The most amazing thing about the first reading for mass today from the book of Acts, is the fact that Jesus doesn’t see people in the same light that we do. Jesus didn’t see so much what Saul was at the moment, as to what he could become in the future. Not as man sees, does God see. Whatever sins, faults and shortcomings Saul had, they must have been minor compared to his zeal for God. If you remember, Saint Peter said that “love covers a multitude of sins”. (1 Peter 4:8) This seems to apply perfectly to Saul, who loved God with a passion, but had a closed mind and directed his zeal in the wrong way.
No one ever said you have to be perfect to follow Christ and accomplish his will though. We beat ourselves and other people up in our own mind, because of faults, shortcomings and sins. Yes, we are to strive to overcome sin and become a better person throughout our lives, but perfectionism is not something Christ requires of us. Rather than becoming overly scrupulous over our venial sins, Pope Francis called the church to focus on reaching out to others instead:
“I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,” he wrote. “I do not want a church concerned with being at the center and then ends up by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.” USA Today
Saul’s biggest fault was that he was so wrapped up in the rules and the way things had always been, that his mind and heart was closed to anything new that God might have wanted to say to him. In the first reading for mass from the book of Acts today, Paul explained his former closed mindset and what might have caused it: “I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God .” Jesus saw through Saul’s closed mindset and harnessed his zeal, as a powerful force to build his church with. Isn’t that just totally awesome? We are not our character flaws. There is a whole lot of good inside every person, that is not always visible to others, but it is visible to the Lord. No one should ever feel like they are not good enough to serve the Lord. Saul sure wasn’t, but Christ saw right through him and changed all of that.
Even while Saul was persecuting Christians, watching Saint Stephen be executed before him, and sending countless men and women to prison, Jesus loved him. Jesus was watching the whole thing and he realized that although Saul’s zeal was misdirected, he loved God very much. He burned with a passion for God the Father and that passion was just what Christ needed to harness for his newly forming church.
Regardless as to what things looked like to everyone else at the time, Jesus had plans for Saul that was contrary to public opinion or his current bad behavior. He told Ananias, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mind to carry my name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel.”
It was the same with the eleven apostles in today’s gospel. If you remember, Saint Peter was keenly aware of his own imperfections, flaws, shortcomings and sins when he first witnessed the miraculous catch of fish. He told Jesus, “go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man”. (Luke 5:8) Yet, Christ established his entire church on a sinful man who denied him three times. In today’s gospel jesus appeared to Saint Peter and the other apostles though, and told them to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) He told Saul to do the same thing.
“God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Saint Paul’s conversion is such a beautiful example of this fact. Jesus died for Saul too, even before his conversion. Saul demonstrated just how deep his conversion to Christianity was later, when he changed his name to Paul, because it wasn’t a Jewish name. He totally dedicated his entire life to the very people he used to persecute and put in prison.
One thing we might remember about today’s readings for mass is that Jesus loves even the worst of sinners. No matter what we have done, or what sins other people have done, Christ still loves us deeply. Every one of us have a lot of untapped potential, talents and abilities that can be of service to Jesus and his people. Maybe we could work a little harder to help each other recognize these hidden gifts. Our families, parishes and communities could really flourish and come alive, if we recognize the hidden potential that lies within each one of us, and find concrete ways to use these gifts to help build up the body of Christ.
