The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the events of our life that resonate with the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul Tells of His Conversion.
* [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 22, n.d.)
The alternate reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the Conversion of Saul and Saul 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).
* [9:2] The Way: a name used by the early Christian community for itself (Acts 18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). The Essene community at Qumran used the same designation to describe its mode of life.
* [9:8] He could see nothing: a temporary blindness (Acts 9:18) symbolizing the religious blindness of Saul as persecutor (cf. Acts 26:18).
* [9:13] Your holy ones: literally, “your saints.” (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, 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.
* [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.)
Barbara Dilly, reading about the amazing work of the churches established by Paul in the New Testament asks “What about each of us here and now?”
I think especially during these dark days of confused messages among even church leaders, we need to step up on behalf of those who are persecuted for the sake of strict interpretations of ancestral law and bring the voice of Jesus to light. If we are listening, we will hear the call. It is my prayer that we will all answer, “Here I am, Lord.” (Dilly, 2024)
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 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 comments that as we share our own story of God’s work in our life, we should follow Paul’s example and consider who is listening to us. Ask the Holy Spirit to show us what they need to hear.
Every day you will encounter many different situations and different people. That means you will have multiple opportunities to speak about the Lord! So today on the feast of his conversion, allow St. Paul, the master evangelist, to teach you how to share the good news of Jesus with everyone you meet.
“Lord, give me St. Paul’s wisdom to speak about your work in my life to anyone who will listen.” (Meditation on Acts 22:3-16, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the three accounts of the conversion of Paul in Acts. The legal authority of Paul expressed by Luke may be an effort to show Christians as observers of the Law. When Christians suffer, Jesus suffers with them. Friar Jude notes that the longer ending of Mark is likely written by a scribe who may be noting the healing of Paul from a snake bite.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, expands on order-disorder-reorder as the pattern of resilience and faith.
The unitive way—or what I am calling Reorder—is utterly mysterious and unknown to people in the first Order stage, and still rather scary and threatening to people in the second Disorder stage. If we are not trained in a trust of mystery and some degree of tolerance for ambiguity and suffering, we will not proceed very far on the spiritual journey. In fact, we will often run back to Order when the going gets rough in Disorder.
Thus the biblical tradition, and Jesus in particular, praises faith more than love. Why? Because faith is that patience with mystery that allows us to negotiate the stages. As Gerald May (1940–2005) pointed out in The Dark Night of the Soul, it allows God to lead us through darkness—where God knows and we don’t. This is the only way to come to love! Love is the true goal, but faith is the process of getting there, and hope is the willingness to live without resolution or closure. They are indeed “the three things that last” (1 Corinthians 13:13). (Rohr, 2024)
We consider our journey with Jesus and those events that may have been part of our road to Damascus and our commission to be witnesses to the fullness of life in Christ.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 22. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/22?3
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/9
Dilly, B. (2024, January 25). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/012524.html
Mark, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2024, 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, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/01/25/882338/
Psalms, PSALM 117. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/117?1
Rohr, R. (2024, January 25). The Unitive Way — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-unitive-way/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jan25a
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