus thing himself!
And, what is worse, they say that Paul has been traveling all over the world, from Jerusalem to Antioch to Asia, and even to Greece, to convert people to the Jesus Way. Amazing, isn’t it! But I have the feeling something else is about to happen. Paul has come back to Jerusalem. And where Paul goes, trouble follows.
Why, just to tell you a little of what I’ve heard. He was sent to prison in Philippi; he caused a riot in Thessalonica; he stirred up debates on Mars Hill in Athens; and he even got into bitter attacks among his own people in Corinth. After a short time back here in Jerusalem, he went back out to Ephesus – to strengthen the church there, he said. But even the trip to Ephesus had been trouble, because Paul’s preaching had made the silversmiths of that city angry. Everywhere Paul goes there is uproar and heartache.
So he’s back here again. I don’t expect things to be quiet. My friends have told me that just this morning, Paul took four young men, Greeks, to the Temple to pray. Now the Temple is for us, the Jewish people, and not for those Greeks. Sure, there are places in the Temple where those who are not Jews can pray. But the rumor is that Paul took them right into the inner court, the court of Israel. And they are saying that these young men, besides being Greeks, are actually followers of the Way – actually Christians. We can’t have that! Not in our Temple. Not in the place where the God of Israel dwells. Why, it .. it .. it just wouldn’t be right. It doesn’t show respect.
I need to see what this is all about. Well, here we are, at the gates of the Temple. A lot of people here. What’s going on? What are they saying? Oh, look, there’s Paul himself. What is it they are saying? “This man has dirtied the Temple.”
Narrator and Children: Dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple.
Paul: What are you talking about? I have not dirtied the Temple. I have not broken the rules. All I did was to bring some young people here so that they could pray and learn about God. There’s nothing wrong with that. Why do you say that I have dirtied the Temple?
Narrator and Children: Dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple.
Paul: You’re not listening to me! I did not do what you have said I did. Maybe you saw me with my friend Trophimus, but I did not take him into the Temple. I took others in, others who had every right to be there. You are not listening to me when you say that I dirtied the Temple!
Narrator and Children: Dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple.
Narrator: Now just look at this. The more Paul pleads, the more excited the people become. He cannot make us understand anything, because our feelings have taken us over. We will not listen to anything Paul has to say because we are convinced that he does not respect us. I feel it myself. Who is he to teach us anything? He’s not one of us. He doesn’t care about us. I think the people are right to scream at Paul, “Take him away!”
Narrator and Children: Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Tribune: Here, what’s all this about? What’s going on? I am the tribune of the city, and I am ordering you to stop this confusion. As the governor’s officer, I am here to keep order. You will not have riots in my city if I have anything to say about it. Now, will somebody please tell me what this man has done? What do you want me to do with him, take him away?
Narrator and Children: Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Tribune: You, man, whoever you are, you seem to be the cause of all this mess. Well, I know how to fix it. You’re under arrest! Stand right there. Don’t move a muscle. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Get your hands behind your back. Put your legs together. Chains for you, strong chains!
Paul: But what have I done? What is my crime? They are saying that I dirtied the Temple, but I have not.
Narrator and Children: Dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple.
Tribune: Quiet! Quiet!! I’ll handle this. Now, who are you and what have you been doing here? You did something wrong, or these people wouldn’t be so upset.
Paul: I have done nothing wrong. I simply went to the Temple, with my friends, to pray.
Narrator and Children: Dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple.
Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Tribune: What? Say it again! I can’t understand. Too many people saying too many things. Now what did he do? Say it again!
Narrator and Children: Dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple, dirtied the Temple.
Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Tribune: This is hopeless. All right, I will take him away. I can’t learn anything here. Not with all this confusion. Not with everybody wanting to shout and nobody wanting to listen. No, this won’t work. Take him away.
Besides, I think I know who this is; we’ve been looking for him. Might as well lock him up right now and be done with it. All right, you got it; we’ll take him away.
Narrator and Children: Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Paul: Tribune, may I speak to you? Will you give me just a moment to tell you what I am about? Someone needs to listen. Someone needs to bring an open mind to what I have to say.
Tribune: Wait a minute! Who are you anyway? You speak my language, do you? You seem to know it well. I thought you were that Egyptian criminal we’ve been looking for – the one who stirred up a rebellion and got these people all excited just the other day. All right, out with it! Are you the one who has been stirring up the people? The truth, now. It certainly sounds like it when I listen to this crowd.
Narrator and Children: Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Tribune: Quiet! I said quiet!! I can’t hear myself think, much less hear what this man has to say. Now will you just tell me who you are? If you are not that Egyptian assassin, just who are you and what is this all about?
Paul: Tribune, first of all, I am a Jew, just like these people, even though they may tell you that, no, he’s not one of us.
Narrator and Children: Not one of us, not one of us, not one of us.
Tribune: People of Jerusalem, if I have to tell you one more time to be quiet, I’ll .. I’ll .. well, I’ll let this man go and give him my protection, and you aren’t going to like my doing that to one of your people.
Narrator and Children: Not one of us, not one of us, not one of us.
Paul: Tribune, please. I am a Jew. No, I am not from Jerusalem, but I am from Tarsus. And Tarsus, as you must know, tribune, is a Roman colony. I am a citizen of Tarsus. A citizen of Rome. What I want is to speak not only to you, but also to the people themselves.
Narrator and Children: Take him away, take him away, take him away.
Tribune: That’s it! I have told you to be quiet, and you just won’t do it, will you? Well, just for that, I am going to make you stand right here and listen to this man, whatever he has to say for as long as it takes to say it. My guards are surrounding you right now. You may not leave. You will sit right here, you will not open your mouths, and you will listen to every word this man speaks.
