With Boldness

In today’s reading in the Daily Office from the Acts of the Apostles, we read about Paul’s hearing before Agrippa. By way of background, you will recall that Paul was not receiving justice at the hands of the Roman governors, so as a Roman citizen he appealed to Caesar Nero to defend himself.

In Acts 25 we read that Agrippa and his sister Bernice came to pay the new governor, Festus, on a visit in Caesarea. While they were there, Festus consulted with Agrippa as to what he should write on the charge sheet to be sent to Rome with Paul. When Agrippa heard that Paul was there, he requested that Paul be brought before him to make his case:

Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.”

“All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?”

“Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.”

“With this in mind, I was travelling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew* language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’ I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

“After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26:1-23).

Agrippa was the great-grandson of Herod the Great, who you may recall tried to kill the new born Jesus when he ordered all of the male children under the age of 2 to be killed. Agrippa’s father was Agrippa I, who beheaded the apostle James and arrested Peter.

What an audience for Paul: king, queen, governor, the leading citizens of the city and leading Roman officials. Paul enters in chains. He begins his defense. There is no fear in his voice, only confidence in Christ. He tells his story of conversion, of the impact Jesus had on his life, in detail and without hesitation. He does not mince words; Paul tells it as it occurred, how he was the strictest of Pharisees who persecuted the Christians, and how Jesus transformed his life. Now, he proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, traveling across the Roman Empire establishing communities of faith.

How many of us proclaim our faith in Jesus with the boldness of Paul in front of Agrippa? How many of us defend our faith without hesitation of concern for what it might cost us personally?

Let us pray: good Lord, help us to be as faithful as Paul in proclaiming our faith in you. May we be faithful followers always ready to proclaim with boldness our love of you. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Sunday, 17 October 2010, the Heritage Choral Choir at the 9 a.m. service.

Adult Christian Formation: The Gospel According to Mark at 11:15 a.m. in Bright-Davies Hall.

Please remember to pray for everyone on our Prayer List and especially for Lee, Cindi, Carol, Marilyn, Gladys and Pat.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550