The Conversion of Paul 2024

Conversion is a lifelong process. There are usually special moments in the course of that journey. This was no different for St Paul of Tarsus. Today we remember that event, as recorded in today’s reading from Acts 22:3-16, which was the beginning of this lifelong process for Paul. It seems that his first few years were very difficult. This would have been understandable given that it was a radical shift from being a Pharisee, who fanatically sought to destroy the early community of Christians known as the Way, to becoming the missionary to the Gentiles, promoting a Christian faith that was inclusive of all, regardless of race or gender. After being found by Ananias and having his sight restored, he was baptised and then went off into the desert. In his own account this a sojourn of three years. He probably just needed the intense quiet of the desert to grapple with this enormous change in his life. Following that he sought out the apostles and church leadership in Jerusalem but found that he wasn’t very welcome. From there he made the journey home to Tarsus. I wonder what happened to him there. One would hardly expect that he would have been welcomed by an intensely Jewish family. Still, he may have found it necessary to return to his family roots in order to deepen his understanding of the implications of his new call. Then, finally came the crucial event when Paul met up with Barnabas who had gone in search of him. That led to his time in Antioch which completed what I would call the first stage of conversion. He spent a year with this remarkable community in Antioch. There he encountered a community where people of all races, women and men, came together and prayed and broke the bread. This would lead to his missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean world and the writing of letters that recorded his further journeys of conversion and growth in faith. Paul’s story reminds us that we are all on diverse journeys of faith conversion. It takes time and we need to be patient and trust in the grace of God.