“Paul addressed the people in these words…On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’ My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’ Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.” -Acts 22:6-11
Let me begin by stating that I know I am no Saint Paul, but I realize God showed a specific pattern in both of our lives. As I often say, what the Lord shows me is never for me but is to be applied equally to everyone. God’s pattern of touching your life is the same as Paul’s and mine.
Paul was knocked off his horse and surrounded by a great light, and Jesus asked, ‘Why are you persecuting me?’. Long ago, in a dream, Jesus also asked me, ‘Why are you persecuting me?’ You could also say I was knocked off my modern-day horse and surrounded by a great light. In that light, He told me I would be a suffering servant.
Before the horse and incredible light, I failed to notice countless whispers and graces. God was calling, but I was not listening. In his 1893 poem, Francis Thompson called God the hound of heaven, relentless in His pursuit of the souls of His children. In Paul’s writing, and I pray in mine, you can sense the remorse for the time lost during the Divine pursuit. It would have been much easier to listen to the whispers and act on the many graces before falling from that horse. Don’t wait until you are on the horse; listen and look for Christ now.
Saint Paul the Apostle, pray for us.
Click on the link for the Daily Reading. Jesus, I trust in you.