Homily Conversion of St. Paul Jan. 25, 2009
Today we are celebrating the conversion of St. Paul. You heard the story of how Saul, a devout and militant Pharisee, who tried to follow the Law of Moses to the letter. He decided that the followers of Jesus, not yet called Christians, were a threat to the Law of Moses, to the traditions of the Jews and a real danger to the temple. Saul decided that these early followers of Jesus needed to be dealth with. He began harassing them when the went to the synagogue to pray, he disrupted them when they tried to talk and preach about Jesus. He had some arrested. Saul was convinced that these followers of Jesus needed to be destroyed, thrown in prison or killed.
On his way to Damascus a bright light shown on him and literally knocked him to the ground, and blinded him. Saul saw a shadowy figure. “Who are you?????” The shadowy figure said: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Jesus told him to go to Damascus and see a man named Ananias who would heal his blindness and tell him what to do…….Jesus gave him back his sight, changed his name from Saul to Paul and told him to preach the Good News. Thus God changed Saul from a persecutor of the early church to one of its most powerful preacher of the risen Christ.
Christ can work marvels in any of us, if we only give the grance of God a chance to flourish within us.
In the Gospel we hear Jesus calling Peter, Andrew, James and John to come and follow him and he would change them from being men who caught fish to becoming fishers of men. This was another conversion story and on these first followers the early Christian Church was founded. Jesus was snot going to do this work alone by himself. Jesus needed men and women to form the church and to continue spreading his message of love.
Another conversion story that I like is about John Newton. He lived in the 1700’s and was the captain of a ship that picked up captured men, women and children in Africa and brought them to the Caribbean islands and to the United states and sold them as slaves. Thousands of Africans died in passage from Africa to he New World. John Newton would merely dump them overboard and continue his voyage. Newton was a religious man and read his Bible every day. One evening as he read the New Testament about Jesus loving the poor, he began to have doubts about his profession as a slave dealer. He pondered the Bible and wondered what Jesus would do if he was here. John Newton realized that he was blind to the horrors of selling human beings as slaves. The example of Jesus opened his eyes and John Newton changed his life. He lobbied to an end to the slave trade in England and for an end of slavery in the British possessions. John Newton made a 100% change of life. He even wrote a beautiful poem that we sing today. “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found was blind and now I see.”
What a great conversion story.
What about us????? Do I need a conversion????? Are thee dark areas of my life that need to be cleansed???? Are thee areas of blindness in my life that need the healing touch of Jesus???????
I enjoyed tremendously the Inauguration speech of President Obama. It was 20 minutes long. However, what impressed me was the fact that he used the word “we” 45 times and the world “I” only three times. He was saying that he could not make all the changes that need to be made by himself. He needed supportive people around him to make a difference. The President cannot do the job by himself. Just as Jesus could not do his work by himself. They both needed helpers and supporters to achieve important goals. Likewise, even though I am the official pastor of this church, I cannot do the job by myself. I really need good people around me and good stewards who can carry out the mission of St. John the Baptist church. This a “we” job, not and “I” job.
For example: this week-end our kindergarten children have prepared the liturgy both for the school and for the 9:30 Mass. Their teacher, Mrs. Rodena Tan-Torres, the kids call her Mrs. T, could not do this liturgy by herself. She needed all of the children to cooperate and produce a wonderful worship service. By the way, every child in the class had a part to read and they are only in kindergarten. This liturgy was a “we” prayer service. ……..Also, these beautiful children individually were not rich, however together they collected $1,350.00 for Haiti. That is another “we” operation. These very young children are learning that we must help the poor if we are to follow Jesus.
Another example of excellent teaching from a Catholic perspective: The kindergarten children are each doing a RED HAND POSTER. These posters will be sent to the United Nations to protest the exploitation of 250,000 children who are forced to become children soldiers in our world today. Yes, this is a political statement and a big yes it is a moral problem. Our children are learning that they must be a part of the solution to our problems and they can make a difference. This is another “we” effort.
I think you should be very proud of our St. John the Baptist Catholic School and our program to help our children to become Christian Leaders, Academic Achievers and Responsible Citizens. Our children are really changing and believing that they can make a difference in our troubled world. I encourage to both to support our school and to drop by the school today or any time to see the wonderful work our teachers are doing.
Our parish school is really a “we” endeavor.
What about you?????? Are you part of a “we” program, or are you a lone ranger and only an “I.”
