“Up, Up and Away!” Theme: The Making of a Superhero Scripture: Acts 9:10-15

Things I’d like to remember from today’s sermon: ______

Meditation Moments for Monday, June 30 – Read Acts 1:4-9 - Just before he left this earth, Jesus boldly told his followers they would be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth.” At that point he had a group of about 120 committed followers (cf. Acts 1:15). To talk about reaching even the city of Jerusalem, which had crucified their Lord just weeks earlier, must have felt daunting. To talk of reaching “the ends of the earth” must have seemed utterly impossible to many of those who heard Jesus. • Surely the creator, God, could have written the news of Jesus in the clouds, or spoken it from the skies. Instead, Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses.” What factors made it more effective for God to use us as witnesses? Whose witness has shaped your life? In what ways have you been able to live out Jesus’ commission for you to be one of his witnesses? • Verse 6 showed that the disciples still wished that Jesus would set himself up as an earthly king in Jerusalem. Jesus corrected them by saying, as The Message put it, “Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit.” Have you ever had to set aside your own wishes and plans, and accept what God gives you instead? How hard or difficult is it at those times for you to trust that God is doing what is best? Prayer: Lord Jesus, whether you call me personally to go to the ends of the earth, or just to a corner of my hometown, give me a heart open to your Spirit’s power, and a spirit willing to answer your call. Amen. Tuesday, July 1 – Read Acts 9:1-9 - As Jesus had promised, God poured out the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2), and thousands of people believed in Christ (cf. Acts 5:14). Others, like the energetic Pharisee Saul, hated the new faith. Saul was so eager to stamp out the message that Jesus was the Messiah that he went as far away as Damascus in Syria. On the road, Jesus met him unexpectedly, and stopped him in

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 1 his tracks. Saul spent the next three days blinded, pondering what this all meant. • Saul met Jesus in a dramatic, forceful way (perhaps because he had resisted many chances to respond to the message delivered in other ways). How did you meet Jesus? Was it a one-time event, or were there multiple movements toward (and maybe away from) Jesus as Lord of your life? What does it tell you about “the wideness in God’s mercy” that God seems to meet each person in an individualized way? • Saul set out to arrest “persons who belonged to the Way”—that is, Christian believers. Yet when the light shone around him, Jesus’ voice asked him, “Why are you harassing ME?” Have you as a Christ follower ever realized that Jesus identifies himself that closely with you? How can it give you strength to face each day to realize that Jesus experiences life’s joys and sorrows right along with you (cf. Hebrews 2:14-18)? Prayer: Lord, thank you for caring enough to meet me along the road of my life. Thank you for loving me enough to identify me with your own interests, to rejoice and suffer with me each day. Amen. Wednesday, July 2 – Read Acts 9:10-22 - God used an otherwise unknown Christian to change the world. He sent Ananias, described only as “a certain disciple,” to heal the blinded persecutor Saul. Ananias feared doing this—he knew that Saul arrested and killed Christians. God described Saul as “the agent I have chosen to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.” Setting his fears aside, Ananias obeyed. His action changed Saul’s life, and set him on the course that led to him becoming the great evangelist Paul. • It’s easy to act on our feelings rather than on what God calls us to do. If Ananias had responded to God based on his (understandable) feelings of fear, he’d likely have missed a chance to reshape history. Can you recall specific times in your life when you made a decision based on your emotions rather than what you knew God was calling you to do? When have you moved beyond fear or other emotions to obey God? • Ananias made it clear that Jesus had sent him to Saul (verse 17). That confirmed that Saul really had met Jesus on the road, and energized him to begin preaching the truth of his newfound Lord (verse 20). Are you ever nervous about mentioning your faith because you fear offending someone? How can you build loving, caring connections with people who are different from you, connections in which your faith is a natural part of your identity and caring rather than a forced, awkward “witness”? Prayer: Father God, thank you for being patient. Help me to hear your voice

