Scripture Reflection, January 25: The Conversion of Saint Paul

Scripture Readings:
Acts of the Apostles 22: 3-16
Psalm 117
I Corinthians 7: 29-31
Mark 16: 15-18

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For this Sunday liturgy, communities have an option to celebrate the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time or the Feast of the Conversion of Paul. This option is given because 2008-09 is a Jubilee Year in the Church honoring the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Saint Paul. I have chosen the readings for the Conversion of Paul.

For all of his greatness, Saint Paul was a very human figure with whom it is easy to relate. He was passionate and zealous in his endeavors, and he was not at all afraid to express his opinion. When he encountered opposition from within the Christian community, he felt hurt and defended himself vigorously. He could become angry at times, as when he challenged the Galatians for forgetting the gospel that he preached to them, exclaiming in frustration, “O stupid Galatians!” He was tireless in his efforts on behalf of the gospel, enduring severe hardships that he chronicled for his readers (see II Cor. 11: 16-29). Paul could also soar to the heights in describing the implications of the grace of God poured out in Christ, as he did in his beautiful hymn to charity (I Cor. 13).

It is clear that Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus left an indelible imprint on his mind and heart. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke gives us an account of this pivotal event, narrated by Paul as he is about to be arrested in Jerusalem. In his letter to the Galatians, we read Paul’s own account of this life-changing moment (Gal. 1: 11-24). Paul recalls his zeal in persecuting the Christian community “beyond measure” and trying to destroy it. He speaks of his own fervor as an observant Jew, saying, “I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.” But then he recounts the way in which God revealed his Son to him, in order that he might proclaim Christ to the Gentiles. As he reflects upon this event, he uses words that echo the call of Jeremiah: “But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace …” Paul acknowledges the power of God’s grace in his life, and he understands his vocation as an apostle to be a gift -- the gift of a loving God who has guided his life in a mysterious way.

Paul’s experience of the risen Christ was not a conversion from a “pagan” way of life to a religious one. He already believed in the God of Israel and was intent on serving God. But his encounter with Christ illumined his view of the way that this God had acted to offer salvation to the human family. Paul came to see that the same God he had worshipped as a Jew had acted in a new and definitive way in the person and destiny of Jesus. When the risen Christ was revealed to him, he began to realize that this crucified one was in fact alive and that God’s saving grace had become present in and through his death and resurrection. Paul already knew that Jesus had been crucified. But this horrendous, scandalous death had only made Jesus more of a stumbling block for Paul. How could God have been present and active in one who had been executed as a common criminal? After his encounter with the risen Lord, he realized that God had indeed revealed himself in weakness – in the crucified Christ. So Paul will write to the Christians in Corinth about the “wisdom of the cross” – a wisdom that seems like utter foolishness to those who cannot see with the eyes of faith (I Cor. 1: 18-25).

One of the great bishops and theologians of the early Church, John Chrysostom, said this in a homily about Paul: “The most important thing of all to him, however, was that he knew himself to be loved by Christ. Enjoying this love, he considered himself to be happier than anyone else.” John Chrysostom hits the nail on the head. Paul came to realize that this Jesus whom he had persecuted (by hunting down his followers), loved him in a most personal and enduring way. Paul powerfully expresses this personal conviction in his letter to the Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; indeed as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.” Paul saw in the crucified and risen Christ the magnificent expression of God’s saving, life-giving love, a love the depths of which he plumbed throughout his life. It was this experience of God’s enduring love that impelled Paul to live completely for Christ and to proclaim him “to the nations.” It was this love that kept Paul going through the daunting hardships that he faced in his work of preaching the gospel.

In the Opening Prayer for this feast, we pray that we may follow Paul in bearing witness to the truth of the gospel. That sounds beautiful, but I suspect that all of us know how difficult it can sometimes be to bear witness to the gospel in our lives. This is our common call as baptized Christians, whatever our particular vocation may be. But in the midst of the pressures of life, we realize how much strength and courage are needed to bear faithful witness to the gospel among our friends, family members, coworkers and others we encounter. Paul encountered these challenges, too, But, as John Chrysostom reminds us, Paul knew himself to be loved by Christ. It was Paul’s experience of Christ’s patient, faithful love that enabled him to proclaim the good news of Christ in season and out of season. He recognized the closeness of Christ in his life, so close in fact that he could say, “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” As we gather for the celebration of the Eucharist this Sunday, may we come to realize a little more deeply how much we are loved by Christ. And may this experience empower us to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel by our words and our actions.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp