Today’s Reading: Acts 9:1-22
Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 1:1-21; Romans 14:1-23
And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think Paul would hate the hymn “Amazing Grace.” “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” It’s literally about Paul, and that’s the problem. Saul, also known as Paul, went to the temple to proclaim Jesus, not himself. Paul doesn’t talk much about his conversion experience, but just continues to confess his sins to the Church he persecuted and clings to Jesus, the Son of God.
I’m a convert. I hate the song, too. Everyone wants to know when the scales fell from my eyes. “Tell me the story of why you’re special.” I’m not. Paul wasn’t, either. He was the enemy. He watched the martyrs die. He persecuted the Church and persecuted the Lord. There’s something in us that wants to think that adult converts have a better story than the children who were baptized early and raised in the faith. Look at what they figured out. Look at how they’ve changed. The thing is Paul still called himself the chief of sinners. It is a glorious thing when God’s gifts are given to the little children He wants brought near Him. I can’t by my own reason or strength believe as a grownup any more than an infant can. It was the Holy Spirit who called us by the Gospel.
God’s mercy is what makes Paul stand out. It has nothing to do with Paul, but everything to do with Christ. Jesus died for an enemy. Jesus spoke to Ananias, who knew how terrible Paul was, and called him to be an instrument of mercy to him. “Amazing Grace” can mean a lot of things to different people. Paul wants everyone to know the details, not of his own story, but that of his Lord. This Jesus, who was crucified? He is the Son of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman
Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for The Conversion of St. Paul)
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