Call to conversion

In the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today we have an account of conversion and a commission to take the “Good News” to all people.

Speaking to the people

In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul makes a defense before the Jerusalem Jews of his mission to the Gentiles as a consequence of his encounter with Christ.

 * [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).1

In the longer ending of the Gospel of Mark the eleven are commissioned by Jesus to witness to His Way.

 * [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 20.2

Eileen-Burke Sullivan suggests that we might miss a very important instruction that Ananias gave to Saul who chooses to respond to Jesus “. . . You will be the Lord’s witness before all, to what you have seen and heard. Now why delay? Get up and be baptized . . .”

 The gift and the demands of baptism do not get old and wear out.  Ever new is the call to life in Christ and the labor of loving care for the all of God’s people.  Paul’s conversion is a perfect feast for our conversion or re-conversion to the task of loving God, God’s creation and all of God’s people.  Ignatius of Loyola reminds us that love is shown in deeds more than in words. How will be act baptized today?

Don Schwager quotes Benedict XVI reflection on the significance of Paul's conversion for the whole Christian people.

 "Paul's conversion matured in his encounter with the Risen Christ; it was this encounter that radically changed his life. What happened to him on the road to Damascus is what Jesus asks in today's Gospel: Saul is converted because, thanks to the divine light, "he has believed in the Gospel". In this consists his and our conversion: in believing in Jesus dead and risen and in opening to the illumination of his divine grace. In that moment Saul understood that his salvation did not depend on good works fulfilled according to the law, but on the fact that Jesus died also for him the persecutor and has risen. This truth by which every Christian life is enlightened thanks to Baptism completely overturns our way of life. To be converted means, also for each one of us, to believe that Jesus "has given himself for me", dying on the Cross (cf. Galatians 2: 20) and, risen, lives with me and in me. Entrusting myself to the power of his forgiveness, letting myself be taken by his hand, I can come out of the quicksands of pride and sin, of deceit and sadness, of selfishness and of every false security, to know and live the richness of his love." (from address given on January 25, 2009)4

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 22:3-16 comments that a devout Jew, Paul had been walking with God all his life. Still, he had a serious blind spot. He couldn’t see that the Christians he was persecuting were his brothers and sisters. He couldn’t see that this Jesus he was fighting against was the Messiah.

 It’s not hard to imagine how we too can walk around with blind spots—even after years of following the Lord. We might make unwarranted assumptions about some people because of the way they look. Past hurts or old prejudices might affect how we treat people. We might reflexively categorize people into “friends” and “enemies” or into “us” and “them.” And all this time, Jesus wants us to see people as he sees them, as beloved children of God.5

Friar Jude Winkler reviews the three accounts of the conversion of Saul in Acts. The inconsistencies in Acts and the addition to the Gospel of post resurrection events are discussed. Friar Jude connects the characteristics of the disciples in Mark to the life events of Paul.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, asks “What does it mean to follow Jesus?”

 I believe that we are invited to gaze upon the image of the crucified Jesus to soften our hearts toward all suffering, to help us see how we ourselves have been “bitten” by hatred and violence, and to know that God’s heart has always been softened toward us. In turning our gaze to this divine truth—in dropping our many modes of scapegoating and self-justification—we gain compassion toward ourselves and all others who suffer. It largely happens on the psychic and unconscious level, but that is exactly where our hurts and our will to violence lie, lodged in the primitive “lizard brain,” where we have almost no rational control.6

The response of people to Jesus invitation to follow Him may have a great effect in their lives as our actions are moved by the Spirit to be a closer model of Him.

References

1	(n.d.). Acts, chapter 22 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts22:16
2	(n.d.). Mark, chapter 16 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/16
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
5	(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/
6	(2019, January 22). Daily Meditations Archive: January 2019 - Center for Action and .... Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2019/01/