Friday, Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle
(Mark 16:15-18)
Did Paul actually convert? The question sounds absurd on this feast of his conversion, but some students of the Bible have asked it seriously. They note that there is no radical change in Paul’s behavior. He goes from a zealous promotion of the Jewish Law to a zealous promotion of the Jesus Christ. In his letters Paul does not repudiate his Jewish roots but indicates that his avidness for the Jewish Law has brought him advantages. He also writes to the Philippians that whatever gains he has achieved for his efforts as a Jew, they are nothing in comparison with knowing Jesus Christ.
Paul does nothing half-heartedly. He gives himself over completely to his goal. For this reason he is capable of accomplishing so much. He not only fulfills the Jesus' mandate to proclaim the gospel to every creature, but also encourages the various communities he has evangelized with sound pastoral letters. He is the consummate activist whose life witnesses completely to Christ and rightly terminates in martyrdom. He will provide us all we need to follow him. And he will lead us to happiness.
Such a model may scare us. “Do I really want to give myself over so completely?” we may ask ourselves. We should keep in mind two considerations when we ask the question. First, Christ does not call most of us to put our heads on the chopping block. Still, we need to get serious about our worship of God and our care for one another. Second, it is Christ who calls each of us by name as sure as he calls, “Saul, Saul,” in the first reading today. He is no mere human being, but the Son of God, our beginning and our end.
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