WHY DO YOU PERSECUTE ME?
(May 24)
“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’” (Acts 9: 1-6)
This question takes Saul by surprise: Why do you persecute “me”? Because Saul’s “righteous” anger was directed not against this loving voice, belonging to One he did not even know or recognize, but against a bunch of people, men and women belonging to “the Way,” – a new, un-traditional, and hence unacceptable, in Saul’s eyes, Way of the Cross. He understandably (from a human perspective) feared the disruption of the old order of things, in which he was trained and had a secure place, having been educated by the highest religious authorities of his time. And Saul had perfectly-legitimate “letters” from the high priest himself, to bring these troublemakers to justice. It reminds me of the madness we witness today, of the vicious aggression against entire nations, by those who believe they are defending “traditional values.”
But let us think what this story might teach us, personally. Might we embrace “righteous” causes that lead us to lash out against fellow cross-carriers, in ways that are more damaging than constructive? Let me take pause today, and consider the simple fact that Christ is in our midst, challenging us to embrace His Way of seeing, doing and saying things. St. Paul did not cease to be a man with a cause, after he was enlightened through being blinded by Christ. But Paul learned a new Way of being, which did not involve “breathing threats and murder” against others. It involved, rather, “breathing” the Good News and New Life of Christ, in a Way that led the Apostle to lay down his own life for this testimony and not seeking to destroy the lives of others. By the prayers of Your holy Apostles, Savior, save us.