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 2 clearly. I pray that I, like Ananias, can be your obedient follower with a spirit of courage, humility and faith. Amen. Thursday, July 3– Read Isaiah 41:8-10 - Ananias was not the first or the last person God called to play a “superhero” role through the Holy Spirit’s power, to do something greater than he could have dreamed. Through Isaiah the prophet, God pledged to strengthen and help any descendant of Abraham willing to do God’s work. Paul, carrying out the call Ananias brought him, wrote, “If you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants” (Galatians 3:29), extending Isaiah’s promise to all Christ followers. • Through the prophet, God offered freedom from fear, and strength and help for our spiritual journey. What are some of the main ways that you go about accessing the promised strength and help? For a concise listing of some of the major spiritual practices many Christians use to connect with God’s power, go to www.renovare.org/formation/practical-strategy. • Many scholars agree that the latter part of the book of Isaiah (chapter 40 on) spoke to Israelites living through the bitter experience of defeat and exile in Babylon. Few things could make people feel more powerless. What situations are you facing that leave you feeling powerless and afraid? Read today’s passage again, putting your name in place of “Israel,” “Jacob” and “Abraham,” and hear God speaking courage to your heart. Prayer: Lord God, I want to change everything that saddens me and hurts others—but I can’t. You are the God of the universe—you can and will ultimately make it all come out right. Thank you for strengthening me to do my part to work with you. Amen. Friday, July 4– Read John 14:9-12, 20:19-22 - John 14 reported that Jesus, on the night before he was crucified, made a startling assertion. He told his disciples, “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these.” After his resurrection, he told them the Father was sending them just as he had sent Jesus. But they wouldn’t work in their own strength—Jesus gave them his power through the gift of the Holy Spirit. • How could anyone do greater works than Jesus? Scholar William Barclay wrote, “When it came to a matter of numbers and extent and changing power, the triumphs of the message of the Cross were even greater than the triumphs of Jesus in the days of his flesh … In the days of his flesh he was limited to Palestine; when he had died and risen again, he was liberated from these limitations and his Spirit could work mightily anywhere.” Jesus’ followers, working in the power of his Spirit, are helping to bring about the kingdom in Africa, Guatemala and many

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 3 other places here in this community through “Love Out Loud,” and a multitude of local mission projects. You can learn more by going to www.fumcdurango.org and clicking on the “Get Involved” tab. Prayer: O God, movies are fun, but I thank you that it doesn’t take a special costume to be a superhero. It takes a caring heart joined with your Spirit’s power—and you’re willing to give me both. Amen. Saturday, July 5– Read Ephesians 3:14-21 - This passage wasn’t just abstract spiritual talk. Paul described a truly life-changing, world-changing power—“superhero” power, if you will—at work in real people’s daily lives. It wasn’t the brute force power of the Roman Empire, but the power of God’s love. He prayed that the Spirit in their “inner selves” would enable God’s people to “have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth.” As the love of Christ transforms us, he added, God is able, as The Message puts it, to do “far more than you could ever imagine, guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” • What’s the biggest dream you’ve ever dreamed? What’s happening with that dream—is it a reality, in process, or have you shelved it and forgotten it amid life’s pressures and disappointments? Find a quiet time to spend with God this week. Use the time to ask God to spark in you a vision of what God’s power can do in and through you that goes far beyond all that you could ask or imagine. Prayer: Lord Jesus, every day you are at work in my world, in my neighborhood, and in my life. Keep me in tune with what you are doing—help me to live beyond myself through your awesome power. Amen. Family Activity: Before you gather, ask each person to choose a hero or heroine they admire and respect. If possible, have family members bring an item that represents this person such as a picture, song or book. Then take turns sharing with each other about the people you admire. Talk about what qualities or characteristics make them heroes or heroines. Bring out a Bible. Let everyone know this represents Jesus. Discuss what qualities and characteristics Jesus had that would identify him as a hero. Explore the Scriptures for stories and verses that describe who Jesus was. Thank God for Jesus, and for the people who are your heroes and heroines. Ask God to help you grow to be like Jesus.

