Persecution

Homily for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

The story of St. Paul’s conversion appears no fewer than six times in the Christian Scriptures. The story is told three times in the Acts of the Apostles and is repeated in St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, and in both St. Paul’s First and Second Letter to the Corinthians. However, as you might expect, the details of the various stories are sometimes conflicting. Nonetheless, St. Paul’s conversion is one of the more striking and radical conversions in salvation history, but we all face moments of decision and conversion throughout our day.

Although the accounts that appear in the Acts of the Apostles seem to indicate that St. Paul’s conversion was swift and complete, St. Paul’s own account of his conversion implies that it was something that developed over time. He speaks of his sojourn in Arabia after which he returned to Damascus. After three years, he sought the approval of St. Peter before he began preaching. His time in Arabia was spent solidifying his faith before he began to preach.

If we consider change in our own lives, I am sure that we will find that change happens slowly. Our mobility, our hearing, our eyesight, and our general health do not change overnight. We gradually lose strength, and our health gradually diminishes as we grow older. Spiritual change is very much like physical changes in our lives. Conversion does not happen quickly. St. Paul’s testimony to the time that it took him to solidify his faith is important for us to remember. The Church understands this truth about conversion. For that reason, it encourages us to encounter Jesus frequently and often as our relationship with him develops just as slowly as our relationships with other human beings.

The Gospel story that we hear today seems to validate this conclusion. Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary as he makes his way toward Jerusalem. It is fairly obvious in the telling of this story that Martha has not yet come to an understanding of what is, in the words of Jesus, the better part while her sister has come to that realization. Our daily celebration of the Eucharist offers us many valuable opportunities to solidify our faith and to build our relationship with Jesus.