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“But by the grace of God, I am what I am,
and his grace toward me was not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:10
Saul of Tarsus had no business being a disciple of Jesus Christ, let alone an apostle.
Saul was a Pharisee and a good one at that. He was learned in the Law of Moses and the Prophets of Israel. He was scrupulous in his own religious observance and expected others to be as well. Most of all, he was zealous in his absolute hatred for what he considered an odious heresy: the claim that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, the anointed savior of the Jewish people.
For Saul, this teaching was not just wrongheaded, it was offensive. After all, Jesus of Nazareth had been executed by the same occupying Romans the Messiah was supposed to drive out of God’s Holy Land. Even worse, Jesus had been killed by crucifixion. Nailed to the wood of the cross, he had died the humiliating death reserved for rebels, traitors and slaves. From the Roman point of view, he had been utterly and completely erased from the rolls of the human race. From the Jewish point of view — Saul’s point of view — the dictate of Deuteronomy was clear: “he that is hanged [on a tree] is accursed of God.”
As if all of that were not bad enough, Saul had heard word that those who followed Jesus during His life were now claiming that He had not, in fact, stayed dead. Jesus’ friends were proclaiming that He had been raised from the grave. So, Saul applied all of his learning, all of his devotion and all of his zeal to exterminate what he knew to be an unspeakable lie.
That is until the Risen Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. Saul’s view of the Church’s teaching changed when the crucified One called to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” He who had no business being even a disciple — “a follower” — could not then help becoming an apostle — “one sent to declare a message.”
In our Daily Office reading today from his first letter to the Corinthians, Saul — better known as Paul — recalls again the heart of the message he was sent to proclaim: Jesus Christ is alive. People who knew Him in His earthly ministry have seen Him. People who watched Him die have seen Him. Even people who were glad that He was dead — people like Paul — have now seen Him alive and have become His apostles.
Do you have any business being a disciple of Jesus, let alone an apostle? If your sinful heart is anything like mine, your only answer must be a resounding “NO!” But by the grace of God, we are what we are. Because of Paul’s ministry and the ministry of countless others, you and I have been sent to live the message that Jesus Christ is alive. Go forth and proclaim it today, whatever your business may be.
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