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Theme: The Making of a Superhero “Up, Up and Away!” Sermon preached by Jeff Huber June 28-29, 2014 at First United Methodist Church, Durango

Scripture: Acts 9: 10-18 10 Now there was a believer* in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied. 11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” 13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.” 15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. VIDEO The Making of a Superhero Week 1 Sermon Starter SLIDE Up, Up and Away! Today we begin a new sermon series on the Making of a Superhero. As we begin I want to invite you to take out of your bulletin your Meditation Moments and your Message Notes. The Message Notes are a place for you to write things down that you might want to remember from today's message in my prayer is that you will hear something just for you today. The Meditation Moments are chance for you to read the Bible on your own this week and my prayer is that you will grow as you ask yourself questions about faith and read God's word in the days ahead. There is something about superheroes. We have this longing to connect with them and deep down inside I think many of us would like to be one. Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 5

Superheroes captivate our attention and capture our imagination, not just here in the United States but throughout the world. We love their stories and we find comfort in them. Especially during times of trial and tragedy we find ourselves turning to superheroes. It should be no surprise that since 9/11 superhero movies have become the leading genre in Hollywood. More than any other kind of movie, people are flocking to superhero movies in the last 13 years. This last year we saw the culmination of several superhero movies with the release of The Avengers. SLIDE The Avengers (Graphic) They are group of assembled superheroes and they show up to defend Earth against an alien invasion. The heart of their battle was located in New York City and people flocked to see this story as they long to see good triumph over evil. In many ways we participate in this story when we watch a movie and in its first weekend it became the third highest grossing movie in all of history. The Avengers was not an isolated incident. Also in the top 10 highest grossing films are Iron Man 3 and the Dark Night Rises which is the third in the most recent Batman trilogy. We have seen Spiderman reinvented in the past year as well as the second installment of Capt. America and a fifth version of the X-Men. Superheroes are not limited to movies. We saw Spiderman take over Broadway for a time. It's not just in the movies or on Broadway because we also like to buy all of their merchandise. We like to dress up like superheroes. We wear costumes at Halloween and even when it's not a holiday, we like to dress up. My guess is that almost everybody in here, most likely when they were a child, but even right now you might like to wear a cape. You imagine what it feels like to fly like Superman or Wonder Woman. I asked on Facebook, who your favorite superheroes were and many of you weighed in so I know that you think about these things. We go to amusement parks that are anchored with a superhero theme. We wake up and eat Spiderman cereal. When kids go to bed they are tucked into the Incredible Hulk sheets. We are drawn to their stories as children and adults because there is a vision of a future with hope and where the good triumphs over evil. We can't get enough of superheroes. We even have entire cities who identify with superheroes. You may not be aware that there is a city called Metropolis, Illinois. In 1972 a group of citizens from Metropolis banded together and declared that they were going to be the birthplace of Superman. At the center of their city square the erected a 15 foot statue of Superman. They were going to be forever known as the home of Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 6

Superman. Every June they throw a festival where people come to celebrate Superman's birthday and they dress up like superheroes! SLIDE Metropolis (Graphic) We fall in love with superheroes. We want to identify with them and their stories. We watch their movies and put on their outfits and eat their cereal and go to bed in their sheets and go to their birthplace and some are willing to pay large sums of money to be a part of their history and have a piece of the superhero. Maybe you saw this story of a developer who was buying older homes and redeveloping them and turning them into nice homes in Minnesota. Inside the installation of one of the walls that he was tearing out he uncovered a comic book. It wasn't just any comic book, but it was Action Comics No. 1 published in June, 1938. It was a comic book that introduced a new superhero who wore a red cape in a blue suit. He lifts cars and save his people and his name was… Superman. SLIDE Action Comics No. 1 (Graphic) The man who discovered the comic book wondered if there was a good market for this and so he put it on eBay and within hours online bidders had pushed the sales price past $137,000. The house only cost $10,000 to purchase so he made a pretty good profit without even remodeling it. Two years earlier that same comic book in pristine condition auction for over $2.1 million. Clearly we are willing to pay a premium for these items because the original cost of the comic book was $.10. We are connected and drawn to superheroes and we find comfort in their stories. Superheroes seem to have staying power. Stan Lee, the creator of Spiderman, said this about superheroes. SLIDE “There is no reason why superheroes shouldn't go on forever. Children will eventually shed their capes but there is something about superheroes that is timeless. Their stories will always draw us in." I learned a few things about superheroes this week. Almost every one of the superheroes were created in the late 1930s in the United States. We were on the heels of the Great Depression and the ingredients for World War II were beginning to come together. There were real-life villains like Hitler and Mussolini. The axis of evil was beginning to threaten the world. In the midst of national fatigue from depression and the fear of despair and the threat of war, something needed to change. Things were particularly difficult for Jewish Americans and the

