B: 5th Sun of Easter (2 May 2021) - RESILIENCE IN FAITH (Acts 9:26-31)

“When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26).

This was the reaction of the apostles of Jesus when Saul/Paul was right before them, attempting to enter their fold. This hesitation on their part is understandable since Paul had been known to be among the persecutors of the Way/Christians. In fact, he even approved of the stoning of the deacon Stephen to death (7:58, 8:1). Paul was also very cruel in his persecution of Christ’s followers as he “was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison” (8:3). He was with the same undertaking on his way to Damascus “so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (9:2). Paul, then, was infamous as an opponent of the Jesus-movement.

We know the rest of story: when he was on his way to Damascus, he was blinded by a great light (Acts 9:3-9). He only regained his sight with the intercession of a certain Ananias (9:17-19). He was immediately converted to the faith and began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues of Damascus (9:20). The ones who heard him were surprised, saying, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” (9:21). Soon, he was persecuted by the Jews who heard him (9:23). He who was once the persecutor was now the one persecuted! Fortunately, he managed to escape after the disciples had sneaked him out of the city walls (9:25).

Thinking that he would be safe in Jerusalem within the community of the apostles, Paul sought refuge there, but only to be ostracized by virtue of his dark past as a persecutor of the Lord. With both camps against him, Paul could have simply quitted and stopped proclaiming his faith in Jesus. But he was too resilient in his faith that he could not be denied of his zeal. Rather than surrendering on his mission, he moved to distant lands and formed several Christian communities among the Gentiles, viz., in Cyprus (13:4-12), Antioch (13:13-15), Iconium (14:1-7), and Lystra (14:8-19).

Still, his efforts among the Gentiles were not taken positively by the those in Jerusalem. It would only take the Council of Jerusalem to resolve this issue (15:1-12), which, luckily enough, went to his favor. After James defended his cause (15:13-21), the apostles and the elders of the Jerusalem church endorsed officially Paul’s mission to the Gentiles in a letter, saying, “We have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:25-26).

The resilience of Paul had paid off, but only after several persecutions both ad extra and ad intra. Any follower of the Lord is bound to experience the same, but the important thing is that once one’s intent is truly meritorious, no power on earth can ever impede its success and achievement.

- Rex Fortes, CM