I love today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. There is so much here. It speaks of finding one’s vocation, the great life changes that may ensue from such epiphanic events; the consternation and even fear such life changes likely result from both loved ones and opponents, as well as the often-saving relief of finding a mentor and/or loyal compatriot to help us through such transitions and new purposes for our time in this world.

According to Acts 9, Saul, who will be known as Paul beginning in Acts 13:9, left Jerusalem with documented authority to pursue and arrest members of the Jesus movement, those Jews who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Christ and sharing stories of God’s new covenantal action in the world. This, Saul believed, was blasphemy and dangerous to true faith. He then encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus. This encounter changed everything for him. He then began changing his life around a new-found vocation to share God’s new covenant with all humankind. Although Acts and Paul’s own writings intimate that years have passed since he has been to Jerusalem, today’s reading indicates that memories are long and many of the burgeoning movement are afraid of him. This could be the end of Saul’s new vocation, if not for Barnabas, who has the courage to take Saul under his wing, believing that he was a true disciple. The ultimate result was acceptance of Saul, his bold teaching, and the peace of the church for a time. Eventually, Saul took on the name of Paul and became the apostle to the Gentiles, spreading the good news of the new covenant God put in place through Jesus, the Christ and Son.

How many of us have had a similar experience? We are certainly not all Paul, and many of us have felt supported in our faith our entire lives. But some of us, myself included, have made some major changes along the way. Such changes may be denominational, ethical, theological, or practical, but they may have major impacts on our lives. It is not possible to quantify the difficulty of taking stands against the family lore or staid family positions on theological or political issues. Indeed, relationships have been torn asunder for such and much less.

The first letter of John calls us to love, not only one another, but all God’s creation, not in word or speech but in deed and truth. John does not discount what we can do in word and speech but emphasizes the importance of what we can do in deed and truth (3:18). I reckon this is most true on the personal and individual level, even if it has the most impact on the group and societal levels. Jesus’s commandment is this: “we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us” (3:23). This is the most challenging aspiration to which Jesus calls us. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Everything else about our society calls us to compete, be better, and tromp those we defeat. First John tells us that, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls us to a different way.