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 7 world was a particularly hostile place. But what could you do? A group of artists and illustrators gathered together and recognized they needed to do something. They began imagining and dreaming the way the world could be and the way the world should be. They began to dream of modern-day superheroes who would lead the fight for justice and freedom and the American way. They dreamed of superheroes who would lift up the eyes of the nation so that we could dream about better days and greater things. They dreamed of a world where love triumphed over death and good would defeat evil. They dreamed of a foretaste of the kingdom to come on Earth and we could once again be living fully as the people we were created to be. That group of authors were Jewish and as they developed their superheroes they drew upon the faith stories of their past. The stories resembled heroes like David and Moses and Samson and Solomon and Deborah. They took those scriptural stories of the past and brought them into the present through their illustrations and comic books. They drew pictures of the freedom fighters and the Justice league who would change the world. If you scratch the surface of any comic book you will discover original stories of faith found in Scripture. You might never know it because most of the authors of these original comic book heroes had to change their names because of the fear of what might become of them if people knew their true identity as Jewish Americans. We now know that Jack Kirby, the comic book legend, was born Jacob Kurtzberg. He worked with Joe Simon, born Hymie Simon, to develop Capt. America and numerous other superheroes in what eventually became known as DC Comics. He worked with Stan Lee, the creator of Spiderman, to create the Fantastic Four, the Hulk and X-Men. Stan Lee was born Stanley Lieber. Bob Kane, the creator of Batman, was born Robert Kahn. Several of them served in World War II even as they were creating their characters. These artists created their characters to lift up the nation by using their imagination to picture a world in the way that God created it to be. They created these heroes rooted in the past from their Jewish heritage. Over the past 75 years, the religious symbolism and undertones have only increased. Ben Grimm, known as "The Thing," is a founding member of the Fantastic Four, the foundational comic book series of the Marvel Universe. The character of Ben Grimm was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and appeared in the first issue of The Fantastic Four in 1961. Lee and Kirby, both Jewish, imagined that The Thing was Jewish from the beginning. The character's name, Benjamin Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 8

Jacob Grimm, is certainly a Jewish one. But during the 1960s (and for a long time afterward), there was a strong taboo in comics and many other popular entertainment mediums against referring to real-world religious affiliations of major characters. It was not until four decades later that The Thing's Jewish identity was revealed. The revelation occurred in Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #56, published in August 2002, in a story titled "Remembrance of Things Past"), written by Karl Kesel, pencilled by Stuart Immonen, and inked by Scott Koblish. Ben Grimm has apparently never been a synagogue-goer as an adult, but he still remembers and sometimes says Jewish prayers, and he does think of himself as Jewish. The Thing was this big rock giant who was strong and powerful and could do just about anything. In this comic he was paralyzed and helpless and didn't know what to do. One of his friends was lying there in the center of the street, motionless. He tried CPR because he wanted to rescue him but the darkness of death seemed to surround the situation. Here is the superhero reduced to nothing because he didn't know how to help his friend. So what does the Thing do? In the midst of this comic book, he drops to his knees, or his boulders, and he starts to pray. He remembers this prayer from his childhood and synagogue school. It is the Jewish prayer of confession at death. SLIDE The Thing Prays (Graphic) The man is brought back to life and you get this great story in the midst of a comic book superhero tale. At his moment of greatest need and at his darkest hour, he falls to his knees and he prays to God. This is how he finds life and we discover that he was hiding his Jewish identity not because he was ashamed but because he didn't want anyone to associate being Jewish with being a monster. If you look under the surface of the best comic book superheroes you will find these religious undertones. There are pictures of faith and religious symbols that point us to hope in something beyond ourselves. We find this all across the genre. You might be aware that last summer we celebrated the 75th year of the birth of Superman. Last June, the 75th anniversary film came out to commemorate Superman. It was entitled, "The Man of Steel." I told you this story last summer but it bears repeating again as we begin this sermon series. Just before the film came out I was at Home Depot shopping for something. A young boy and his father walked by me and they were looking for some parts for their screen door. They couldn't seem to find the right place to look and I overheard them and so I turned and said, "You will find them down at the end of the isle with the doors." I only knew that because I had just been there. Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 9

