Rowena Stevenson preaches on the conversion of Saul using a personal story about a misread map at a church camp
A sermon delivered at Sumner Redcliffs Anglican Church on 25 May 2025.
Summary
Rowena Stevenson delivers a sermon at Sumner Redcliffs Anglican Church drawing on a personal misadventure at the Glentui Lodge Alpha Weekend camp, where she followed a correctly drawn but incorrectly positioned map and found only a trickle of water instead of the true Glentui waterfall. She uses this as an extended metaphor for the conversion of Saul in Acts 9:1–20, arguing that Saul's problem was not that his map — the Law of Moses — was wrong, but that it was planted in the wrong place, leading him to persecute followers of Jesus rather than recognise him as the promised Messiah. She traces how Jesus repositioned the map of Jewish faith: relocating the meeting point of heaven and earth from the temple to himself, and extending the boundaries of God's love beyond Israel to the Gentiles. Stevenson then turns the question on the congregation, asking whether their own maps are correctly oriented — on matters of why they attend church, who they believe God loves, and who they understand Jesus to be. She closes by describing conversion as always God's work, not something that can be engineered, but something people can prepare for by studying scripture and praying for those who do not yet know Jesus.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
The Glentui Map Story
Rowena Stevenson: I'd like to begin this morning by telling a little bit of a tale, which I imagine you'll find amusing. There was great laughter at the nine o'clock service, but which I promise will lead us into thinking about Saul and Jesus and our own lives.
It was at the start of April that a good number of us went from here up to Glentui Lodge for the Alpha Weekend. I did discover later from Harry that we might have gone to a different campground, except somehow there was a bit of a muddle in the early communications about camp options. But in a way, that sits quite well with how this story is going to go today.
We had sessions on Friday evening and Saturday morning, but after lunch on Saturday afternoon, everyone was offered the chance for a bit of rest or recreation. There was even a particularly chilly-looking swimming pool available, which I believe nobody tackled. A number of the folk headed off for a walk to the Glentui waterfall. Todd and I thought we'd have a bit of a rest, but then after that we also headed off to spy out the waterfall.
I'd already seen a sign with a map — oh good, good work, good work, sir, map. This is the person upon whom this all depends. I had already seen a sign with a map of local tracks on the veranda of the lodge. There was just a single gateway leading from the lodge grounds beyond the sign, and so with just a passing glance, Todd and I tootled off down the path into the valley for a bit of exercise and to find a waterfall, because of course everybody loves a good waterfall, don't they?
There was an excellent set of steps going down from the lodge, so that made going a little bit easier. And down at the bottom, we found a wide expanse of slightly damp, grassy area, which we wandered about looking for a waterfall. We had a bit of a chat to a few youth group lads, comparing notes with what they had found and what we were looking for. They sauntered off in an opposite direction, and we tootled along, found some rather dry autumn sort of blackberries. You've got to give that a go, don't you? They weren't great. They weren't great.
We found a fellow wanderer and joined him on a pleasant wander down amongst the — the wanderer is nodding in the congregation now. But we gradually made our way down towards the river, all the while wondering about the waterfall that we were meant to be finding.
What we couldn't find was a waterfall. Well, not a real one, anyway. This is my desperate photo — I actually wasn't kidding myself that that was the lost falls of Glentui. Nevertheless, one felt one must take a photo of any water that was falling that one could find, hence this lovely photo.
Anyway, enough of all that wandering about. The guys decided they'd had enough, and they began to head back, climbing back up those well-formed steps. I was just that little bit more determined because I could hear water falling. There was a cliff — that's where the steps went up. So I figured there had to be a waterfall somewhere. So I wandered in the opposite direction, around a little bit of a corner, and actually not very far, but with a bit of clambering over rocks and things, and down a bit of a gap, and there, finally, was the missing waterfall. Hallelujah!
So I took a few evidential photographs, did a bit more rocky scrambling, and I began my way back up the steps, up to camp, feeling quite victorious, pleased with my extra effort, and of course with photos to show my husband and anybody else that was interested. And that, I thought, was that.
