Completing the Symbol

This Sunday's sermon focused on the conversion of Paul, which we observed both through preaching and through a skit put on by the children. To get into the service, we had to present a copy of the secret symbol -- the outline of a fish.

The early Church was hidden, secret and afraid. Despite the well-known and spectacular martyrdoms of Paul and other early saints, most early Christians practiced and preached their faith in secrecy, evading execution and passing what they had learned on to new catechumens.

"I hate the hiding and the secrecy! All I want to do is tell everyone about Jesus, and that's exactly what I can't do!"

Jeff asked us to consider what these early Christians would have felt when they saw Saul being led into their secret hideout. It must have felt something like waking up in a nightmare.

"Great! Why don't we send an invitation out to King Herod, too? We can all have tea and cookies!"

While most of us can't imagine their sense of sheer panic, Jeff reminded us that there are Christians all over the world who still hide the practice of their faith because the danger of death is a real one.

"I was on my way here with orders to find and kill you all..."

In this secular age, we face persecution too, albeit not the kind that will cost us our lives. We can be ridiculed for believing in God, we can lose friends, or our jobs. It isn't always easy. But, in a way, I think this can also be a blessing. When the Church and religion permeated Western culture, it was easy for people to forget that we've received secret knowledge. Our faith is an initiation into a mysterious wisdom that gives us the strength to live in Jesus' name.

"I'm still glowing with excitement over my encounter with the risen Christ."

Finding ourselves surrounded by a hostile culture can help us remember that there is nothing obvious about what we believe, nothing that resides in common sense. In turn, this realization can lead us to cherish our beliefs and give us the courage to draw the outline of a fish in the sand. Because Jesus went to the Cross on purpose so that we might believe and have life, we find ourselves in a world where we can live the Christian life by proclaiming the Gospel in the face of adversity. We complete the symbol by living as Jesus did.

"Scales fell off my eyes and I could see again, praise God. I now know that it's all true; Jesus is the Messiah and He is risen!!"

(all quotations are from the skit)