The little boy looked up at me and said, "Thanks Superman." It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized I was wearing the T-shirt my daughter had given me for Father's Day. She gave me this Superman T-shirt as well as this Superman towel. Didn't we say earlier how enamored we are with superheroes and how we wear them to bed and we wear them when we get out of the shower. Let's take a look at this trailer for the movie and tell me if you see spiritual symbolism. Do you see conversations of faith? Do you sense there might be something more in terms of spiritual undertones inside this movie? VIDEO Man of Steel Trailer SLIDE Man of Steel (Graphic) What did you hear? You heard a father talking about his son that will be misunderstood but will be a like a God to them, a Savior and a light to the world. You heard him talk about being rejected and how some would follow and some would want to kill him. That last scene between Lois Lane in Superman where she asks what the "S" stands for. He says that it's not an “S, but in my world it stands for hope.” This story is one of someone who comes to offer hope to change the world so that everyone might have their eyes lifted, and they might experience life in the midst of despair and darkness. Superman has this messianic tendency, a person who comes to save and restore and empower others to change the world. One of the reasons I am fascinated by superheroes is because of the Pew research study from last year which took the temperature of the climate in our culture as it has to do with faith. They asked thousands of people to choose what kind of faith they align themselves with. You could choose Christian or Muslim or Hinduism or Buddhism or any number of other faith traditions or you could choose, "none." You want to guess the percentage of 18 to 29-year-olds which marked, "none," as their religious affiliation? They discovered that in the age group of 18 to 29-year-olds 32%, or almost 1/3, said they had zero religious affiliation. What we know about that same demographic is that they are the ones pushing the popularity of these superhero movies. They are pushing the popularity of the stories of hope and life and transcendence in pop culture. Clearly they are longing for the stories and of what we find embedded in the

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 10 stories are these ideas about faith, the spiritual symbols in which we are rooted as followers of Jesus Christ, then it's clear that our story can have power and meaning for today's world. We need to engage these stories, especially if we are seeking to be Jesus Christ to the world because that means reaching out to those who mark, "none," on their religious affiliation when they are surveyed. We need to listen to the story so we can see what it is that is drawing people to them and how it is we might add our story to the mix. We need to uncover what is underneath these stories of superheroes and we need to learn from them. All of us long for stories of heroism, especially in times of tragedy and crisis. We find comfort and salvation in the stories. What I believe about the gospel is that the grace of Jesus Christ, the story of his life and death and resurrection, is the story which can transform the world. It gives us a promise that each of us can go and do likewise. We can accomplish by the grace of Jesus Christ greater things than we can imagine. We are able to become the living body of Jesus Christ, redeemed by his sacrifice. We can be a community of faith which reaches out to the least, the last and the lost. Jesus said that we can do all the things that he did. We can bind up the brokenhearted. We can release the captives and set the prisoner free. We can change the world through the power of Jesus Christ. The heart of the gospel is a message which says that we are called and equipped and empowered to be superheroes, even when we can't imagine it. Even at our darkest hour we can be part of bringing light and life into the world when there appears to be nothing but darkness. In the gospel of John Jesus is meeting with his disciples and he foreshadows his death. They are struck with grief and mourning and surrounded by this cloud of darkness and death. In the midst of that moment Jesus tells them these words in John 14:12. SLIDE 12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” Jesus meets his disciples in the darkest moment, when they are lost and confused and mourning. They are weeping and in the middle of that he says, "If you believe in me then you will do the things that I do, and even greater things than these will you accomplish." This is why our purpose statement at this church is to be Jesus Christ to the world because it is the mission that he gave his

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 11 disciples. Do you believe these words of Jesus? The apostle Paul echoes these words when he is writing the church in Ephesus. The people in Ephesus were surrounded by other gods and goddesses. They were surrounded by angry Idol makers who are losing their business because of Christians who no longer follow the small gods but instead were following Jesus Christ and casting down their idols. This community of faith is entrenched in battle with darkness because of the threat of death and persecution. In the midst of that darkness, Paul writes this exhortation to the Christians in the church at Ephesus in chapter 3 verse 16. These words are part of the benediction that we use at weddings as young couples leave the service to go out to the world. SLIDE 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Paul urges this fearful community of faithful disciples to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and be strengthened with the love of Christ. He prays that they may come to know the full width and length and height and depth of the love of God through Jesus Christ. Paul longs for them to literally go up, up and away as they experience this love that is meant to transform their lives and bring them face to face with their Creator. They can be filled to overflowing with the fullness of God. They could be his presence in the world. He then goes on to give them the clincher in verse 20. SLIDE 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. In the midst of darkness and fear, Paul meets this cowering community and urges them to remember the depth of God's love for that they can be filled with the fullness of God. Once you were filled with the fullness of God you need to

Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 12 know that you are able to do more than you can ever imagine. You will be able to accomplish far more, infinitely more, than you can think or ask. Have you heard this truth before? Do you believe this? By the grace of Jesus Christ you can accomplish infinitely more than you can ask or think. We are meant to hear these words in our moments of darkness. These are meant to be words of encouragement that we can do greater things. I sometimes wonder what would happen if an entire community of people believed this with every fiber of their being. What if we believed this promise and adhered to it and everything that we did? How might the world be different? We can see how the world changed when just one person believed this. There are many stories in the Scriptures about people doing more than they can ask or think and one of them is the story of Ananias. We don't know much about him except that he is a faithful disciple in Damascus, leading a Christian community. We see him in Acts 9 where he and a group of Christians are cowering in fear because they know that Saul is coming to stamp them out. Saul is coming with the power to bind them and exterminate them because of their faith in this Jesus character. Saul is introduced to us in Acts 8. When we need him he is standing over Stephen the apostle who is about to be stoned to death. Upon fulfilling that path of stoning Stephen people begin laying coats before Saul as if he is a King. He is offered the utmost respect and power and he begins his conquest and sublimation of the Christians in the Roman Empire. We read this about Saul in Acts 8:1-3. SLIDE 1 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3 But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison. Later, in the ninth chapter of Acts we read that he was bringing threats of murder towards the disciples. Paul had gained access to the people of Jerusalem and he has been given permission to expand persecution of the Christians to Damascus which has become the headquarters of the church as they moved underground. Saul begins to make his way to Damascus and the people there Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 13 were living in fear. On the road to Damascus, Saul is surrounded by an incredible light from heaven which blinds him. The light strikes him down to his knees and he is literally rendered helpless, like an infant. Upon falling to his knees in the middle of the road a voice cries out to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Saul whimpers a response and says, "Who are you?" The voice says, "I am Christ, who you are persecuting." In his helplessness Saul is given instructions and his servants then carry him to Damascus where he can sit in a house. He doesn't have the ability to speak or see. He can do nothing as he sits in the house and waits in the center of Damascus. It's at this point that we meet Ananias. SLIDE 10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied. 11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” You can't help but feel for poor Ananias, scratching his head as he did these instructions from God. "Really, Saul, you want me to go to him?" He's like Lex Luther to Superman. He resembles the Joker to Batman. The Green goblin is the arch nemesis of Spiderman. This is the one that Ananias is called to go to in the middle of the night. SLIDE 13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.” 15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” What would you do? Would you go? Would you have the courage to face your enemy, a terrorist who considers you enemy number one on his list of people to persecute take out? SLIDE 17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and

