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“No one has known Christ better than
St. Paul.” No one – not even John, the beloved disciple, not even
Peter. It was the apostle Paul who knew him best. This is what St.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the Church fathers wrote in the fourth
century. At first glance, what St. Gregory says about St. Paul
seems to be off base. After all, how can Paul even be considered an
apostle? He was not one of the twelve apostles and when the
apostles were following the Lord – Paul instead was nowhere to be
found, perhaps unaware, maybe even disdainful of Jesus. Paul was a
devout Pharisee, not a follower of Christ.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection,
Paul persecuted the Christians and was even present at the stoning
of the first Christian martyr St. Stephen (Acts 7:58). By his own
admission, Paul persecuted the Church of God vigorously and
mercilessly.
Then something happened. Whether he
was on a horse or not, we don’t know – though that is a common image
of Paul on the road to Damascus. We do know that something earth
shaking took place while Paul was on the road. There was a blinding
light and a voice – “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Paul
asked, “Who are you sir?” The response: “I am Jesus, who you are
persecuting” (Acts 9:1-22).
Everything changed for Paul. Paul
heard and he believed; he knew that Jesus had called him by name to
follow him. Paul had not known Jesus in person, but always asserted
that he received the Gospel not from man, but by the direct
revelation of Jesus Christ. He claimed that he was an apostle as
much as the twelve apostles who Jesus had called to follow Him
during his public ministry.
We who live 2,000 years after the
birth of St. Paul can learn much from his life. What specifically
can we learn from this apostle who is said to have known Christ
best?
I offer three possible lessons from
the life of St. Paul –
1) There is hope for all of us who
strive to do the good but sometimes fall short. Sometimes I think
we look at the saints and say – “They had it easy; they had it all
figured out.” Paul didn’t. He sinned boldly, persecuting the
Church even to the point of trying to annihilate Christian
believers, even to the point of “persecuting Jesus” himself.
St. Paul gives us all hope. Maybe
there is someone you know who is like Paul before his
conversion–someone who has lost the way or maybe never found the way
of Christ. I’ve met people like this. They say, “What’s the
point? What’s the point of going to Mass; what’s the point of going
to confession; I’ve done so much wrong; I could never be forgiven; I
could never come back to the Church.”
None of that is true. St. Paul’s life
is a brilliant example of the power of God’s grace, God’s truth
acting in the human heart, transforming a heart of selfishness and
sinfulness into one of love and joy in the Holy Spirit. And Paul is
not unique; some of the greatest saints – the most heroic men and
women in the history of the Church – have been the most hardened
sinners.
Pray through the intercession of St.
Paul for those who may think they are too far lost, too far gone to
approach God and the sacraments of His Church. And remind those who
think they are too far gone, that no one is outside the reach of
God’s mercy.
2) Be prepared for difficulties and
persecution. Paul’s life clearly shows that living the Gospel,
preaching the Gospel is no easy task. Remember the description of
Paul’s ministry contained in the Second Letter to the Corinthians:
“Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus
one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three
times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day in the deep; on
frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, robbers, dangers from my
own race and from Gentiles, dangers in the city, in the wilderness,
at sea, and among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many
sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent
fasting, and cold and exposure” (2 Cor 11:24-27).
Paul preached the Gospel despite all
the inconveniences; all of the hardships. Should we expect
anything different? Should we expect good fortune, popularity and
honors because we bear the name Christian? It seems from the
example of St. Paul we should expect quite the opposite. But as
Paul reminds us, suffering for Christ has a purpose -- for power is
made perfect in weakness. As much as we suffer for Him, we become
more like Him.
3) In imitation of Christ we need to
empty ourselves; to shed our egos. It’s not about us; we only point
to the Lord. I am reminded of one of the more comical accounts from
the Acts of the Apostles involving Paul and Barnabas when they were
on their first missionary journey: “There was a crippled man who had
never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. Paul looked intently
at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a
loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet." The man jumped up and
began to walk about. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they
thought that Paul and Barnabas were gods. They cried out, "The gods
have come down to us in human form." They called Barnabas ‘Zeus’
and Paul they called ‘Hermes.’ They intended to offer sacrifice to
them. The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments when they
heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, "Why are you
doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We
proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these false
idols to the living God” (Acts 14:8-15).
This story of the people bowing down
to Paul and Barnabas in worship is comical to picture because we
know that Paul and his companion were not about self-gain or
self-promotion. They were not preaching the importance of
themselves but of Christ and His Good News. But consider for a
moment the temptation. Would it not have been easy for them to
accept the accolades, the praise from the people? Instead, they
said, do not praise us but the living and true God who is Jesus.
And that is the challenge for us who serve God --- to empty
ourselves and allow Him to speak through us, to make ourselves
instruments of Him.
In conclusion, let’s return to our
earlier question. Is it right to say, “No one has known Christ
better than St. Paul”? Though Paul never knew Jesus during his time
on earth, he knew Jesus intimately. He knew Him in the faith and
trust that came from his conversion; he knew Him through the
persecution and trials that brought him closer to His Cross; and he
knew Him when he humbled himself refusing to accept the praise of
this world, only desiring to preach Christ to others. May we grow
in the knowledge and love of the Lord like Paul did, taking
encouragement and strength from his example.
St.
Paul, the Apostle, pray for us! |