Now, you, go ahead; the floor is yours.
Paul: You are my brothers and my sisters, you are my fathers and my mothers. I am one of you.
Narrator and Children: Not one of us, not one of us, not one of us.
Paul: Oh, but I am. More than you know. Please, let me tell you my story. I am one of you, for I am a Jew, just as you are.
No, I was not born in Jerusalem, but in Tarsus. Nevertheless, all my schooling I did right here in Jerusalem. I am sure you know of my teacher, Gamaliel. He taught me well. He taught me to obey God’s law, he taught me to respect the traditions of our people, and, above all, he taught me to work hard for God. I know that all of you understand. I see that you work hard for God, as you understand God.
But the problem is that you don’t understand God rightly. The problem is that when you thought you were learning about God, you didn’t have the right school supplies. Let me tell you what school supplies you need to have.
I
First, you need at school a listening mind. You need to be open to new ideas and new possibilities. You see, God is far greater than our ability to think about Him. And so, just because you may think certain things are true does not make them true. Some folks resist new things just because they are new.
God, you see, has done something very wonderful. God has sent His son, in the fullness of time, to enter our world and live right here along side us, and teach us what we need to know in order to live in happiness and peace. But we – and I include myself here – we refuse to listen to Jesus because He seems different. Why, when some of you were young and you heard Jesus say things like, “You have always heard, but I say .. “, it shocked you. It took your breath away. And you are still standing around being shocked at new ideas. If you’ve never heard it before, it must be wrong.
But that’s not true. That’s not so. God has done a new thing in Jesus, and unless you will put a listening mind in your school supplies, you will miss it. Why, did you hear this good tribune a moment ago? Each of you was so loud, shouting one thing and another, that the tribune said she couldn’t figure out what was going on. If you come into your classroom and you are busy running your mouth instead of listening to your teacher, you will not learn anything.
If you come to your house of worship, and you just want the preacher to say what the preacher down the road says or the preacher you knew as a child used to say, you will not learn anything.
If your whole life is wrapped up in just doing the same old same old and if your mind is restless and unsettled and unwilling to stop and think, you will miss all that God has for you.
But if in your school supplies – in your church supplies – you will bring a listening mind, it will astound you what God and God’s word will teach you. The first item in your school supplies needs to be a listening mind.
II
Second, in your school supply satchel, you should take a loving heart. If you expect to learn anything, you must care for the people around you. You cannot learn anything at all if you do not pay attention to and care for the people you are with.
That was my problem, back when I was Saul the Pharisee and before I became Paul, the Christian. I was so busy being right that I hurt a lot of people. I was so convinced that I already had the truth that I thought it was my place to hound people, put them in prison, even kill them if I could, just because they were different, just because they were Jesus’ people. But, you know, I have found out that you can be right in all the wrong kinds of ways! You can have all your facts and figures in place, but if you don’t have love, it won’t count for anything. You can be so uppity that nobody can stand you, and that doesn’t do anybody any good. You must have a loving heart in your school supplies.
People of Jerusalem, you say that love God. That’s good. But the Jesus I follow taught us, and so did Moses before him, that the most important things for you to know are these: to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself. I surely hope that in your school supplies you will take along both a listening mind and a loving heart.
III
And finally, your school supplies should include the desire to change and grow. Learning is all about changing and growing. If you finish your school year and you don’t know any more than you did when you started, it has been a waste of time, hasn’t it? If you come to church year after year and you are the same person that you were when you first started, well, what’s wrong? Either the preacher isn’t saying anything, or the choir isn’t singing anything, or the Bible isn’t teaching anything, or, what other possibilities are there? That you aren’t willing to change and grow.
People of God, I have to tell you my story about changing and growing. I was so sure I was right, I wasn’t listening to anybody tell me anything. I didn’t have a listening mind in my school supplies. And I was so busy doing what I was doing, I didn’t care who got hurt; I didn’t have a loving heart anywhere in my school supplies. But once I met Jesus on the road to Damascus, I knew I had to change. I knew He was calling me to grow.
Oh, I was really on the way, I thought, with my life. I thought I was hot stuff. After all, I was born in one of the best families in one of the best tribes of our people. I was trained by the best teacher and I was all fired up to do what I wanted to do. But Jesus .. but Jesus. Oh, never write Him off! Never assume you’ve got Him in your pocket.
Because when Jesus met me on the road to Damascus, He turned me around and changed my life completely. Jesus called my name and made me into a whole new person. Why, they don’t even call me Saul any more; they call me Paul, because I am a different man. I am no longer the same. And all the things I used to think were so important – my reputation, my name, my bank account, my time – do you know that today I think of the garbage can as more valuable than all of that? I do! Because Jesus changed me. Jesus gave me something new for my school supplies: He gave me the desire to change and grow.
I used to get up in the morning and say, “What do I want to do today?” Now my day begins with, “What am I to do, Lord?”.
I used to have my little patterns, my little habits; I thought my life was my own. But it wasn’t, not really. I was in a rut. I was caught in a great big destructive web of nothing. My school supplies lacked a desire to grow and change. But --
Shackled by a heavy burden, ‘Neath a load of guilt and shame – then the hand of Jesus touched me, and now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, O, He touched me, and O, the joy that floods my soul! Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.
Since I met this blessed Savior, since He cleansed and made me whole, I will never cease to praise Him – I’ll shout it while eternity rolls.
He touched me, O, He touched me, and O, the joy that floods my soul! Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.
