“And immediately [Saul] proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ And all who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?’” (Acts 9:19-21). Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Ironically, the Lutheran church at which I conduct Word and Sacrament ministry among Persian refugees here in Germany is located only about a mile away from the radical mosque in which the four terrorists of the so-called Hamburg Cell worked out details of the attacks. There, the imam regularly stoked their all-consuming hatred for the United States—and they listened intently. The mosque once occupied the second and third floor of this nondescript building. But the mastermind directing the Hamburg Cell was a certain Osama bin Laden. *** Some two thousand years earlier, an influential Pharisee named Saul was also full of venom—towards Jesus and His followers, even putting some of them to death. Yet one day, Jesus turned Saul’s heart around (Acts 9). The former persecutor of Christians would become known as the Apostle Paul, writing two thirds of the New Testament. How might history have been different if—prior to September 11, 2001—Bin Laden (not to mention that imam and the four terrorists) had had a conversion experience like Saul’s? Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would open the ears and hearts of those with whom we share the Good News of Jesus Christ (including heinous people like the assassin of Charlie Kirk). Evangelization can change hearts and history. Just ask the amazed people in Jerusalem who were hearing a one-time persecutor of Christians suddenly proclaim that Jesus is the son of God.
The Tiews in Germany 