Except a short time later, another bunch of walkers returned with their own tale of afternoon adventures. You may recognise some of them, who have all given me permission to show this photo today. They too had enjoyed the chance to explore. And like me, they had found a waterfall — fuller and taller, more dramatic and magnificent. And their waterfall, not mine, was the Glentui waterfall, identified on the loop track marked on the map, the map that I had used and the map that they had also used.
So what had happened? I had looked at the sign, briefly checked out the map, taken steps down from the lodge deck and onto the obvious path into the bushwalk. I'd followed the steps down the hill and with a bit of determination, I'd eventually found a waterfall. But then I discovered that the others had driven a few kilometres up the road to the Glentui picnic area and found this sign — exactly the same sign as the one at the lodge. Well, newer and cleaner, but the same dock sign marking the map area, except this sign told the truth when it said, "You are here."
That was the moment in my life — a life actually filled with loving maps, I love maps — but that was the moment when it dawned on me that if your map says "you are here," it's really important that that map is planted accurately in the ground. The map was accurate when it was at the Glentui picnic area. It absolutely led us astray when it was at the lodge.
Saul's Map: The Law of Moses
And so all of that provided thoughts for us — for me and for us today. What might these adventures that happened back in April help us with our reading today, the conversion of Saul, as the Bible often titles it?
Saul had a map: the Law of Moses. And alongside that, he was schooled in map reading by the Pharisees, the best map readers of the day, the sect most careful to obey the law. Saul knew the map really well. He later talks about being a Hebrew of Hebrews, brought up according to the law, circumcised on the eighth day, and zealous to follow every point of the Mosaic commands. As a teenager, he'd studied under the famous teacher Gamaliel. He knew the history and he knew the law, and he followed it to the letter.
When he heard Stephen, a follower of Jesus — in a story just before our reading of today — start describing the history of Israel, tracing the life of Abraham, of Joseph, of Moses, and of Moses' declaration that one day God would raise up a prophet for them from their own people, Saul would have been happy enough with that story. God had provided for his people. He knew the story.
Stephen's story took a bit of a twist, uncomfortably, from all that God had done for his people to their continuing disobedience and to their rejection of the prophets that God had sent. Saul knew that part of the story too. But they were now back in God's land. They certainly had to live very carefully with the occupying Romans, but still they had the temple and they could offer sacrifices and follow God's rules to the absolute letter. And that was important. To Saul, that was everything.
But then Stephen really cranked it up. Speaking directly to those in front of him, he said:
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of your prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, and now you have become his betrayers and his murderers. You are the ones that received the law, the law ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it."
The events had taken a drastic turn. The crowd stood accused by Stephen, and in their fury, they stoned him to death. Saul was still young. He did his bit by watching over the coats of those who killed Stephen, and he was pleased that such a liar was being taken out.
Saul knew the law. He had a map, and he knew it well. It did not include being accused of killing the righteous one that Moses had promised would come, nor did it include this Jesus of Nazareth or any change to the customs of the people of God. These people who talked about Jesus, who said he'd been raised from the dead — these followers of the Way — they were dangerous, politically and religiously. Politically, because the Romans would destroy any group who might upset their dominating peace. And religiously, because Judaism centred around the temple and sacrifice and obeying God's law. And an upset Rome would mean prohibition of Jewish practices. And that could not be allowed to happen.
So from that time on, Saul set about ravaging the church, persecuting and imprisoning followers of the Way. Saul's program, his mission, was to save Judaism. It was on one such endeavour that the events we've read from Acts 9 occur.
The Road to Damascus: Acts 9:1–20
The light flashes from heaven. Saul falls to the ground and hears a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" The voice, to Saul's utter surprise, is the voice of Jesus. It says, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Those with him heard the voice but were left unchanged. Saul is blind until obedient Ananias goes to him, lays his hands on him so that he might regain his sight and be filled with the Spirit. Saul is baptised, they share a meal together, and only a few days later Saul is proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God.
