The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle, invite us to be open to the Spirit calling us to conversion and deeper fullness of life in Jesus Way.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul tells of his conversion and offers a defense before the Jerusalem Jews.
* [22:1–21] Paul’s first defense speech is presented to the Jerusalem crowds. Luke here presents Paul as a devout Jew (Acts 22:3) and zealous persecutor of the Christian community (Acts 22:4–5), and then recounts the conversion of Paul for the second time in Acts (see note on Acts 9:1–19).
* [22:15] His witness: like the Galilean followers during the historical ministry of Jesus, Paul too, through his experience of the risen Christ, is to be a witness to the resurrection (compare Acts 1:8; 10:39–41; Lk 24:48). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
The alternate reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the Conversion of Saul who preaches in Damascus.
* [9:1–19] This is the first of three accounts of Paul’s conversion (with Acts 22:3–16 and Acts 26:2–18) with some differences of detail owing to Luke’s use of different sources. Paul’s experience was not visionary but was precipitated by the appearance of Jesus, as he insists in 1 Cor 15:8. The words of Jesus, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” related by Luke with no variation in all three accounts, exerted a profound and lasting influence on the thought of Paul. Under the influence of this experience he gradually developed his understanding of justification by faith (see the letters to the Galatians and Romans) and of the identification of the Christian community with Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor 12:27). That Luke would narrate this conversion three times is testimony to the importance he attaches to it. This first account occurs when the word is first spread to the Gentiles. At this point, the conversion of the hero of the Gentile mission is recounted. The emphasis in the account is on Paul as a divinely chosen instrument (Acts 9:15). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Psalm 117 is a universal call to worship.
* [Psalm 117] This shortest of hymns calls on the nations to acknowledge God’s supremacy. The supremacy of Israel’s God has been demonstrated to them by the people’s secure existence, which is owed entirely to God’s gracious fidelity. (Psalms, PSALM 117, n.d.)
The Gospel of Mark describes the commissioning of the Eleven to proclaim the good news to the whole creation.
* [16:9–20] This passage, termed the Longer Ending to the Marcan gospel by comparison with a much briefer conclusion found in some less important manuscripts, has traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent. Early citations of it by the Fathers indicate that it was composed by the second century, although vocabulary and style indicate that it was written by someone other than Mark. It is a general resume of the material concerning the appearances of the risen Jesus, reflecting, in particular, traditions found in Lk 24 and Jn 20. (Mark, CHAPTER 16, n.d.)
Larry Gillick, S.J. comments that the conversion of Paul is quite a story and the remainder of his life is spent in forming, by his preaching and ways of living and suffering, the Body which once he tried to extinguish. What is in this story for us and about us?
There is so much “version” that is, so much self-formation, self-determination, so much self-certainty which can get us up on our own high horses. I speak of others, not you nor me of course. There are also many interruptions from the Spirit of God calling us back to earth, back to seeing ourselves and others in a straighter, more blessed way. One helpful little suggestion offered here might just be like a burning bush, or little whisper. Watch for ideas, the new, the different, the bumps in the night, which stimulate fears. They often knock us backward and yet can call us toward a more blessed way of being His Body. Fears can blind us, freeze us, imprison us. Fears can free us to ask the more important questions and maybe there will be new answers inviting us to a con-verting to a newness of self and life as with Saul-Paul and so many others. (Gillick, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Our witness is trustworthy if we live accordingly,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
"For [Paul] truly became a witness to [Jesus], and a witness as one should be, both by what he did and by what he said. We too must be such witnesses and not betray what we have been entrusted. I speak not only of doctrines, but also of our way of life. Look, what he knew, what he heard, he bore witness to this before all, and nothing hindered him. We too have heard that there is a resurrection and ten thousand good things; therefore, we ought to bear witness to this before all. 'We do in fact bear witness,' you say, 'and believe.' How, since we do the opposite? Tell me, if someone should say he was a Christian but should then apostatize and act like a Jew, would his testimony be sufficient? No, not at all; for people would look for testimony through his actions. Likewise, if we say that that there is a resurrection and ten thousand good things but then look down upon them and prefer the things here, who will believe us? For all people pay attention not to what we say but to what we do. 'You will be a witness,' [Christ] says, 'to all' (Acts 1:8). That is, not only to the friends, but also to the unbelievers. For this is what witnesses are for: they persuade not those who know but those who do not. Let us become trustworthy witnesses. How will we become trustworthy? By the life we lead." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 47) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 22:3-16 asks What shall I do, Lord? On today’s feast of Paul’s conversion, this is a question we can ask as well. Maybe we already know what our mission is: to raise a family, perhaps, or to evangelize, or to care for the poor, or some combination of these and other callings. Whatever it is, the grace to accomplish the mission will flow from our own encounters with the risen Jesus.
If you’re still not sure what your mission is, or if you think God might be calling you to something new, perhaps it’s time to encounter Jesus once again. So keep seeking him! Pursue him in prayer, in the Scriptures, and in the sacraments. He will reveal himself to you and show you what he wants you to do. Just ask St. Paul!
“Jesus, I want to build up your body. Show me what you want me to do.” (Meditation on Acts 22:3-16, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the importance of the Conversion of Paul in Acts and notes some of the differences in the three accounts in the Acts of the Apostles. The conversion of Paul (in Aramaic “Saul”) was from serving the Law to serving the person of Jesus. The portrayal of Christians as good citizens in Acts is contrasted with the claim that the Jewish religious authorities were disobeying Roman Law. Friar Jude connects the attributes of the disciples of Christ in the longer ending of Mark’s Gospel to the experience of a serpent biting Paul on the way to Rome.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rev. Erica Williams disrupts our tendency to hear the gospel through tired ears by using the modern phrase “set it off”.
We see Jesus set it off in a nonviolent way during his ministry: he gives sight to Bartimaeus [Mark 10:46–52], and he stops a woman from being stoned to death for adultery by telling her accusers that anyone without sin could be the first to throw a stone (John 8:7). In Jesus’s final week before being crucified (during the Passover, which celebrates the Jewish people’s defeat of slavery), Jesus goes into the temple. There he sets it off by flipping the tables of the money changers and declaring that God’s house is a place of prayer and not a den of thieves [Mark 11:15–17].
A man considered a nobody set it off by showing radical love and revolutionary compassion and by speaking truth to power. Jesus turned the world right side up. The empire thought it had shut Jesus down by lynching him, but all it did was plant a seed.
That seed has produced a great harvest of freedom fighters such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Josephine Baker, Septima Clark, and Martin Luther King Jr.… Each of us is being called to set it off. It does not matter what your pedigree is: God is calling you to stand for truth and justice. (Rohr, 2023)
We ponder our journey and seek insight into the meaning of moments of clarity and conviction that have directed our way.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/9?1
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 22. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/22?3
Gillick, L. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/012523.html
Mark, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/16?15
Meditation on Acts 22:3-16. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/01/25/593903/
Psalms, PSALM 117. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/117?1
Rohr, R. (2023, January 25). The Prophet Sets It Off — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-prophet-sets-it-off-2023-01-25/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Go into All the World and Preach the Gospel. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jan25a
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