How was your weekend. . .with wildfires spreading and eerily smokey skies?  And to cap off the weekend, on Sunday night two of the greatest quarterbacks who ever lived had to play in front of an empty stadium — Brady vs. Brees.  Bummer!

Was this your “weekend horribilis”? Remember when Queen Elizabeth used the phrase, “annis horribilis” to describe her 1992?  That year she faced a family  suicide, then her children’s separations and divorces, then embarrassing photos and tape recordings and tell-all books. Finally, right before Christmas, a fire wrecked part of Windsor Castle.

These are the changes that we fear, changes we can’t plan or envision.  In this Sunday’s sermon lesson, the Apostle Paul also faces a change he didn’t expect.  Paul, the zealous persecutor of Christians, meets the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.

Are you afraid of change?  Paul’s story lays out the stages of change, and the essential role of faith.

Changes are coming to our world we may neither expect nor desire. But, with a faith shaped by Christ,  we can face these changes and bless our world.