Following the Way

Homily for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

We sometimes refer to people who are so convinced that their way is the only way as being “up on their high horse.” Saul of Tarsus certainly fits the definition of someone who is up on his high horse as he is convinced that his way is the only way. He is so convinced that he is actively pursuing people who do not fit his notion of a good Jew and arresting them to bring before the Jewish Sanhedrin for judgment. As we all know, while he was on his way to Damascus in pursuit of people who were living out their conviction in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he was stunned by a great light. Although the Scriptures say nothing about a horse, if you try to find a painting of this event, you will notice that every artist depicts this scene as Saul being knocked off his horse. The fact of the matter is that horses were not the ordinary means of transportation in first century Palestine.

Indeed, Saul was knocked to the ground by a great light, a light so bright that it left him blinded. As St. Luke relates this story in his “Acts of the Apostles,” he is, no doubt, using the imagery of a great light and blindness as a means of communicating the fact that Saul was like the blind Pharisees that Jesus encountered in the Gospels.

Ironically, at this point in the history of Christianity, following Jesus meant following “The Way.” It wasn’t until Saul became Paul and began preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles that following Jesus became known as Christianity. So great was the change that this event brought about in the life of Saul that even his name was changed. We know him as Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Throughout the Gospels, blindness is used as a metaphor for people who simply will not see what is right before them. This is most clearly elucidated in the Gospel of St. John. After Jesus gives sight to the man born blind, he enters into a debate with the Pharisees who accused him of being a sinner because he healed the man on the Sabbath. It is at this time that Jesus announces: “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”

As conversion stories go, this story is certainly one of the most dramatic. However, it is important for us to realize that this story is not simply recounted as an historical episode, but rather to instill in us the fact that all of us need to undergo conversion. Let us never forget that the very first words in the Gospel of St. Mark feature John the Baptist inviting those who hear him to his baptism of repentance.