Here you can find the interesting lecture of Fr. Etienne on st. Paul. It can help reflecting on the great figure of the Gentiles’ Apostle.

From Saul to Paul: laying the foundations of the Gentiles’ Apostle

Paul of Tarsus, whose year the Church has chosen to celebrate, is possibly the most influential person in the Church’s 2000 year history after that of Jesus Christ. By influential I mean that he left his mark on Christianity, in its self-understanding, its organization and identity, and last but not least, on the direction of its development. We shall see why at a later stage, but first it is necessary to put Paul within a historical background, inasmuch as we have information that can accurately give us information on the ‘historical’ Paul.

1. ‚Saul, who was also called Paul,‛ (Acts 13,9) claims to come from the port city of Tarsus, in the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean, in an area known as Cilicia, and today part of Turkey. Thus writes Luke of him: ‚I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city.‛ (Acts 21,39) Truly, it was no ordinary city because it was a very important centre of culture and commerce, heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture, and important in Roman times such as to earn itself the title of ‘free city’. Paul was thus a Jew who was Hellenised and also a Roman citizen1. All these factors have a part to play on Paul’s life and destiny.
2. Both Saul and Paul are his original names, but the latter name seems to have replaced the former one at a stage in his life, not coinciding with his conversion. The move from Saul (a Jewish name) to Paul (a Greco-Roman name) befits the change in his public persona from a preacher to the Jews, to the Apostle of the Gentiles. It is somewhat ironic that the name ‘Paul’ means ‘small’ or ‘little’ in Latin, agreeing with his physical stature, but surely not with the spiritual stature of this man even in his own lifetime. One such description is the following: ‚At length they saw a man coming (namely Paul), of a small stature with meeting eyebrows, bald [or shaved] head, bow-legged, strongly built, hollow-eyed, with a large crooked nose.‛2

(1 His father was a Roman citizen (Acts 22,26-28; see also 16,37) 2 The Acts of Paul and Thecla (2nd Century Apocrypha), Chap 1,7)

3. Paul’s Jewish lineage was never put into doubt. His Jewishness is stressed time and time again, and is probably the most singularly important aspect of his life and teaching. We are not certain of his year of birth, a possible date being 5 AD, with the year of his martyrdom under Nero being 64-7 AD, in Rome. What Paul says of his Jewish roots is this: ‚if any else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.‛ (Php 3,4b-6) Clearly, here we have a man who is firmly rooted in Jewish piety and traditions, a factor that no doubt underlines both his pre-conversion zeal, as well as the radical position he is seen to take regarding the effectiveness of belief in Christ.

4. It is also from Luke’s account of Paul’s testimony (Acts 22,3ff) that we get to know that Paul was sent to Jerusalem at an early age, and trained under none other than Gamaliel, a highly respected Pharisee, and doctor of the Law. The first reference (age wise) we have of Saul is in the context of Stephen’s martyrdom. As Luke says in Acts (7,58 and 8,1): ‚the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. … And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.‛

5. Stephen’s martyrdom ushers in Saul as the zealous persecutor of Christians, a fact underscored in his own words (see above) as well as the Book of Acts: ‚Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.‛ (8,3) The chapter in Acts that tells the story of Saul’s conversion begins in a similar vein: ‚Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.‛ (9,1-2)

6. It is on the way to Damascus that Paul sees the light. We have three accounts of the life-transforming event on the road to the Damascus. The first is in Acts 9,1-19, whilst Paul is further on in Acts described as giving his own testimony of the events (Acts 22,3-21 and 26,9-23). Even when taking into account the slight differences in the description of the event, all accounts agree that Saul (and companions) experienced an extraordinary, possibly supernatural event—described as a very bright light (which must have been very bright because Paul twice states that it was around noon). The voice of the Lord could be heard only by Paul, although the others heard a sound. It would seem also that Paul had a vision or appearance of the Risen Lord. One must stress that we have no record of Saul having ever met Jesus Christ during the latter’s earthly ministry.

7. The encounter of Paul with the Risen Lord, coupled with his later spiritual might in ministry, seem to have been the factors behind Paul’s unique status as Apostle, the others with similar status having being witnesses of Jesus, his ministry, death and resurrection. Paul, in various writings, mentions his encounter with the Risen Christ (never the earthly Jesus). Thus we find, in 1 Cor. 9,1: ‚Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?‛ (Obviously, here, a rhetorical question). Also in 1 Cor., in 15,8: ‚and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.‛ Additionally, he insists that the gospel he preached was also revealed to him by the Lord: ‚I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.‛ (Gal. 1,11-12)

8. Having said the above, one must of necessity ask the question: is Paul’s encounter with the Risen Lord a conversion experience? Our normal understanding of the word ‘conversion’, which in Latin means a change of direction, or of ‘metanoia’ (a Greek word meaning ‘change of mind’) may be applied to Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, at least with regard to the effects it was to have on his life. From being a persecutor of Christians he became the faith’s foremost apostle and early church builder—clearly there was a change of heart! At the same time, by his own accounts, Paul seems to have gone through a process of fulfilment of his faith. In other words, Paul the pious Jew and Pharisee, zealous for the Law, through his encounter with the Risen Christ, came to understand that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the fulfilment of the Old Testament Scriptures and the one who was to fulfil the requirements of the Law such as to supersede them. Thus, right after his Damascus road experience, Paul begins to preach to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 9,22). It’s hardly a surprise that his hearers were baffled! Thus, it can also be explained of Paul that in terms of his experience of God, there was a continuation or fulfilment of that which the Jews had been expecting.

