Saul, My Brother, Regain Your Sight
Introduction
Paul’s conversion must have been a tremendous change of mentality for him, a real conversion. Not only did a Jew who became a Christian at the same time become an outcast to his people, as he was considered a renegade, a traitor, but Paul had also been a rabbi, a Pharisee, a rabid persecutor of Christians.
And now, he follows Jesus. Christ has become his life. Like his Lord, he sits at table with sinners and tax collectors and pagans. From now on, his life is given to Christ and his kingdom, a community in which there is no more distinction between Greek and barbarian, between slaves and free citizens, between men and women, and especially between Jew and non-Jew.
1 Reading: Acts 22:3-16
Paul addressed the people in these words: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison. Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well. “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’ My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’ Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus. “A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘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.'”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 117:1bc, 2
R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. or: Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples! R.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R.
Alleluia: John 15:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel: to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Commentary:
How does it feel to have been schooled in the best of traditions and to pattern many decades of life after what one had learned to be the truth, only to be struck down and left blinded with the realization that all those years one had been fighting the Truth? It takes great courage, humility, and nobility of heart to acknowledge that one was in the wrong and to embrace the Truth that was once the enemy. Paul showed such courage, humility, and nobility of heart.
Is there anyone who does not need conversion? Our conversions might not be as dramatic as Paul’s. Nonetheless, we are constantly challenged by the Truth in its daily revelations, inviting us to review and revise our understanding of God and others. The Truth is not something we hold; the Truth holds us. And we let ourselves be grabbed and surprised by the Truth. And we are called to share with the world this experience of being held by the Truth, as Paul did.
Blessing
After the conversion of Paul, Ananias told him: “You are to be the witness before all humankind of the Just One, Christ, testifying to what you have seen and heard.” We have to testify to the one we have met, Christ, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!