Paul had been a persecutor of Jesus’
followers. He was present at the stoning
of Stephen. He searched out the
followers of Jesus and had them arrested for practicing their faith. Then, after a miraculous conversion 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 during his
earthly ministry. He was not present at
the crucifixion or at the 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. Our faith harkens back to Christ’s life and
ministry, to his rising from the dead, but our faith also lives in the reality
of the world today. In a recent homily,
Pope Francis spoke about how the Holy 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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