By Leon Bent –
St. Paul is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age. His total ‘turn around’ experience is celebrated on 25th January. St. Paul’s sea change is one of the most important and sea-changing moments in the history of Christianity. It is significant that the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends on the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul.
The story of St. Paul is told repeatedly in the Acts of the Apostles, and then, briefly, in St. Paul’s own correspondence with ‘the Galatians and Corinthians. In the entire history of Christianity, no other spiritual rebirth gets the special coverage, with God Himself as primary Author of the narratives!
Paul attests, “When the blood of your witness, Stephen, was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murders.” (Acts 22:20) What a dramatic change! What a profound course correction! This man who had once facilitated, expedited, and perpetrated the persecution of the followers of Jesus, was now His instrument.
When Paul watched Stephen die a holy death, praying for his persecutors, it had to have an impact on him. And Stephen’s prayer was heard by God. The seed of forgiveness that Stephen planted helped in the conversion of St. Paul! We are all called to be evangelists, to plant seeds of faith wherever we can — in our families and our work places. We never know when something we do or say might transform another, or even bring a great saint and missionary to the Church, like St. Paul.
Paul shows us what metanoia means. Paul’s conversion didn’t only consist of his acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah, but a change of heart. Paul had essentially made a career out of persecuting Christians for their faith. After his experience on the road to Damascus, Paul recognized the folly of his ways, and had a dramatic metamorphosis.
We are all called to spiritual enlightenment. Conversion is not meant only for non-Christians or non-Catholics; divine transfiguration is not something that is only meant for those who have led dramatically sinful lives; conversion is a re-orientation of our wills toward God’s, a change of heart wherein we seek what God wills, and strive to do what He is calling us to do.
A ‘born again’ experience is not something that happens to us once. It is an ongoing change of heart, a perpetual reorientation of our life, to align our wills with that of God. This is something we must strive for, something that we must always be working towards.
Paul’s suffering was absolute and drastic: “…I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Corinthians 11:16-33).
Nevertheless, his love for Jesus’ and his unswerving answer to his call to evangelize the world, was so great that he found it easy to say: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
St. Paul should be our model for a radical change of heart. The Damascus Road experience was both a conversion and a call. It was a sacred resurgence from his previous life as a zealous persecutor of Jesus’ followers and it was a call to a new life advancing the cause of the new movement with even more vigour than he had shown before. Now, with boundless energy, Paul preached the Gospel of Christ crucified for the sins of all people far and wide, beginning at Jerusalem and continuing all the way to Rome. His achievement was a matter of some pride for him.
Luke tells us of three enormous Missionary Journeys, charting [Paul’s] progress from Antioch in Syria and moving westwards through (modern day) Turkey and Greece and finally back to Jerusalem again. For Paul this was a particularly punishing business. Unlike other early Christian missionaries, Paul earned his own living wherever he went. Luke says that he was a tentmaker (Acts 18.3), and Paul often talks about how he combined his preaching of the Gospel with working with his hands (see 1 Corinthians 9).
Saint Paul is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of the Western world. Just a quick look at the headlines of his life are enough to understand his impact; his works are some of the earliest Christian documents that we have, 13 of the 27 books of the Bible are written by him, and he’s the hero of another, Acts of the Apostles.
Now, this gold nugget! Paul’s life was remarkable and there is little doubt that it changed the course of Christianity. He made an impact as apostle, as theologian, and as letter-writer. Paul the apostle had expanded the church far and wide, flinging open the doors to Gentiles. Paul the theologian was the first to work through many of the intriguing questions that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection had thrown up. And Paul the letter-writer gave us not only some of the profoundest pieces of early Christian theological reflection, but also some of the finest, most poignant writing in history.
And, this final flourish! The most passionate and profound day in Paul’s life was when he met the risen Jesus Christ.
The last word! Paul was beheaded outside the walls of Rome on June 29, 67 A.D., and remains one of the Church’s brightest witnesses of revolutionary, self-giving discipleship.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.