What had happened? To use the description in our Bibles, Saul was converted. But what does that mean — converted? In his meeting with the risen Jesus and filling with the Holy Spirit, Saul had had his map realigned. He was radically reoriented. It was planted in the right piece of ground, unlike my experience at Glentui. His thinking was totally revised. He was transformed from the enemy of Jesus to preacher and apologist who would spend the rest of his life proclaiming Jesus, telling of his experience and proving from Jewish scriptures that Jesus is God's Messiah.
The map itself was fine, but before the encounter with Jesus, Saul had been misinterpreting it. Like the map I'd used to take me to a water trickle instead of a waterfall, Saul's map was planted in the wrong spot, and it led him astray.
Jesus Repositions the Map
Actually, many of those who spent time with Jesus had also misunderstood the way the map was to be used. Remember on Easter Day, the risen Jesus walked beside two disciples heading to Emmaus and helped them to realign their map. Jesus showed them how all of the Old Testament scriptures were talking about him. And they were amazed as the reoriented map started to make sense.
The position of the map had moved. The temple had been the focus of the map — the place to find God, the place where heaven and earth met together, where God in all his holiness touched the earth. Just in one place, the Holy of Holies, deep inside the temple, accessible once a year by the high priest, prepared with exacting sacrifices and perfect offerings.
When Jesus came into the world, the place where heaven and earth met changed. Jesus was God with us — Emmanuel, Jesus. Jesus repositioned the map. Heaven, God's place, was now on earth wherever Jesus was. Jesus was the new temple, the place where God could be found. The temple that the disciples discovered was going to be rebuilt in three days — between crucifixion and resurrection. The boundaries of the map had moved.
When Jesus launched his ministry, he quoted the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good news." The synagogue crowd that day loved that message. All spoke well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from his mouth. But when he interpreted that scripture that day to hint that the Gentiles — those outside the nation of Israel — were also recipients of God's love and care, his admirers turned on him and tried to kill him. Jesus was extending the boundaries of the map, and nobody liked it.
Jews since the time of Moses have recited the Shema. Jesus commended this as the greatest part, the central part of the law, along with loving your neighbour. But here was Jesus talking about God as his Father. His death showed that Jesus was God himself, God the Son. The Spirit was God. The Lord was one, and yet the Lord was three — a triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. This was a radical rethink for Saul, the Hebrew of Hebrews.
Saul was blind for three days. When he was healed, his map was reoriented, centred on Jesus, interpreted by the Spirit. He was a completely different person. He was thoroughly converted, completely transformed, radically reoriented.
How Are Our Maps Oriented?
So what about us? Do we need to radically reorient ourselves? Saul thought his map was in the right place. It wasn't. How are we going with our maps?
It's part of why we come to confession each week — to have our maps tweaked. Sometimes we need to do a radical reversal. We need to go 180 degrees. They call it repentance. But sometimes we also need to be helped to see that we are slightly off.
I was trying to think of a picture of this, and I've got one. If you take yourselves to St Peter's Church at Church Corner and stand at the triangle that goes into where they're going to be doing major roadworks — if you go down that side of the church, you'll head to Yaldhurst Road, and not too long, a few hours, you'll be at the West Coast. If you go down this side of the road, you'll go on to Main South Road, and after quite a lot longer, you'll be in Invercargill. When you're standing at that little point there, which way should we go? It doesn't seem to matter which side you go down the side of the church, but actually it makes a lot of difference after a wee while.
So that's my best example of being a few degrees off.
Let's look at a few things that we might get just a few degrees off.
Why did you come to church today? Do we gather because we must come, because that's how God approves of us, because that's how we get recognised by God as his good people? Let's not think like that. Let's reorient ourselves. Let's gather because Jesus' death and resurrection means that we have already become beloved children of God. He gathers us as his family to worship him, to thank him for his great love. There's nothing that we did in the past that stopped God making us his children. And there's nothing that we will do in the future that can make him love us any more than he already does. We are loved. We are loved. We are loved, and that's why we're here. And if you don't know that yet, make sure you talk to somebody who knows that, to share that love with you.
