Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 25, 2018 - Jan. 25 - The Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle
[Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 and Mark 16:15-18]THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL [Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 and Mark 16:15-18] "Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me!" The feast of the Conversion of St. Paul marks one of the most significant events in the history of the Church. The difference this one man has made in the understanding of Jesus is enormous. We are given two of the three accounts of his conversion in the Acts of the Apostles to choose from for the first scripture today. The first is given in first person. The second is given in third person. Both are recounted, however, by the evangelist, Luke, who may have been one of Paul's missionary associates. Luke is considered to have been the author of the Acts of the Apostles - a kind of Volume Two to his gospel. Scripture scholars write big books and articles about this event. I just want to call attention to the simple line I quoted above, which is the same in both accounts today: "Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" To Saul of Tarsus (later called Paul) the job was one of bounty hunting heretics to Judaism. He had no idea that he was persecuting the one in whom they believed! It is this unity between Christ and the believer which would shape much of his theology. Those who are baptized would be come members of the Body of Christ. The persecution of a member of the Body is a persecution of Christ. Most of us do not have dramatic conversion experiences like Paul's. But he was a rather dramatic sort of person to begin with. His missionary efforts broke the small world of the early Christian community and spread the faith around the Meditteranean world. Some scholars refer to him as the "second founder" of Christianity. Each and every one of us owes him a great debt. AMEN
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