Thoughts for the Day

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, 'Ananias.' He answered, 'Here I am, Lord.' The Lord said to him, 'Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment 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.'

But Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.' But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel'....So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and....immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogue, saying, 'He is the Son of God.'

(New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

What is courage? We know courage when we see it, but it can be hard to define. A person jumping into a swollen river to rescue someone can be fool-hardy if they can't swim, but courageous if they can. In today's reading we see two courageous men, Ananias and Saul.

Ananias believes Saul will drag him off to prison, yet when Jesus calls him he has enough courage to go the Pharisee and heal and baptise him. Saul (shortly to use his Roman name, Paul) is equally courageous. He has gone to Damascus to capture Christians, because he believes the new sect is dangerous. Yet within days of converting to Christianity himself he is preaching in the synagogue that Jesus is the Son of God, and this could lead to his death.

Courage for us might be speaking to a friend about our belief in God; or it might be saying no to something because it conflicts with our belief in God. Whatever it is, we need to remember that God is there with us, and he never gives us more than we can cope with.

Wednesday 2nd September, follow up thoughts

Lord God,
we are weak and scared about many things.
Sometimes we cannot stick up for You;
at other times we cannot do what we know is right;
and all too often we just give in to our fear.
Give us courage like Ananias and Saul
to trust in your message that You will be with us always,
and help us to take up the opportunity to do Your work,
with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.