Acts 9:1-20 / John 6:52-59
One of the common traits in people is stubbornness.
For a stubborn person, it is almost impossible to change his mind.
Even if all the facts show that he is wrong, he may not even budge.
It is quite amazing the conviction that a stubborn person has .
In the 1st reading, Saul was so resolute about his conviction that only way of stopping the spread of Christianity was by capturing and slaughtering the Lord’s disciples.
Nothing could change his mind, until that strange encounter on the road to Damascus.
That voice asking him "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" was enough to break his conviction.
But even before that, the prayer of the Christian community cannot be discounted.
They would have prayed for protection against Saul, and in a way, they may have also slipped in a prayer for his conversion, which they thought may have been unlikely.
Even Ananias was hesitant when the Lord told him to go to lay his hands on Saul to give him back his sight.
This account in the history of the early Church tells us this.
In life, we will encounter wicked people doing evil deeds and we are affected.
We must turn to the Lord and pray for protection.
At the same time, we also must pray for the conversion of wicked sinners.
The Lord will do His part in breaking their stubbornness and lead them to conversion.
We then must do our part in accepting them and help them see the beautiful love of God.