St. Paul, the Apostle

St Paul fifth from left on the lower row of this 14th century panel by Paolo Veneziano

By Jo Briscoe

We see in St. Paul the first clear portrait of a Christian missionary. No man before him felt himself responsible for the moral and spiritual welfare of his fellowmen and never before had any man struggled as he did to guide his people from falling into sin. St. Paul was the greatest of all missionaries although he had not read the Gospels, for they had not been written in his time! Unlike all missionaries from the end of the first century onward, he travelled across the world preaching the good news without the written Gospel in his hand! He was able to do this because his knowledge of

the words and deeds of Jesus Christ came not from documents, but from the lips of St. Peter and those who accompanied our Lord during His Ministry.

We know, from the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ and his many letters (called Epistles) that they were written as instruction of the various churches he had founded. Some of these letters were written to settle questions of conduct and behaviour (intended to help people in their transitional stage from paganism to Christianity); others were written to explain St. Paul’s conception of the Christian life. He had no idea that he was writing for any but the first generation of Christians and he would have been astonished had he known that his letters would be cherished for centuries and eventually incorporated in the New Testament. Letters written by Paul nearly twenty centuries ago still inspire Christians because he dealt with fundamental matters which are as real today as they were in the time of Nero. St. Paul’s letters are, therefore, the earliest Christian writings on record – written before any of the four Gospels. Paul (or Saul, as was his Hebrew name which he maintained for the first thirty years of his life, but he used Paul when he was in Roman or Greek surroundings) was a Galilean by birth in a village named Gischala in the mountains of Upper Galilee. In the year 4 BC, when Paul would have been two years old, the tranquil life of his parents was brutally disrupted by past happenings of King Herod whose sons, on his death, were hated for his actions. Rome supported the sons and they took prisoners in the area and sold them as slaves. Paul’s parents were unlucky and they found themselves in Tarsus in Turkey. The Roman interest in Tarsus shows that Roman citizenship was conferred on the leading personalities. This explains Paul’s Roman citizenship because his parents would have been bought by a Roman citizen in Tarsus and would have automatically acquired Roman citizenship when he set them free. Paul’s letters indicate that he had an excellent education, both religious and secular. He knew the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures very well – which he quotes often. He wrote a vigorous Greek which expressed his emotions as it conveyed his thoughts, and Paul’s emotions were an obvious support for all his teaching.

Harbour Scene of St. Paul's Departure from Caesarea by Jan Brueghel The Elder

… From that hour Paul was a changed man … “ “

Completing his education when he was just out of his teens, Paul set out for Jerusalem – probably around AD 15. He was a Pharisee and supported his Jewish faith for almost twenty years. He was totally dedicated to his studies and there appears to be no evidence of him experiencing the public ministry of Jesus or his crucifixion. Of course, he would have been aware of the happenings in Jesus’ ministry, but why should he waste time seeking out and listening to someone whom he had three good reasons to dismiss – he was from Galilee, he had no qualifications to teach, and he appeared to think that he was the Messiah! As the numbers in the Jesus movement grew in popularity, the attention of the Pharisees was attracted to it. Any thought of a response, however, was nipped in the bud by Paul’s teacher who said: “Keep away from these men and let them alone. If their plan is of men, it will fail, but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” The Pharisees adopted a wait-andsee attitude. Paul did not accept that time would tell. With the gift of going straight to the heart of a problem, Paul saw that it was a winner or loser situation, but no fence on which anyone could sit. Like all Jews, Paul the Pharisee lived in a spiritual world – the present was dominated by the Law of Moses, and the duty Paul took upon himself was proof of his zeal for the Law. Nothing in his letters suggests that Paul had any official standing in his treatment of Christians. It was a personal choice. He was satisfying only himself. Every time the Christians went to the synagogue, they laid themselves open to an abrasive challenge from Paul. On the surface his position was “We are right and they are wrong”, but the framework of this option was his refusal of the possibility of two saviours! It was the experience of the death of St. Stephen, the first martyr, which sowed the seeds of Christianity into Paul’s heart (unknowingly to him at the time). It was a few years after the Crucifixion when Stephen was charged with undermining the Law of Moses. After an intense and strongly fought trial, Stephen remained strong and true to the Christian faith. Paul witnessed all of this and was consenting unto his death. He stood there, watching Stephen die through stoning – Stephen knelt down and prayed and as the stones fell about him, Paul heard him cry: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. As the stones came faster, he sank down and repeated with a loud voice the cry of his Master on the Cross: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” All of this was witnessed by Paul who, after the martyrdom of Stephen, continued like a madman creating havoc in the church and entering into every house, and committing the occupants to prison. But he had heard Stephen. He had seen him die. The seed had been sown. Stephen had voiced the New Testament; Paul, although he did not yet know it, had already been chosen to take the New Testament out of the hands of Jewry and to proclaim it in the far places of the world. It was at this time that Paul left Jerusalem on the road to Damascus which was leading towards Tarsus – which he had chosen to visit. He was part of a caravan of travellers for security reasons at that time. The journey was varied with changes of scenery as they travelled down the Jordan valley towards the Sea of Galilee settled in the cup of the valley. At a point on this road, about twelve miles from Damascus (the low-lying white city shining far off, set on the sand, with domes and minarets lifted above a feathery greenness), somewhere close by, Paul was converted to Christianity.

This art of Paul’s

conversion is by the great

and respected artist

Caravaggio and is a

moving accuracy of what

happened to Paul.

Suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven; and he fell off his horse to the earth. He heard a voice saying to him: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Paul asked “Who are thou, Lord?” The Lord said “I am Jesus whom you persecute”. As Paul, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you wish me to do?” The Lord replied “Go into the city, and you will be told what you must do”. They could hear the voice of our Lord speaking loudly, but they could see no one. When Paul arose from the earth, he opened his eyes but could see nothing and his group led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. He was three days without sight, during which time he neither ate nor drank. From that hour Paul was a changed man. Everything he thought and everything he did was by virtue of that moment. He was charged with God. It was from that moment of his conversion that Paul became one of those saints who possessed a “triumphing force” over which circumstances had no power. We then see Paul going out single-handed to organise the Catholic Church and whenever he was questioned regarding his far-reaching preaching, he answered “Not I, but Christ in me”. These details of Paul’s conversion lead us to the great fascination and deep trust and appreciation of his writings and widely travelled preaching throughout the area of his life – brought to attention in the map at the beginning of this article which geographically places the extent of Paul’s teaching. This is what has led us to understand and value the character which Paul’s writings portray for us; writings which we never tire of reading and absorbing by a man led by his changing but genuine and true emotions. Reading his letters brings us confidence and joy which never fail in refreshing us. He has a marvellous fusion of straight speaking and tenderness – he is forthright and honest in expressing his love and heartfelt praise for God, and nothing is going to separate him from that love, not even hunger, nakedness, suffering and persecution. For him life is Christ and death a wonderful triumph.