Weekly Reflection
January 25th to 31st
The Conversion of St Paul
Readings: Acts 1:1-19
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Let us for a moment put ourselves into the shoes of Ananias, basically scared stiff of what the old pre-converted Saul could do. Then place this story into a modern-day setting; if we reflect briefly on the politics and fanaticism of the Islamic State we can see that in some parts of the world today this is not so very far-fetched. I wonder how we would react if we were living in, say, Iraq or Syria, and there were Islamist Extremists roaming the streets and killing all the Christians they could find.
Of course, as strong faithful Christian believers we would stand firm for Jesus, wouldn't we?
Would we? I wonder.
Deuteronomy 33:25 says “The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.” This last phrase is commonly interpreted as You will be given the necessary resources to face each challenge as it arrives. Also 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “[God] will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it”.
I cannot know in advance how I would respond if this situation were to arise. I try to live close to God, inspired 24/7 by His Holy Spirit (a serious challenge in itself), so I believe that He will protect me as necessary: in this context I think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3.
Would I stand firm?
Would you?
I can readily identify with Ananias, who may have thought God was actually sending him to imprisonment, perhaps even death.
But a more likely scenario for us today is that of being verbally bullied and abused for our faith, at work or at school.
I return to the need for preparedness; as committed Christians we need daily to include a time of prayer and Bible study so that we are equipped to face the assaults of the devil, who masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).
Here then is our challenge: it is good to be certain of our salvation[1], but this implies a constant filling with the Holy Spirit each day like the manna in Exodus 16. It is also good to fit ourselves with the Armour of God in Ephesians 6:10-17 so that we are spiritually equipped for battle with the devil when circumstances call for it.
If you are interested to see more detail on this you could read the relevant chapters of my e-book, The Holy Spirit in your life, Chapters 8 and 9 (these last two numbers link directly to the relevant chapters).
But today is about the excitement of Paul’s conversion. In Acts 9:15 Saul is described as a chosen instrument. In Acts 13:9 we first see Saul become known as Paul (Latin Paulus, Greek Paulos, meaning small or insignificant. That great man described himself as the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9)!
As we know, the Christian believer Paul spent His life after Conversion evangelising the known world; he wrote letters to new churches which comprised almost half of the books in the New Testament, or about a quarter of its total words. Most of his writings are now accepted as standard Christian doctrine, but there are different interpretations of how to apply these.[2]
We thank you Lord for the foundational material written by Paul; we pray that as we grow as your faithful servants you will help us to understand and apply his teachings in our own lives, always remembering that the direct teachings and commands of Jesus are supreme. We praise you Lord for this wonderful resource. Amen.
[1] The main verse to support this claim is Romans 10:9, but see also other verses including John 3:16 and John 10:27-30.