Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

Lectionary: 519

Then Ananias said to Paul,
“The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will,
to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;
for you will be his witness before all
to what you have seen and heard.
Now, why delay?
Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away,
calling upon his name.’”

Saint Paul’s letters are the oldest writings of the New Testament, written even before the four gospels appeared. One can search his letters with a fine-tooth comb and find few references to the life and teachings of Christ. It seems that Paul knew of his ceremonial last supper, death by crucifixion and resurrection – and little else. But he knew what he had “seen and heard’ -- especially that the Lord had called him personally as he traveled to Damascus -- and he spoke freely of that.

Today, everyone has heard of Jesus. If those who don’t know the Lord want anything from us, they want to know if we’re honest. They ask, “How has the Lord changed your life?” and “Has the Lord washed your sins away?”

Members of Alcoholics Anonymous sometimes remind one another, “You may be the only Big Book another alcoholic will ever meet.” We have to do more than talk about Jesus; we have to show him. That may be through acts of courtesy, hospitality and kindness; it may also be through telling the “gospel” of your own life.

Parents especially should tell their children what the Lord has done for them. My dad did not mention the name of Jesus when he told me “the facts of life.” In fact, he never quite got around to the biology of it all! But he did tell me the story of “your mother and I.” Although Dad had served in the United States Marine Corp during WW2; and mother had, by her own count, “innumerable” boyfriends; they were virgins when they married.

That kind of witness makes a difference in a young man's life. The Lord had done wonders for them and continued to do so when their firstborn was stillborn, when the economy tanked and Dad was laid off, and when the young couple struggled to find agreement.

You will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. I believe it is everyone's destiny to discover his and her life story is a gospel story. But that may not be apparent yet. We have all suffered painful events of which we cannot speak: things we have done, things done to us. When the stories are brought to light, the wounds can be healed.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John must have struggled mightily to get the story of Jesus right -- especially the story of his trial, torture, crucifixion and death. How painful was it for them to dig up that awful truth again, write it on paper and read it to their congregations? Like our American culture, the Roman Empire despised weakness. It made a practice of humiliating, shaming and destroying opposition. How often, we might wonder, were the disciples tempted to cover up the truth about Jesus, that he was crucified like a common criminal?

The "Conversion of Saint Paul" serves as a template for all of us. We confess our sins not only in the darkness of the confessional but at the dinner table, in the living room, by our desks and workbenches. And then we tell how our sins were washed away as we called upon his name.