HOMILY FOR THURSDAY 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [YEAR B] - FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [YEAR B]

FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL

THEME: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA

READINGS OF THE DAY
Acts 22:3-16
Psalm 116
Mark 16:15-18

LITURGICAL COLOUR
WHITE

INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.
We commemorate in a special way, the moment when one of the fiercest and most brutal enemies of the early Christians, Saul the young Pharisee, had a total and complete conversion of heart and mind, and turned into one of Christianity’s greatest champion and defender of the Gentiles and a very important part of the early Church and its missions in spreading the Good News of God.

FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we hear that, before the risen Lord appeared to Paul on the road outside Damascus, he was a very religious person. As a devoted Jew, he really wanted to do God’s will. That is why he persecuted the members of the church. He saw them as Jews who had gone off the rails and who could easily lead other Jews astray if they weren’t stopped. Yet, in persecuting this group of Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah, he was actually persecuting Jesus himself who was God’s beloved Son. This was the discovery he made when, Jesus, the risen Lord, appeared to him in a bright light and Paul heard Jesus ask him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ Jesus didn’t ask Paul, ‘Why are you persecuting my followers?’ The risen Lord identified himself so closely with his followers that to persecute them was to persecute him. Paul was persecuting the members of Jesus’ body.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM OUR FIRST READING?
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle reminds us all that no one is beyond God’s grace and love, and His power and forgiveness can bring us out even from the darkest and deepest depth of our sins and waywardness, as long as we are willing to commit ourselves to this path of reconciliation and forgiveness. St. Paul showed us all that each and every one of us as Christians have the potential for great things in whatever we do, in the various areas of our lives and the commitments and responsibilities that we have in life. What matters is for us all to listen to the Lord and to respond to His call with faith.

FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling all of His disciples that He was sending all of them to go forth and to proclaim the truth of God, and the Good News of His salvation, to the peoples of all the nations. He reminded them all of the responsibilities and the missions that they had been entrusted with, the commission to reach out to all the people of all the nations to call them to embrace God’s love and truth, and to baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. At the same time, He also reassured them that they would be protected and guided throughout their journey, and they would be taken care of. In the end, even while they might have to suffer, being persecuted and even martyred, as what had happened to St. Paul himself, therefore, each and every one of us are also reminded that we should continue to trust in the Lord and put our faith in Him, while doing what He has commanded and entrusted to us to do.

CONCLUSION
Paul’s experience teaches us that the more we grow in our relationship with God the Father and his Son Jesus, the more expansive our heart will become and the broader our horizon will become. As we open ourselves more fully to God as God really is, to God as Love, then we will relate to others in ways that bring people together in all their diversity. We will no longer feel threatened by those who are different from us but we will open ourselves to what God can teach us through them, while sharing with them the treasure of the gospel that brings joy to our lives.
Happy Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.

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