Homily for Friday, 24 April 2015– Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Readings of the day: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 117:1bc-2; John 6:52-59

Does the conversion of St. Paul, of which we hear today in the Acts of the Apostles, bring an awesome image to our minds? It does to mine. Saul, on his way to Damascus to bind any Christians there and to “bring them back to Jerusalem in chains,” sees a flash of light and is knocked to the ground. Ananias, at first reluctantly but convinced by the same Jesus who had flashed before Saul, takes Saul into Damascus to regain his sight.

I think of the painting above the sanctuary of St. Paul’s Basilica in Toronto, across the street from where I lived while I was in seminary there. It is a fantastic image of Saul being knocked from his horse on the road to Damascus. Underneath is the Latin inscription of Jesus’ words: “Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris”‒ “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me”? It is a fantastic image... except there is no horse from which Saul falls in the Biblical account. This is where I need to be converted from over-attention to literal detail and perhaps use my imagination a bit more freely!

This is a fantastic image above the sanctuary of St. Paul’s Basilica, except that at a particular point it becomes unrealistic to me. How? And does the story of Saul’s conversion have limited realism for us? How many of us have thought: This is great that Saul was converted on the spot into the great Apostle Paul; a defender of the early Church and writer with the same vigor with which he once persecuted it? This is not my experience. Conversion, in my experience, takes much longer; perhaps a lifetime.

We will hear from Acts as we continue our Easter season that conversion was not a one-time event for Paul, either. It was a lifelong process of becoming aware of Christ’s presence, as it is a lifelong process for us. But St. Paul’s conversion began with Christ’s appearance on the road to Damascus.

When did our process of conversion begin? Perhaps it was our birth; our baptism. Conversion, for us, is usually more subtle than being knocked down on a roadside by Christ himself! This subtle, everyday process of conversion; of becoming ever-more aware of Christ’s presence in our lives: When did this begin for us?

In an awesome way, we are aware of the presence of Christ in our lives here and now. I say this because we are here; we are partakers in this Eucharist. Christ, who became one of us, died, is risen, and ascended into heaven as fully human, is present under bread and wine in this celebration! Conversion: Is this not real to us, here and now? If it were not, I do not think that any of us would be here.

Conversion: Is it not as real to us as when Jesus first said (and we hear in John’s Gospel), “Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day”? These words were startling to those who first heard them. Now our conversion; our ever-increasing awareness of Christ’s presence among us, is much more subtle. But our ongoing conversion is every bit as real and awesome as when it began.