Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20

Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priest and asked him

for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,

if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,

he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,

a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

He said, “Who are you, sir?”

The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,

for they heard the voice but could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground,

but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;

so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.

For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,

and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight

and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.

He is there praying,

and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias

come in and lay his hands on him,

that he may regain his sight.”

But Ananias replied,

“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,

what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests

to imprison all who call upon your name.”

But the Lord said to him,

“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine

to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,

and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name."

So Ananias went and entered the house;

laying his hands on him, he said,

"Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,

Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,

that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes

and he regained his sight.

He got up and was baptized,

and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.

He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,

and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,

that he is the Son of God.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have generously bestowed the beginning of eternal life upon me. I did nothing to merit this grace and initial share in your life. Help me to collaborate with your grace so that I may attain the consummation of heavenly glory.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Incorporation of Saul into the Body of Christ: Saul was called to form part of the Body of Christ. Saul was passionate by temperament, learned in Sacred Scripture, and a man of conviction. God wanted all these talents to be placed at the service of the Gospel. Saul was an instrument chosen by God and will be the one to carry the name of the Lord to the Gentiles and the children of Israel. Saul will “open the eyes of the people so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith” (Acts 26:18). Saul was baptized by Ananias. This was his incorporation into the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Saul will suffer for the name of Jesus: he was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned on account of the Gospel. He will ultimately give his life for Christ through martyrdom. He encountered the risen Christ and now shares in Christ’s resurrection. 

2. Saul’s Conversion: As a Pharisee, Saul believed that the covenant in Deuteronomy had been violated by Israel, and this is why Israel was experiencing the curses of that covenant, especially the curse of oppression by the Gentiles (Deuteronomy 28). Saul “feared that deviation from the Deuteronomic Law would bring further divine punishment and sought strict observance of the Law in order to repair the covenant. Only when Israel had become holy through the observance of the Law would God send the Messiah to restore the Kingdom” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 89). All of this changed for Saul with his encounter with the risen Jesus. He understood that Jesus was the Messiah and that he needed to spread that message. A few days after his baptism, Saul began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. This manifested the grace of Christ at work. 

3. Building Up the Body of Christ: Saul used to go from synagogue to synagogue, persecuting the Body of Christ; now he goes from synagogue to synagogue, building up the Body of Christ. “Saul lost no time in fulfilling his new mission to witness to Jesus. During the period in which he remained with the disciples in Damascus, he began at once to preach and proclaim the Jesus whose followers he had previously persecuted. He directly confronted the Jews, his former allies, in the synagogues, announcing that Jesus is the Son of God” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, 157). It would take centuries for the Church to unpack more fully the mystery of Jesus’ divine sonship. Here, Paul preaches that Jesus is the royal messiah, who, as the Son of David, is an adopted son of God (Psalm 2:7). Saul “grew all the stronger” as he preached in Damascus and proved, through Scripture, that Jesus was the Messiah. As a Pharisee, Saul “had been convinced that Jesus could not be the Messiah because he had died the death of crucifixion and was under its curse (Deut 21:23). By seeing Jesus alive, he was compelled to accept that Jesus is indeed the Messiah who has freely taken our curse upon himself (Gal 3:13)” (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, 157).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am a member of your Body. Help me to know my place and my role in that Body. Help me to work to build up the Church and spread the seed of the Kingdom of God throughout the world so that it may grow in justice, peace, and charity.

Living the Word of God: How am I building up the Body of Christ? What talents and gifts is God asking me to place at the service of his kingdom?