REFLECTIONS TODAY
The last word of the risen Jesus to the Eleven (Apostles) is to go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. This was carried not just by the Apostles but also by the other “witnesses of the word” (Lk 1:2), foremost of whom was Saul from Tarsus whose conversion to Paul the Apostle we celebrate today.
Paul would speak of his “conversion” as a prophetic call: “[God], who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles” (Gal 1:15-16). Paul is convinced that his mission is among the Gentiles, even as Peter and the Apostles are for the Jews. But the mission is one: “For the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles” (Gal 2:8).
Luke writes that before his ascension, Jesus tasks the Eleven, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Following this trajectory, he describes the spread of faith and the growth of the Christian community in Jerusalem and Judea and the conversion of the Samaritans, with focus on Simon Peter and the Apostles.
But in the second half of Acts, when the Good News is being preached in Antioch, Galatia, Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia, and up to Rome — predominantly Gentile territories—focus is all on St. Paul and his companions.
First Reading • Acts 22:3-16 [or 9:1-22]
Paul addressed the people in these words: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison. Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.
“On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’
My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’ Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.
“A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him.
Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.’ ”
Gospel • Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Source: “366 Days with the Lord 2024,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.