A Slightly Different Epistle

You’re on dodgy ground when you start re-writing the Bible, yeah?  Well, hopefully, I haven’t crossed too many lines.  I’m sure standing next to me won’t necessitate wearing a tin hat to deflect the lightening bolts!
I was asked to do something creative with the telling of Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus for our Patronal Festival family service.  This is what I came up with:

Acts 9:1-22

9 My name was Saul.  Once I was a fuming, raging, hateful man traveling to Damascus with a plan to arrest any of Jesus’ followers.

Imagine this: Suddenly a light flashes from the sky around me, ⁴ and I fall to the ground at the sound of a voice saying  “Saul, Saul, why are you attacking Me?”

All I could do was ask, “⁵ Lord, who are You?”

Then I heard these words:

“I am Jesus. I am the One you are attacking. ⁶ Get up. Enter the city. You will learn there what you are to do.”

FIRST CHILD’S VOICE:   Everyone is scared of something.   I used to be scared of the dark.  I didn’t know what was in the shadows and that made me worried.  Then my mum told me that I could give my fears to God.  Next time I was in the dark on my own, I prayed that God would take my fear.  I knew I wasn’t alone and the fear was gone.  I still get scared sometimes but, when I remember that God is with me, I know there’s nothing there to hurt me.  And now I tell my friends that they can do the same.  Open your eyes.

⁸ I rose to my feet, my eyes wide open, but I couldn’t see a thing. Nothing!  My traveling companions lead me by the hand and took me into Damascus. ⁹ I waited for three days—completely blind.

SECOND CHILD’S VOICE:    We’ve always gone to church as a family.  It’s just something we do.  I feel safe with my church family.  There is always someone there ready to play or listen to my jokes.  I really like chatting to people and hearing stories of their lives and telling them about mine.  It doesn’t matter that we’re not related.  They are my family and they love me.  And because I am loved I can love other people.  Open your eyes.

¹⁰ I didn’t know this at the time but, also in Damascus, the Lord spoke to a disciple named Ananias.  He told him to get up and go to Straight Boulevard.  He was to inquire about a man from Tarsus. Yep.  Me.  The Lord told Ananias that I was praying to Jesus at that very instant. ¹² He told Ananias about a vision I had had of him coming to me, laying hands on me, and healing my eyesight.

Ananias was frightened.  He knew about my reputation.  But he came anyway, knowing that the Lord had work for me and that I was to bring the name of the Lord Jesus far and wide.

¹⁷  Ananias laid his hands on me.  I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, ¹⁸ at that instant, something like scales fell from my eyes, and I could see.

THIRD CHILD’S VOICE:  I had a horrible time at school when someone was bullying me.  I just didn’t know what to do.  I told God that I wasn’t happy.  The next day, one of the playground mentors at school told me they were worried about me.  I told her everything.  She listened and came with me to talk to the teacher.  My teacher sorted it all out for me and now, because I know how it feels to be bullied, I’m one of the playground mentors and I help other people.  Open your eyes.

I spent a lot of time with the disciples in Damascus over the next days. ²⁰ Then I went into the very synagogues I had intended to purge, proclaiming, “”Jesus is God’s Son!”

²¹ I can’t tell you how much it amazed everyone that I had switched sides and was now preaching Jesus!

²² As time passed, my confidence grew stronger and stronger and I told everyone that Jesus is the Anointed King.

I opened my eyes.  Open yours.