Do we have boundaries? Who will God love? Who should we love? Jesus' whakapapa included people that should not have been there. Ruth was a prohibited Moabite, expressly excluded from the people of God, and yet she was in his genealogy and lineage. Rahab was a Gentile and a prostitute. What was she doing there as an ancestor of Jesus? Bathsheba was a woman abused and wronged. What was she doing there? Jesus was nearly killed when he dared to stretch God's care to Gentiles. So do we have any no-go barriers? Places we assume God's love will never reach? People in our communities desperately need to know that they are loved and wanted by God. Let's radically extend the borders of our love.
Do you know who Jesus is? We've sung lots of great songs this morning about who Jesus is. It's probably better to ask: are you continuing to understand and expand your sense of who you understand Jesus to be? That's better, isn't it?
Jesus said of himself: "I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the true vine."
And there were three words there that were in every one of those "I am" statements — "I am," but the other word: the. T-H-E. For those who love grammar, it's a definite article. "I am the way," not "a way." "I am the life." "I am the door." If we're thinking that Jesus is a way, a good shepherd, we need to reorient ourselves and say, wait a minute — Jesus is the way, the good shepherd. Because we carry that news out to other people who might think he's our way and there are others. But he is the way, and there isn't another way. So a little bit of angle tweaking, or a radical conversion — here we are.
Conversion: God's Work, Not Ours
So this conversion — this thing — what is it and how do we do it? Or can we even do it?
William Willimon describes conversion as somebody being approached by God or his representatives and being changed in the process of that encounter. It's something that God does, not us. It's always a new beginning. It's part of a larger story. It's a calling into the purposes of God.
And God's call comes really clearly. "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" "Abraham, Abraham" — to hold the slaying of his son. "Moses, Moses" — at the burning bush. "Samuel, Samuel" — in the dead of night, to call a little boy to become a prophet. And "Saul, Saul, Saul." It interrupted Saul's program and called him into a new life. Those around him heard the call but were unchanged. It was only Saul whose life was changed. So conversion is an intensely personal gift.
Conversion is always God's work. We can't engineer it or manufacture it. It's a surprising and unexpected gift of divine grace.
Preparing Ourselves: Study the Map
So we can't engineer these experiences — they're God's work. But we can ready ourselves by studying the map. That personal Bible study that we've had another invitation into, that Harry's invited us into — as you read the map, scripture, you can talk to the author of the book, which is a pretty cool thing. Like anyone struggling in school trying to understand Shakespeare, they really can't access what he was really talking about. But we can talk to the author of the book. That seems like a great idea.
Saul was ready a week after his conversion to go and change the world because he knew that map so well. Once it was rightly reoriented around Jesus, he was ready. I suspect very few of us know the map as well as Saul did. We need some more time in the book, reading the map.
Last year, I put on the one-year Bible read by the guy that does Poro — he's got a really great voice. David someone. Sorry — Suchet. David Suchet. He's got a T on the end. I was never going to get there. He reads that to me as I drive to work every day, and I got through the Bible already last year. And then this year I thought, what am I going to do? Because I'm always looking for a better plan. Then I suddenly thought — do it again. It worked. So whatever you're doing, think about it. And if necessary, change what you're doing to be doing some more. Because in that map is the material we need, and God will speak to us through it.
And we can pray our outward prayers — prayers beyond boundaries for those who don't know Jesus.
The True Waterfall
On that Saturday at Glentui, I was so glad that those joyous women came up and gave me a picture of the falls that they'd found. They had found the true waterfall. I was no longer deceived and deluded and thinking I had found it and settling for a poor imitation of life. They had found the real thing and they shared it with me.
And that's what we can do with the people that we bang into in life. You've got a really good waterfall. You've got the living water. So share it with those that you find.
And if God speaks to you today, hear his voice, listen, and follow him. And if he doesn't speak to you today — because remember, it's God's divine act to do this — then check out the map, pray for the people, and he'll be tapping you on the shoulder one day really soon.
Amen.