Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 - Jan. 25 - The Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle
[Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 and Mark 16:15-18]"The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard." [Acts]
It might be an interesting experiment to ask someone or a group of folks to indicate which of the apostles they would want to meet in person. How many would ask, "Does that include St. Paul?" That inquiry about St. Paul might be a clue to the choice someone would make. It would be a clue to mine. St. Paul is the apostle I would want to meet. "But," someone might protest, "He was not one of the Twelve!" That didn't bother Paul at all. He very straightforwardly claimed, "Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen the Lord?" (1 Cor. 9:1) The first two scriptures today contain accounts of Paul's conversion experience. As far as he was concerned, his encounter with Jesus was just as good as the encounter of the Twelve who lived and worked with Jesus.
I recommend reading St. Paul's letters in chronological order to see the development of his thought and preaching. In addition,I think one would also get an idea of the man himself. He was a rather dramatic and zealous guy. He went from being a bounty hunter for Christians to being a stout defender. He went from being a dedicated Pharisee to being a foe of the Mosaic Law. St. Luke's Acts of the Apostles gives us a good outline of his ministry and travels. It can be justly claimed that Paul is the one who took Christianity out of Jerusalem and made it an international movement.
St. Paul has become the symbol of the missionary aspect of the Body of Christ. He is contrasted on that level with St. Peter who represents the unity and organization of the Church. What is clear is that we owe a tremendous debt to St. Paul for our faith and its practice. Maybe some of his zeal can rub off on us! AMEN