Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 / Mark 16:15-18
Of all the
27 books in the New Testament, 13 are attributed to St. Paul, and the
book of the Acts of the Apostles has many accounts of what St. Paul did
and said.
The
letters of St. Paul describes the meaning of a Christian life and
spirituality. There is no doubt that the letters of St. Paul was very
influential in the time of the early Church as well as even now.
What is
really surprising is that St. Paul, when he was known as Saul before his
conversion, was a feared persecutor of Christians and that he was even
sent by the high priest and the whole council of the Jewish elders to
the neighbouring Damascus to capture Christians and bring them back to
Jerusalem for punishment.
What is
even more surprising is that Jesus would choose such a man, who was
there at the stoning of St. Stephen, and with so much blood of
Christians in his hands.
So it was
there on the road to Damascus that a bright light shone around Saul and
he fell to the ground and he heard a voice and then he realized that in
persecuting Christians he was actually persecuting Jesus, and
subsequently he was struck blind.
And it was
ironic that he was healed of his blindness by a Christian called
Annanias. The very people that he persecuted was also the ones who
healed him.
The
conversion of St. Paul reminds us of what Jesus taught us in the gospel -
to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.
As much as
the Christians at that time feared Saul the persecutor, they prayed for
him and he became St. Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles.
And in the account of the healing of St. Paul's blindness, it was also a Christian who healed him.
So let us
believe that in praying for our enemies, Jesus will shine His light
on them. May we also be courageous to offer them healing and
reconciliation.