GOD’S WORD
January 25, 2016 (Monday) feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the apostle
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Ps 117:1bc, 2
Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
1st Reading: Acts 22:3-16 (or Acts 9:1-22)
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here, in this city, where I was educated in the school of Gamaliel, according to the strict observance of our law. And I was dedicated to God’s service, as are all of you today. As for this way, I persecuted it to the point of death and arrested its followers, both men and women, throwing them into prison.
The High Priest and the whole Council of elders can bear witness to this. From them, I received letters for the Jewish brothers in Damascus; and I set out to arrest those who were there, and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. But, as I was traveling along, nearing Damascus, at about noon, a great light from the sky suddenly flashed about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ I answered: ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me: ‘I am Jesus, the Nazorean, whom you persecute.’ The men who were with me saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked: ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord replied: ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there, you will be told all that you are destined to do.’ Yet, the brightness of that light had blinded me; and, so, I was led by the hand into Damascus by my companions.
There, a certain Ananias came to me. He was a devout observer of the law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who were living there. As he stood by me, he said: ‘Brother Saul, recover your sight.’ At that moment, I could see; and I looked at him. He, then, said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Just One, and to hear the words from his mouth. From now on you shall be his witness before all the pagan people, and tell them all that you have seen and heard. And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized; and have your sins washed away, by calling upon his Name.’
Gospel: Mk 16:15-18
Then he told them, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
Reflection:
It seems strange to speak of Paul’s “conversion.” Why? Because, when we refer to a person as having “converted,” we usually mean to say that such person once led a life of sinful depravity and is now leading a vir tuous life. Thus we speak of St. Augustine’s “conversion.”
But the case of Paul does not fit that stereotype. For he never led a depraved life. As he states about himself in today’s first reading, “I was dedicated to God’s service.” In fact, he was about as strict a Pharisee as you could find. And so, why speak of conversion?
Here we do well to analyze the word “conversion.” It means basically an about-face, a turning towards. In Paul’s case, it simply meant that, like the proverbial stupid soccer player who is unknowingly trying to score against his own team, Paul was running in the wrong direction. He was fervent to a fault, but he was unknowingly spending all his energy fighting Christ instead of serving him. His “conversion” finally sets him on the right course. With an honest person, that is always possible. Once set on this right course, Paul heroically ran to his Goal, Jesus Christ, and died for him.