9. I would say that the most instructive passage that sums up Paul’s experience is to be found in the letter to the Philippians, part of which text has already been cited above. I will go through the whole text at this stage:

Chapter 3,2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

1 Meanwhile Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest
2 and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, men or women, that he might find.
3 It happened that while he was travelling to Damascus and approaching the city, suddenly a light from heaven shone all round him.
4 He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
5 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the answer came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
6 Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’
7 The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one.
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand.
9 For three days he was without his sight and took neither food nor drink.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus called Ananias, and he had a vision in which the Lord said to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord,’
11 the Lord said, ‘Get up and go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying,
12 and has seen a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.’
13 But in response, Ananias said, ‘Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 He has come here with a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.’
15 The Lord replied, ‘Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;
16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’
17 Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’
18 It was as though scales fell away from his eyes and immediately he was able to see again. So he got up and was baptised,
19 and after taking some food he regained his strength. After he had spent only a few days with the disciples in Damascus,
20 he began preaching in the synagogues, ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’
21 All his hearers were amazed, and said, ‘Surely, this is the man who did such damage in Jerusalem to the people who invoke this name, and who came here for the sole purpose of arresting them to have them tried by the chief priests?’
22 Saul’s power increased steadily, and he was able to throw the Jewish colony at Damascus into complete confusion by the way he demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ.

3 ‘I am a Jew’, Paul said, ‘and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. It was under Gamaliel that I studied and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you all are today.
4 I even persecuted this Way to the death and sent women as well as men to prison in chains
5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify. I even received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, which I took with me when I set off to bring prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment.
6 ‘It happened that I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when in the middle of the day a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me.
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
8 I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” and he said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.”
9 The people with me saw the light but did not hear the voice which spoke to me.
10 I said, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord answered, “Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.”
11 Since the light had been so dazzling that I was blind, I got to Damascus only because my companions led me by the hand.
12 ‘Someone called Ananias, a devout follower of the Law and highly thought of by all the Jews living there,
13 came to see me; he stood beside me and said, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” Instantly my sight came back and I was able to see him.
14 Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Upright One and hear his own voice speaking,
15 because you are to be his witness before all humanity, testifying to what you have seen and heard.
16 And now why delay? Hurry and be baptised and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
17 ‘It happened that, when I got back to Jerusalem, and was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance
18 and then I saw him. “Hurry,” he said, “leave Jerusalem at once; they will not accept the testimony you are giving about me.”
19 “Lord,” I answered, “they know that I used to go from synagogue to synagogue, imprisoning and flogging those who believed in you;
20 and that when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I, too, was standing by, in full agreement with his murderers, and in charge of their clothes.”
21 Then he said to me, “Go! I am sending you out to the gentiles far away.” ‘

4 ‘My manner of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem, is common knowledge among the Jews.
5 They have known me for a long time and could testify, if they would, that I followed the strictest party in our religion and lived as a Pharisee.
6 And now it is for my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors that I am on trial,
7 the promise that our twelve tribes, constant in worship night and day, hope to attain. For that hope, Your Majesty, I am actually put on trial by Jews!
8 Why does it seem incredible to you that God should raise the dead?
9 ‘As for me, I once thought it was my duty to use every means to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene.
10 This I did in Jerusalem; I myself threw many of God’s holy people into prison, acting on authority from the chief priests, and when they were being sentenced to death I cast my vote against them.
11 I often went round the synagogues inflicting penalties, trying in this way to force them to renounce their faith; my fury against them was so extreme that I even pursued them into foreign cities.
12 ‘On such an expedition I was going to Damascus, armed with full powers and a commission from the chief priests,
13 and in the middle of the day as I was on my way, Your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven shining more brilliantly than the sun round me and my fellow-travellers.
14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you, kicking against the goad.
15 Then I said, “Who are you, Lord?” And the Lord answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason: to appoint you as my servant and as witness of this vision in which you have seen me, and of others in which I shall appear to you.
17 I shall rescue you from the people and from the nations to whom I send you
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, and receive, through faith in me, forgiveness of their sins and a share in the inheritance of the sanctified.”
19 ‘After that, King Agrippa, I could not disobey the heavenly vision.
20 On the contrary I started preaching, first to the people of Damascus, then to those of Jerusalem and all Judaean territory, and also to the gentiles, urging them to repent and turn to God, proving their change of heart by their deeds.
21 This was why the Jews laid hands on me in the Temple and tried to do away with me.
22 But I was blessed with God’s help, and so I have stood firm to this day, testifying to great and small alike, saying nothing more than what the prophets and Moses himself said would happen:
23 that the Christ was to suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he was to proclaim a light for our people and for the gentiles.’