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Home , Acts 22

ACTS- CHAPTER 22

The sum of Paul’s life can be captured by the phrase: “the man who encountered dramatic mercy.” St Augustine called Paul’s conversion “the violent capture of a rebel will.” How could such a thing happen? Paul explains in his own words: “I was shown mercy.”1

It’s not the first time we’ve seen this phenomena in Scripture. Moses’ face began to shine in the Divine Presence of I AM on Mount Sinai.2 Isaiah begins his mission after meeting the Holy One in the Temple.3 Contrite David writes arguably the most beautiful psalm4 crying for forgiveness once turning back to the God who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, rich in kindness.”5 And once you begin to thumb through the pages of the , those changed deeply and forever by an encounter with the Merciful Lord pile up, one after another converted life—because He makes all things new.6 James and John leave behind father and fishing nets, never looking back.7 Zaccheus climbs out of the sycamore tree to extravagantly reimburse those whom he has extorted.8 Mary Magdalene leaves a life riddled with sin to become among Christ’s most loyal disciple.9 The demoniac living among the tombs regains his sanity and a new love for the Deliverer.10 From the poor shepherd to rich wise men, they all encounter Jesus and “leave another way,”11 because nothing can continue as before once you meet Jesus. The Book of Acts brims to overflowing with the stories of those who meet Jesus and are changed from the inside out by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. One of the best known and loved of those stories is the conversion of St Paul found in today’s chapter. Divine intervention, not defection, had caused Paul’s conversion.

Introduction and Overview: How is 1 Timothy 1:12-13 a short autobiographical summary of Paul’s life? ______Compare :1-19 with Acts 22:6-16. What new details do you learn from this second account? ______

1 1 Timothy 1:13 2 Exodus 34:29 3 Isaiah 6. 4 Psalm 51 5 Exodus 34:6 6 Revelation 21:5 7 Mark 1:20 8 Luke 19:1-10 9 Luke 8:2 10 Luke 8:26-39 11 Matthew 2:12 “Paul adds that the whole thing happened at midday (26:13), and he says that Jesus referred to himself as ‘Jesus of .’ He also includes the question, ‘What shall I do, Lord?,’ which is not given in Chapter 9. As far as Paul’s companions were concerned, we know that they saw the light (22:9) but did not see anyone (9:7)-- they did not see the glorified Jesus; they heard a voice (9:7), but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to Paul (22:9), that is, did not understand what the voice said.”12 Paul also mentions here Ananias’ impeccable record as a Jew honored in for his devotion to the law. What strikes you about the conversion of St Paul? How does it resonate with your own conversion? How is it different? ______

22:1 With what two names does Paul address the crowd? ______How had the first Christian martyr Stephen addressed members of the Council before he was stoned in :2? ______How do the two events parallel? What type of lasting impression do you think Stephen’s testimony and brutal death have upon the consenting Saul? ______

22:3-4 Why would Paul commend the murderous mob for their zeal? How did Paul relate this to his own personal history? ______Note how frequently Paul mentions this dark chapter of his life: 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6; and 1 Timothy 1:13.

Twenty years had passed since Saul had persecuted the Church. How did he use his background to identify with his Jewish audience? ______

22:6 Saul was cruising along, content with God as He understood Him to be, confident that he was doing what He wanted him to do. Little did he know at the time how far off base he in fact was. In His perfect timing, Jesus interrupted Paul’s life! Do you have a relative over whom you are worried? Can you release them into God’s care, trusting that God will reveal Himself when God so desires? ______How is the following quote a comforting reminder that God “owns” the time and place of His revelation? ______

12 The Navarre : : Texts and Commentary. ©1992 by Colour Books Ltd, Dublin, pp 231. “We can never know what other people experience before the Blessed Sacrament. Some people will say they feel ‘nothing,’ and this is not wrong. In Adoration, Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta once wrote on a piece of paper, ‘Father, please pray for me—where is Jesus?,’ and passed it to the priest at the front. She, who had direct inspirations from God in prayer, spent decades in a dark night where she could not feel his presence. Remember: He owns the veil.”13 (Note: The thick veil separated the interior Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple and was ripped from top to bottom at the moment of Christ’s death, signifying new access to God by all as a result of Christ’s sacrifice14). What does Jesus say in Matthew 11:27b? “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son ______.” Who “opened the heart (of Lydia) to listen” to the Gospel (:14)? ______Complete your own prayer: “Lord, I am anxious about ______(name of friend or relative), who is struggling with believing that You are real or accepting You. I present (him/her) to you now and beg of you the grace of conversion and joyful repentance for (him/her). Lord, ‘you own the veil.’ Reveal yourself to us all that we may love you the way you deserve.” What keeps us from knowing Jesus? ______Father Amorth, the Chief Exorcist of , offers us this ‘Prayer of Deliverance to the Son of the Most High’:15 O Jesus our Savior, My Lord and my God, With your sacrifice of the Cross you redeemed us And defeated the power of Satan. I beg you to deliver me from every evil presence And every evil influence. I ask you in your name, I ask you for the sake of your wounds, I ask you for the sake of your blood, I ask you for the sake of your Cross, I ask you through the intercession of Mary, Immaculate and sorrowful. May the blood and the water that flow From your side Wash over me to purify me. Deliver me, heal me. Amen.

