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 New Testament, 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 Jesus 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 Acts 9:1-19 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 Nazareth.’ 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 Damascus 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 Acts 7:2? ______________________________________________________________ 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 Bible: Acts of the Apostles: 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 (Acts 16:14)? _____________ 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 Rome, 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