PRAY: Paul’s prayer for the Philippians (Phil 1:9-11). Pray for yourself, your faith community, and those in your life for whom you give thanks because of their sharing in the Gospel.
PONDER:
Many people title this story the “Conversion” of Saul / Paul. Paul never refers to this experience in his life as a conversion, instead, he uses the word “Call”. Why do you think this is? What is the difference between the two words?
Acts 9 is the narrative of Paul’s call. In all of the other passages above, Paul is recounting this experience for a particular purpose. Under what circumstances (for what reasons) does Paul tell his call story?
Paul tells his story a little different (with a different focus) each time. What are the common (core) elements in each telling?
Why do you suppose Paul tailors the way he tells his call story for his various audiences? Is one more accurate or true than another? Why or why not?
Whether or not we’ve seen a “bright light,” we all experience a call from God. Paul is able to narrate his call by looking back on his life and identifying formative experiences in his faith, leading up to his life changing call. Where have you experienced God forming you in your faith life?
Is there one moment (or moments) you can point to as your call to follow Jesus? How (in what ways) is God calling you to serve Christ? How (in what ways) did God call Paul to serve?
DO: Tell your call story to someone else this week. (Talking about it might help you compose your call story and identify God’s calling for you more clearly).
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2 comments:
Saul called Paul
“The whole story is not about Saul’s successful quest for God, but about the grace of God that transforms a persecutor into a missionary” (Boring & Craddock, The People’s New Testament Commentary, 398).
Paul puts this in his own words in 1 Corinthians 15:10-11.
How would you tell your life story (your call) as God’s story, rather than your own?
In defense of himself (and Christianity), Paul identifies clearly with Judaism (cf. Acts 21:37-22:21; 26:1-23). All Jews, as subjects of the Roman Empire, experienced some degree of persecution and mistreatment; however, as a religion, they were also afforded certain protections under the law. Judaism was an authorized religion in the Empire, which meant that to be a Jew – to practice this religion, preach it, and convert to it, was not a crime. This was not so with “new” religions, considered to be a threat to the Empire. If Christianity were identified as a new religion, it would not have benefited from such protections, and the simple state of “being a Christian” would be a crime. During Paul’s lifetime, Christians were a part of Judaism as a whole. Therefore, Paul was never “converted” to believe in God, but rather, called to affirm Christ as the decisive manifestation of God in our world. In preaching the Gospel to Jews, Christian missionaries were calling for reform, not conversion.
Compare this with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.
With our ongoing call to reform the Church today?
What does this say of our relationship with our Jewish brothers and sisters?
Among the Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the greatest objection to those among them who believed Jesus was the Messiah was not on this point, but on the observance of Jewish ritual law among Gentile converts, especially in regards to circumcision (cf. Philippians 3:2-3). Christians took these objections to be an affront to their overall faith in Jesus as the Christ who commanded such inclusivity; Jews took Christian resistance as an affront to the existence and integrity of the people of Israel, and therefore acted to defend themselves against such a threat to their identity and religion.
Paul argues that the Christian faith doesn’t go beyond the Jewish Scriptures (cf. Acts 26:22; 1 Cor. 15:3). The difference is in how the Scriptures are interpreted. And like the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24), Paul had previously studied the Scriptures in depth, and yet did not understand how they pointed to Christ until the Risen Christ revealed this to him on the road to Damascus.
Read Acts 21:37-40. In what ways are we, as missionaries for Christ, called to be “bilingual” -- to speak both the language of our faith (for Paul, Hebrew) and of our culture (for Paul, Greek)?
Great commentary, thank you. I was actually just doing a google search on Paul - couldn't remember if he was converted on the road to Emmaus or Damascus!
Your questions and commentary were very thought-provoking. I enjoyed your exploration of the historical context of Christ's day. I especially liked the discussion of Judaism and Christianity, given the mutual exclusivity with which the two are so often regarded.
Keep up the Good Work!
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