22:7-8

13 Read, Sally. From “Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World,” on Daily Catholic Wisdom, accessed on-line July 19, 2019 from [email protected]. 14 Matthew 27:51-54; John 14:9-10 15 Amorth, Father. “A Prayer of Deliverance to the Son of the Most High,” in February 2020 Magnificat, Vol 21, No 12, pp 60-61. How did Paul emphasize to the Jews that Jesus was very much alive and active? ______Keep in mind that “the official Jewish position was that Jesus of Nazareth was an impostor who had been crucified and His body stolen from the tomb by His disciples, who then started the rumor that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Paul himself had believed this story when he was persecuting the church.”16

22:10 What does Paul’s second question reveal about his understanding of the proper response to acknowledging Jesus as Lord? (See James 2:14-17)17 ______

2:14 According to Ananias, for what three things has God chosen Paul? 1-______2-______3-______Will God do the same for you today? See Matthew 5:8; John 10:3-5; Ephesians 5:17?18 ______

22:16 “The name of Jesus” is one of the major recurrent phrases found in Acts. What four actions does Ananias urge Paul to do in this verse? 1- ______2- ______3- ______4- ______

There is incomparable power in the name of Jesus. St Gregory of Narek writes in wonder: “Son of the living God, for whom nothing is impossible, before whom sins melt away, demons flee, transgressions are erased, bindings are cut and chains undone, the dead are born again, infirmities are cured, wounds are healed, corruption is cleansed, sadness withdraws, sighs retreat, darkness flees, fog departs, twilight vanishes, darkness lifts, the night passes, evil is destroyed, and despair is exiled—blessed in the highest.”19

What do you learn about “the name of Jesus” in each of the following verses?

16 Wiersbe, Warren. Be Daring: Put Your Faith Where the Action Is: New Testament Commentary: -28. © 1988 by David C Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, pp 117. 17 Seabolt, Camilla. Community Bible Study: The Acts of the Apostles. Vol 2: Lessons 16-30. © 2009 by Community Bible Study, Colorado Springs, CO, pp 103. 18 Seabolt, pp 103. 19 Quote by St Gregory of Narek from A Year with the Mystics by Kathryn Jean Lopez. From Daily Catholic Wisdom accessed online February 2, 2020 from [email protected]. :21 ______Acts 2:38 ______Acts 3:6 ______Acts 3:16 ______Acts 4:7 ______Acts 4:12 ______Acts 4:17 ______Acts 4:18 ______Acts 4:30 ______Acts 5:28 ______Acts 5:40 ______Acts 5:41 ______Acts 8:12 ______Acts 9:15 ______Acts 9:21 ______Acts 9:27, 29 ______Acts 10:43 ______Acts 10:48 ______Acts 15: 17 ______Acts 16:18 ______Acts 19:5 ______Acts 19: 17 ______Acts 21:13 ______

2:21 In Scripture there are found three confirmations of Paul’s commission to the Gentiles: (1) God’s word to Ananias (Acts 9:15); (2) Paul’s record here, in Acts 2:21; (3) Paul’s quote of Christ at his conversion (:16-18).

22:22 In :30-31, the crowd whom Paul is now addressing, had previously “dragged him out of the temple…and were trying to kill him.” It is remarkable to consider that it took two centurions, at least 200 soldiers, and the chief captain Lysias to rescue Paul from the mob in Chapter 21. However, Paul was exactly where God wanted him to be, doing exactly what He wanted him to do. Is being under God’s protection any guarantee of physical safety? ______Paul was confident that he would go to Rome and that his “appointed tasks”20 were not complete, and so he seemed undeterred by the chaos around him. Staying calm and recollected, he seized the opportunity not so much to defend himself before the crowd as to witness to Jesus. On the verge of being scourged he calmly challenged the centurion with what question (22:25)? ______

20 Acts 9:6; :24 Pope Paul VI stated: “Evangelization will always contain—as the foundation, center, and summit of its dynamism—a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, who died and rose from the dead, salvation is offered to all men, as a gift of God’s grace and mercy.”21

How did he use his Roman citizenship to his advantage? ______How can you discern when to press for your rights and when to lay them aside (1 Corinthians 9:12)? ______He would now have an all-expense paid trip to Rome, during which he would witness to countless others. God’s plan was just unfolding in an entirely new direction. This hardy apostle’s work was far from over. Historical note: Roman law permitted slaves and suspects to be cruelly tortured and lashed in order to obtain confessions. However, Roman citizens were protected from being bound or scourged. Any military officer doing such could himself be put to death.

One has to marvel at Paul’s calm presence of mind under pressure. What type of testimony have you given before a hostile audience? What tense relationships do you bear now because of your faith? ______What risks are you willing to take to share your faith? Pray for courage to do so boldly today. Document what happens: ______What are you called to do and be in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20a? ______

22:24 Some things never change. Paul finds himself again imprisoned and eventually held in protective custody, having narrowly escaped (for the moment) a mob intent on killing him. Would you continue to speak boldly if you were imprisoned and facing such a perilous future? ______“For Jesus Christ I am prepared to suffer still more”- St Maximilian Kolbe.

Life Application: As Fr Dave Pivonka, TOR, states: “We may know a lot of stories about Jesus, but can we speak to how Jesus has changed my life? This is your story: ‘This is how my life has changed after Jesus broke into my life.’ Your life has now been animated by the Holy Spirit and changed you. May the Holy Spirit rest on us, to give us life, and help us give witness.”22

© Glenda Canfield, February 2020.

21 Martin, Ralph. The Urgency of the New Evangelization: Answering the Call. © 2013 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Huntington IN, pp 107. 22 Pivonka, Fr Dave, TOR. The Wild Goose is Loose: DVD #13: The Spirit’s Witness.