Festival of the Conversion of St. Paul
Posted on January 25, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 17:5-10 (NKJV)
17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
Devotion
Even though St. Paul was a late-comer to the apostolic office, our Lord’s Words with His apostles in today’s reading do apply to Paul as well. Paul certainly needed to have his faith increased, because in the vanity of his zeal and education for serving the Jewish religion his faith was severely lacking. He served the work of the devil, not the work of the Church of the Lord whom Paul claimed to serve. So according to God’s grace and wisdom, He came to Paul directly and increased his faith in dramatic fashion.
Once St. Paul was converted to the true faith that clings to Christ Jesus he became an important and well-known servant for the Gospel of Christ crucified. But he also served in humility. He did not seek to glorify himself or boast of anything other than the glory of Jesus. Paul’s epistles frequently show that he understood our Lord’s teaching for us servants to regard ourselves as “unprofitable”.
All who are faithful in Christ Jesus have been called and converted by the glorious power of God. We are brought to our work and our vocations by Him and made to serve together according to His will. Our sins give us nothing to boast about, but much about which we should be humble and repentant. Thanks be to God that we are made servants to work together with Paul and all the faithful before us in Christ’s Church!
Prayer: O Almighty God, who hast built Thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Head Cornerstone, grant us to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine that we may be made a holy temple acceptable unto Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
