The Conversion of St. Paul
Acts 26:9-21
Each January 25th the
Anglican Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Conversion of St. Paul. In the rules laid out for such observances,
it gets moved to another day if it falls on a Sunday… except for parishes named
after this great saint, as we are. Using
its appointed lessons and Collect of the Day, St. Paul’s parishes have the
option to celebrate the Conversion today rather than the appointed Third Sunday
after Epiphany. This year we opted to do
this, however the weather has intervened to keep us from being together in
person. No matter, we are taking
advantage of the world wide web to congregate as one in celebration of our
parish’s patron saint. I thought it
might be helpful to use this occasion to take a deep dive into Paul’s
life-story, about which we know some things, but not nearly enough to write a full-length
biography.
Paul is born in the city of Tarsus,
located in present day Turkey not far from where the southern facing coastline
of the Mediterranean makes a pronounced turn to face in a westerly
direction. The city has been in
existence for some 6,000 years, founded by the Hittites who named it after a
god of storms. Its weather tends to be
hot and humid in the summer, chilly and damp in the winter.
In Paul’s day Tarsus is a commerce
and agricultural center with a storied history of academics, boasting a library
of 200,000 books. At the time the city is
adorned with palaces, marketplaces, roads, bridges, fountains, baths,
waterworks, a gymnasium, and a stadium, but no Starbucks as best we know. It is here Mark Antony and Cleopatra first
meet.
Born into a well-to-do Jewish family,
Paul’s parents also are Roman citizens.
Eight days after his birth, he is circumcised and given the name
Saul. This becomes his given name; Paul
is the Roman equivalent which he uses in the Gentile world. We do not know how long he lives in Tarsus or
to what degree it influences his early life.
We do know as a youth he relocates to Jerusalem to study under the
learned Rabbi Gamaliel. It is unclear if
his entire family moves to the Holy City, or if he is sent alone to what we
might think of as a boarding school. It
is here he is trained to be a Pharisee, and he would later testify it is here he
is “taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous
before God.” Acts 22:3
He becomes the modern-day equivalent of the Valedictorian of an Ivy
League school. True to the rabbinic
tradition he learns a trade, opting for the craft of tent-making.
Gamaliel is a celebrated religious
figure whose expertise in the Jewish Law, especially in directives relating to
marriage, is unparalleled in his time.
He is a member of the Sanhedrin and most probably is present when Jesus is
put on trial before this body, although we have record to confirm this. We do
know he is present some months later at a gathering after several of the Apostles
are imprisoned for publically preaching and healing in Jesus’ name. While some officials want to see them
executed, Gamaliel cites the examples of two previous charismatic leaders who also
were executed, after which their followers eventually dispersed. “If this is not of God,” he states to the
body, “It will go away. If it is of God,
nothing we do will be able to stop it.” (See Acts 5)
This tone of measured leniency is
not shared by his young protégée. Paul is
present at and consents to the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr,
which takes place some two years after Jesus’ crucifixion. Now in his mid-twenties, he begins an
aggressive, ruthless campaign to hunt down Christians, overseeing to their incarceration
and severe punishment. Receiving a
letter of permission from the High Priest, he begins a door-to-door fanatical crusade
in Jerusalem but soon widens his efforts.
This is what finds him travelling to the city of Damascus, which lies some
134 miles to the north.
Somewhere along this road an intense
light envelops him and he falls to the ground.
(As a sidenote, renown artists throughout history have depicted Paul and
his companions riding on horseback, his stead being white. They portray the light sending these huge beasts
into a spoked frenzy causing Paul to be thrown from his mount. There is, however, no mention of horses in
the biblical account to verify this minor detail.) Jesus appears to Paul in the midst of this
light, and speaks to him, calling him by name.
Paul loses his sight at the end of the encounter and is taken to a house
in Damacus where, blinded, he prays and fasts for three days.
The Spirit calls a devout Christian
man of the city, Ananias, to visit Saul.
Once there, Ananias relates what the Lord has told him – Paul is to be God’s
chosen instrument to proclaim the name of Jesus to Gentiles, kings, and the
people of Israel. Ananias lays his hands
on Paul and prays over him, causing something like scales fall from his eyes,
restoring his sight. He is baptized and introduced
to the local Christian community. Soon
thereafter he begins to preach. It is
then the persecutor becomes the persecuted and word reaches Paul he has enemies
who have hatched a plan to kill him, locking the city gates to assure he cannot
escape. Under the cover of darkness his
new friends lower him in a basket from the city wall so he can slip away.
From this moment forward Paul preaches
in the name of Jesus with far greater zeal than he campaigned against him before. During the next 25+ years he visits the
saints in Jerusalem, travels the Northeast Mediterranean region, founds numerous
churches, and becomes the first person to take the gospel into present-day
Europe. Unlike the other Apostles, many
of whom are simple fisherman by trade, Paul’s upbringing and training make him uniquely
qualified to proclaim the gospel to the wider world. Throughout it all he utilizes his skill as a
tentmaker to procure the finances necessary to fund his endeavors.
Paul’s ministry is filled with ups
and downs, highs and lows. He knows
preaching successes and utter failures. Some
of the churches he founds flourish, others are rift with squabbles and dissension. He personally endures much, writing this to
the church in Corinth of experiences…
I have been in prison frequently,
been flogged severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once
pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in
the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger
from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false
believers. I have labored and toiled and
have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and often have
gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all
my churches. 2 Cor. 11:23-28
Eventually
Paul is arrested and put through a series of trials. When, in his defense, he reveals he is a
Roman citizen, he is granted an audience before the Emperor. This legal process affords him the
opportunity to preach the gospel to the highest levels of government and
authority, eventually appearing before Nero.
Tradition holds the Emperor orders him to be execution by beheading in
Rome at a date sometime around 65 AD. It
is said to be a more humane means of death than crucifixion, which Peter endures
not long after.
St. Paul is arguably the most significant missionary in the history of the Church. No one has had more influence on our understanding of the Christian faith, other than Jesus himself. With the advent of the printing press, Paul’s writings contained in Holy Scripture become readily available and his teaching salvation is achieved by grace through faith alone fuels the Reformation movement of the 16th Century, relieving the faithful of numerous abuses prevalent in throughout the Church at the time. Paul’s theology, pastoral words, and overall witness continue to be used by God’s Spirit to draw people into the faith as well as to guide, comfort and encourage those of us who have embraced the call of discipleship. No doubt his influence will endure and this day will be celebrated until the day our Lord returns to claim us all.
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