Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Conversion of St. Paul. We have no exact data to confirm that this happened on January 25. It is a matter of liturgical arrangement. We have Annunciation on March 25, St. Mark on April 25, the birth of John the Baptist on June 25, St. James the Greater on July 25 and of course Christmas on December 25. In a sense, St. Paul was reborn on January 25, one month after the birth of Christ.
Saul's conversion is retold in Acts 9, 22 and 26. There are variations in the three accounts and today, I would meditate on Acts 9.
Holding the authorization letter of the High Priest, Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians there to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. There, he was struck blind by an enveloping bright light from heaven. In the light, Jesus spoke to Saul.
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; "
And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting;" (Acts 9:4-5)
Holding the authorization letter of the High Priest, Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians there to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. There, he was struck blind by an enveloping bright light from heaven. In the light, Jesus spoke to Saul.
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις; "
And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting;" (Acts 9:4-5)
The Church has undergone many persecutions. In Roman times, Christians were persecuted for various reasons. They were different from ordinary Romans. They did not worship Roman deities and Caesars. They did not join the popular entertainments at the arena. Some of them were wealthy and owned a lot of land. They were secretive and met at catacombs. There were rumours that they were cannibals (they ate the body of a man) and vampires (they drank blood). In short, they were anti-social. Christians easily became scapegoats in such a hostile environment. It did not take long for persecutions to fall upon them. Many Christians became martyrs. They bore witness to the living Jesus with their blood.
Once they gained the recognition and blessings of the Empire, they grew from strength to strength. The invasions of barbarians forced the Roman court to move east, leaving the custodian of Rome to the pope. When barbarians were converted, Europe became the private garden of the Church. The table had turned and it was her turn to persecute Jews, pagans and dissidents in the name of Christ. She had turned from being persecuted to persecuting.
Once they gained the recognition and blessings of the Empire, they grew from strength to strength. The invasions of barbarians forced the Roman court to move east, leaving the custodian of Rome to the pope. When barbarians were converted, Europe became the private garden of the Church. The table had turned and it was her turn to persecute Jews, pagans and dissidents in the name of Christ. She had turned from being persecuted to persecuting.
Saul's experience was atypical. He began from persecuting to being persecuted and became a saint. Do we?
No. Each of us, before our conversion, is persecuting Jesus with our sinful life. All of us are intended by God to be united in the Mystical Body of Christ. He generously endows us with gifts and potentials to be fully actualized. Yet, in our sinful life, we refused to achieve the targets intended by God. We were persecuting Jesus from without. Once we were baptized and incorporated into the Mystical Body and yet continue our sinful life, we become faulty members of the Mystical Body. We are hurting each other in Christ. We are preying on outsiders in the name of Christ. O, God forgives. We are persecuting Jesus from within. We have never left behind our persecuting orbit if we remain in our sinful life even after baptism.
If we have been privileged to call Jesus our Brother, is it our destiny to betray Jesus repeatedly forever and ever? Joseph was betrayed by his brothers once, Moses his fellow Hebrews and Jesus Judas. Is it not enough for each one of us to have betrayed Jesus once only? Christians should not sin anymore, whether individually or as a community.
When shall we be persecuted to attain sainthood? When we stand firm in living the truth and bearing witness to the truth. Surely then, we will invite persecutions within and without the Mystic Body of Christ for the sake of Christian charity.
No. Each of us, before our conversion, is persecuting Jesus with our sinful life. All of us are intended by God to be united in the Mystical Body of Christ. He generously endows us with gifts and potentials to be fully actualized. Yet, in our sinful life, we refused to achieve the targets intended by God. We were persecuting Jesus from without. Once we were baptized and incorporated into the Mystical Body and yet continue our sinful life, we become faulty members of the Mystical Body. We are hurting each other in Christ. We are preying on outsiders in the name of Christ. O, God forgives. We are persecuting Jesus from within. We have never left behind our persecuting orbit if we remain in our sinful life even after baptism.
If we have been privileged to call Jesus our Brother, is it our destiny to betray Jesus repeatedly forever and ever? Joseph was betrayed by his brothers once, Moses his fellow Hebrews and Jesus Judas. Is it not enough for each one of us to have betrayed Jesus once only? Christians should not sin anymore, whether individually or as a community.
When shall we be persecuted to attain sainthood? When we stand firm in living the truth and bearing witness to the truth. Surely then, we will invite persecutions within and without the Mystic Body of Christ for the sake of Christian charity.
Dear Lord, allow us the glory of sainthood in joining with You in persecutions. Stop us persecuting our brothers. Amen.
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