Paul had been a persecutor of the disciples of Christ. He was present at the stoning of Stephen. In fact, in the reading we heard from Acts last week, we heard that Paul (who was then called Saul) consented to the execution of Stephen. Paul, before his conversion, searched out the followers of Jesus and had them arrested for practicing their faith. Then, after a miraculous epiphany in which the voice of Jesus cried out to him, Paul became one of the great missionaries of the early Church. I think it is safe to say that Christianity would not be what it is today if it was not for Paul and his enthusiasm.
Paul did not know Jesus directly during his earthly ministry. He was not present at Christ’s crucifixion or at his resurrection. Yet, Paul has become a believer, and his voice cries out to us today, summarizing our belief in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the salvation we receive from him.
We meet Jesus in different ways and different forms on our earthly journey in our modern world. Jesus' death and resurrection was 2,000 years ago, but the risen Christ is here with us today. Christ calls out to us today in the Gospel today: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” We may be very troubled at what we see going on in our world today, but he tells us to have faith and hope.
Our faith harkens back to Christ’s life and ministry, to his rising from the dead, but our faith also lives in the present. Pope Francis spoke about the Holy Spirit in a homily he gave during the Easter season, how the Spirit moves us and pushes us forward. Sometimes this can make us uncomfortable and uneasy, but our faith is not to make us complacent but rather shake us up sometimes, the way the Holy Spirit pushed Paul from being a prosecutor of Christians to a brave missionary of the faith. We may want to tame the Spirit that is working within us, but we must not forget that the Spirit can move us in unexpected and surprising ways.
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