By Colleen O’Sullivan
On his journey, as (Saul) was nearing
Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice
saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting. Now get up and go into the
city and you will be told what you must do.”
There was a disciple in Damascus named
Ananias. The Lord said to him, “Get up
and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man
from Tarsus named Saul. He is
praying… So Ananias went and entered the
house; laying his hands on him, he said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent
me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain
your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his
sight. He got up and was baptized. (Acts 9:3-6,
10a, 11, 17-18)
Piety
Lord, we give you thanks for those who have helped
to shape and guide us as we seek to follow your Way.
Study
There’s a proverb that says “it takes a village to raise a child.” It’s equally true that it takes a community
to form a Christian. Conversion and
transformation begin with God, but the process always continues through us, the
church.
I don’t know anyone with quite as dramatic a conversion story as the
apostle Paul’s. On his way to Damascus,
intent on persecuting followers of the Way in that city, Saul, as he was known
at that time, is stopped dead in his tracks.
Bright light surrounds him. He
falls to the ground and hears a voice calling to him, which turns out to be the
voice of Jesus. The Lord identifies
himself as the one whom Saul is persecuting. Whenever evil is inflicted upon the least of
Jesus’ brothers and sisters, Jesus suffers with them. Jesus tells Saul, who has been blinded, to
continue to Damascus, which he does with the help of the men traveling with
him.
After three days, Jesus enlists the aid of the fledgling church in the
city. He appears to Ananias in a vision,
telling him where to find Saul. Very
reluctantly, Ananias, as a representative of the Damascus Christian community,
agrees to go to him and to pray over him for healing of his blindness. Saul’s reputation has preceded him, and
Ananias is afraid of this man who’s known for his rabid hatred and persecution
of Christians. Through the laying on of
hands, the apostle is filled with the Holy Spirit. He regains his sight. He is washed clean in the waters of baptism. The believers then offer him sustenance,
because he has eaten nothing since keeling over on the road.
In this story, I think we can see a paradigm for conversion and
transformation. Whether we’re talking
about a major turn-around from unbelief to faith or one of the many “mini”
conversions we may experience as we grow in understanding of what it means to
follow the Way, it all begins with God.
It is God’s grace that opens our hearts to Jesus. God’s grace may come in the form of tough
love, as witnessed in today’s reading from the Book of Acts. I can’t think of any other way God could have
gotten the attention of that zealous persecutor of Christians than to literally
knock him down and stop him dead in his violent tracks. More often, though, God’s grace comes in
gentler forms, creating desire for and openness to God in our hearts.
But that’s only the beginning.
Transformation is a process and we, the Church, the Body of Christ on
earth, are asked to help one another as we seek to follow the Way. Sometimes that means praying for others’
healing. It means living lives that can
serve as a conduit of the Holy Spirit to our brothers and sisters. It means being willing to forgive as we are
forgiven. It means offering mercy and
sustenance to the stranger, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the
imprisoned.
Action
As you’re praying today, recall and give thanks for all those who have
helped or are helping you to be conformed to Christ and to follow his Way.
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