6 May 2016
Saint Paul was a pretty zealous person. Before his conversion, he had no problem
going after the Christians with great vigor.
And after he’d been blinded by the Light of Christ, he was still just as
vigorous—only then as a zealous supporter of Christ. If there’s one image of Saint Paul we carry
with us, it’s an image of a powerful, confident preacher of the gospel.
And so, it seems odd that Jesus had to tell Paul to “be not
afraid. Go on speaking . . . no one will
attack and harm you . . . for I am with you.”
It just seems odd that Jesus would say that to him. But maybe in doing that, Jesus is trying to
show us—today—that even a powerful preacher such as Saint Paul needed encouragement
and strength from God.
If Saint Paul needed Christ’s help, we can pretty much bet
that we’re going to need it as well.
Jesus knows very well that, in sending us out to share God’s message of
love and mercy, he’s not asking us to do something that’s easy. He’s asking us to do something difficult—and he
knows that. And so, he says to us as
well: “Be not afraid. Go on speaking . .
. no one will attack and harm you . . . for I am with you.”
Of course, it’s a test of our trust in God. It’s a test of our trust that Jesus is right
when he says: “You will grieve, but your grief will become joy.” Spreading the gospel—being the presence of
Christ to others—isn’t always easy. But
Jesus says, “Trust me. It’ll turn out
well, even if it’s uncomfortable right now.
Your grief will become joy."
Saint Paul was a zealous preacher of the gospel. But he was even more zealous in his trust in
God’s wisdom. May we follow his example,
and go out and “be Christ” to others—with peace, strength from God, and joy.
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