Children’s Sermon, “The Call of Saul”
The Call of Saul, art-glass window, First Presbyterian Church Edwardsville, photo by jch.
Children’s Sermon to accompany “Through the Bible,” № 62, Acts of the Apostles 9:1-22
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.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized.”
–Acts of the Apostles 9:17-18
As I’ve told you before, one way the Church tells Bible stories is through its art glass windows. Today, we’re going to look at another one of our art glass windows to see the story it tells. It's about a well-known character in the Bible, to whom God was revealed in a vision, with a blinding light. Can you tell me which window shows a blinding light from God? (answers).
It’s a really amazing story! The person had two names – His parents were Jewish, and so “Saul” was his Hebrew name. But his father also was a citizen of the Roman Empire, and so his name in the Latin Language started with “P” for “Paul.”
Saul – or Paul – didn’t believe in Jesus, and was a great enemy of the early church. He went to the city of Damascus to arrest disciples. But, the Bible tells us, on the way there something happened. (what?) Jesus appeared to him.
Can you see Jesus in the window? (answers) It’s complicated. Paul never met the human Jesus, he only met Jesus in visions. That’s why Jesus isn’t pictured in a human body, but with a symbol … two Greek letters are written: “chi” (looks like an “x”) and “rho” (looks like a “p”). Do you see the “chi-rho” in the window? (point them out with long pointer stick) The chi-rho on the aura let’s us know that it’s Jesus.
The bright light left Paul blind, and Jesus words left him very confused. As the story goes, it was a man named Annias who helped Paul recovering, to make sense of what had happened. With the blinding light, God got Paul’s attention, and through the care of Ananias and the power God’s love … The Church’s greatest enemy became one of the Church’s greatest friends.
Paul spread the Christian message to the parts of the world many of our ancestors came from. It was Paul who wrote many of the books of the New Testament to teach what it meant to be a follower of Christ. That’s why we remember and honor him.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for the witness of the Apostle Paul, for your power to protect the Church, for your love to transform enemies into friends. Help us, like Paul, to share your message of love. AMEN.
