Conversion

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of Paul, a story apparently so significant in the early church that it appears twice in the Acts of the Apostles. You may click here to read both versions.

Here's the plot summary: Saul, an educated Jew, was energetically persecuting the early Christians. On his way to Damascus, he was struck blind and heard the voice of Jesus call out to him. He was led to Damascus where Ananias, a leading Jewish Christian, restored his sight. He recovered, was baptized, took on the name "Paul" and eventually became a tireless preacher for the religion he had just recently opposed.
The Statute of the Conversion of St. Paul stands in front of the Seminary of the Missionary Society of St. Paul in Abuja, Nigeria.
 The words from the sky, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" were foundational to Paul's ecclesiology (view of church) - recognizing not only the reality that we become members of the Body of Christ through our baptism, but also the myriad implications of that great mystery.

This event brings up so many things to ponder:

• Have you ever felt 'knocked off your horse', suddenly and keenly aware that something HAD to change in your life?
• Who was "Ananias" for you during that time?
• If God could forgive Saul's persecutions, is there any forgiveness God would withhold from us?
  
• How do you think the early Christians felt when Paul suddenly joined them, and even preached to them?
• Are you able to give people a 'second chance'?
• How well are you doing living as the Body of Christ in our world?
• How well do you recognize and treat others as the Body of Christ?

Today in Scripture

Luke 19: 1-10
At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.


When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

Children love the story of Zacchaeus: a grown man, sitting in a tree! They can identify with his struggle to see over a crowd, and are delighted that Jesus would pick him to spend time with. As adults, we often read this as an example of conversion, as evidenced by the closing words of Jesus in the passage. And as a conversion story, it is a good and powerful one: our encounter with Jesus evokes a self-assessment that hopefully leads to a change for the better in how we live our lives.

Consider, though that "Zacchaeus" in Hebrew means 'pure, innocent'. The man is rich, but not necessarily greedy or dishonest. He was disliked because he oversaw the collection of taxes for the Roman occupiers. And while most translations use the future tense for his charitable intentions, John Pilch in "The Cultural World of Jesus - Cycle C" asserts that the present tense is more accurate and is descriptive of a repeated practice... Zacchaeus has been generous all along.  And don't miss that word "if"  -- he's asserting innocence of cheating, but will take responsibility if he discovers that his employees have cheated - repaying 400%, when Jewish law only required a 120% restitution.

So, is the salvation of this story a matter of restoring an innocent man's reputation, of changing his heart and way of life, or of challenging us all not to judge by appearance?  Perhaps 'yes' to all!