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said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. I think Ananias was able to go because of the words that Christ gave to his disciples in John 14, that they would have the power to do more than they could ask or think. Notice that Ananias called Saul his brother. He doesn't call him his enemy or approach him as a stranger. He doesn't even call them his friend. He walked into the center of the house and says to them, "Brother Saul, God has sent me that you might regain your site be filled with the Holy Spirit so you can go and do even greater things." Saul begins to see the world as if he is looking out for the very first time. He is baptized and he becomes the apostle Paul, who goes into the future unafraid. Paul becomes a hero in the faith that we have been talking about for 2000 years. He proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere he goes and we see in his life the good news of life triumphing over death, of good overcoming evil, of hope overcoming despair and doubt and sadness. We see the message lived out that the worst thing in your life is never the last thing in your life. For 2000 years we have celebrated the apostle Paul as a hero of the faith. We have looked him up as a model for how to build churches. But what would've happened if Ananias didn't answer that call? What if he hadn't gone and transformed his enemy into a family member? What would've happened if he had not loved him unconditionally, with the love and grace of God that he could become one with him? Paul is heroic but when I think about the making of the superhero we can't help but look Ananias who was pretty nondescript. We never hear from him again. We hear all about Paul but not really about Ananias. I wonder if Paul is speaking about Ananias when he speaks the passage from Ephesians that we read earlier, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Saul's life was changed because someone had the courage to believe these words from God and the words from Jesus Christ which said that we would do more than even he did through the power of the Holy Spirit. So let me ask you a question. What is God calling you to do? Who is God calling you to meet? Maybe Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 15 you are not called to meet your enemy, but God is calling each one of us to something that looks like an interruption but is really an opportunity, so you can accomplish abundantly far more than anything you could ever ask for or imagine. I know that the story of Saul and Ananias might seem far-fetched and ancient because it happened so long ago. But what I have discovered is that there are people within this community who live out superhero stories of faith. There are whole bunch of unnamed superheroes that we call disciples who live out their faith in small but powerful ways. Many of you participated in that earlier this month when you did "Love out Loud." I have received many letters from people in this community who didn't even know we existed and a few of them have said something like this, "I think I might try coming to church someday. Maybe you Christians aren't that bad after all." This last week I heard a really powerful story about a couple who in many ways are superheroes. Chris is a firefighter and Jayna is a neonatal intensive care nurse. They are an amazing couple seeking to serve with all of their gifts as they see their vocations as a way to serve God. Both of them are very organized people who like to plan. After they were married they decided that in six months they would get a dog. After a year they would buy a house, and then a year after that they would be ready for their first child which was going to be a boy and then 18 months after that they would have their second child which would be a girl. They are wonderful and faithful couple but soon after they were married things got difficult. Things didn't go according to plan. Darkness crept in and doubt about whether God was even there. More than anything they wanted to have a child but that was not a possibility for them as they wrestled with infertility. It caused despair and fighting and depression. They were confused and they were forced to their knees as many couples I have worked with have experienced when they are given that word but they are not able to have children biologically. It was especially painful for Jayna who spent every bit of her day caring for infants. She gave everything so that they might be healed and have new life and all the time she was with them she would think, "This is the hardest thing I have ever had to endure." In the midst of the darkness Jayna and Chris began to go to church and pray. They began to open their eyes to other possibilities. Soon there was a young infant named Turner who was dropped off at the hospital and abandoned. He had multiple surgeries as an infant, from the moment he was born. Jayna was the Jeff Huber’s Sermon – June 28-29, 2014 Page 16 primary care nurse for this child and gave everything she had to love him back to health as though he was her own. She was always just his caregiver and he was her patient. Then something changed as she looked at this child and felt God speaking to her that he was meant to be more than a patient. Maybe he was supposed to be family. This wasn't anything they had asked for or had thought was possible. She and Chris were left with this decision to invest or walk away. Let's hear the rest of their story. VIDEO Chris and Jayna SLIDE The Making of a Superhero In the midst of darkness God often does his best work and surprises us, with unimagined vision. God inspires us and reminds us and promises us that we're able to do even greater things and we can ask or imagine. We are asked to live to the fullness of God whenever it is we fully experience his love and grace and mercy. In the midst of darkness this group of illustrators and authors came together to lift the nation's gaze, that we might look to a vision of a preferred future. They created superheroes so we could be inspired to see the world as it should be and if it could be, and how we might be a part of bringing that about. Ananias, in the midst of his darkness, was captured by a vision from God which allowed him to see an enemy, a terrorist who is out to kill him, as an opportunity to serve God. It became an opportunity to turn that enemy into family who would transform the church and the world through his life as a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jayna and Chris were living in darkness and God revealed to them a patient that became the gift of life. It was a gift of hope which was unimagined and became an amazing blessing that was greater than anything they could have asked for or imagine had not been for that perfect love of God. God gives us the ability to believe and to love and to do all of the things that he has revealed in Jesus Christ. God then sends us forth with the charge to go and to do it and to love out loud. We are living in a world which desperately longs for heroic tales. We have younger generations who are longing for the comfort they find in the stories of superheroes. God gives us the ability to go forward from this place and become heroes, ambassadors for the gospel of Jesus Christ. My hope is that might you might feel challenged and charged to go and be the presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

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Let's pray. SLIDE Prayer Gracious God, we give you thanks that we can join together and worship in this place to experience your grace in your mercy. I pray that you would allow us to be fully available so we can be filled to overflowing with your Holy Spirit. May we be transformed in such a way that we seek to leave this place encouraged to be your ambassadors of hope and life and love, knowing that by Jesus Christ all things are possible. Bless us and send us in Jesus name, Amen.

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