Fr. (Dr) Augustine Kanachikuzhy SSP
God choosing eligible candidates for specific purposes is a common occurrence in the Biblical tradition. God chose Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and other great Old Testament personalities with specific purposes in mind. Thus, when called Abraham responded with his profound faith and became the great patriarch and father of the Jewish faith. When God asked Moses’ cooperation to lead the Hebrews who were enslaved in Egypt, he responded positively albeit some initial objections. Moses became the epitome of grace and power as he led the people out of Egypt. After Moses Joshua stepped into the shoes of his master and after having conquered the land apportioned it among the twelve tribes of Israel. David, the youngest son of his father Jesse, became the greatest king of Israel because God chose him. Great prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel solidified the faith of the people and brought God’s Word to them. God sent Jesus to the world and paved the way for a new beginning in salvation history. When called, Peter responded and became the undisputed leader of the Christian community. Other apostles like John and James became stalwarts of Christian theology and practices. The list is far from over, and the person we want to introduce in this list is none other than Saul of Tarsus whose transformation from a persecutor to an ardent supporter of Jesus’ mission, is the greatest example of Divine human cooperation.
And so, we ask: what is the mission entrusted to Paul? In order to understand this, we take look at the greatest mission command given by Jesus to his disciples at the time of his Ascension. The risen Jesus commanded the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit while assuring them of his constant presence (Mt 28,16-20). The apostle who carried out this mission more than anyone else is Paul. Immediately after the resurrection of Jesus, the well-intentioned disciples did not have a smooth going but encountered tremendous opposition. The Jewish authorities bent on suppressing the Jesus’ movement put obstacles on their way. They believed that by punishing and persecuting the Christians they would put an end to this divine enterprise. To certain extent they succeeded for they put Stephen, an innocent man and great witness, to death. A young man who was an approver to the killing of Stephen and who unleashed a devastating persecution against the followers of Jesus was won over by Jesus and commissioned him to take the Gospel to the end of the earth (Acts 1,8). This person is Paul.
Paul was born in Tarsus (modern Turkey) between 5 and 10 A.D. and was raised there. Regarding his family and relatives Luke mentions about a nephew, his sister’s son, who lived in Jerusalem and who warns Paul of a plot to kill him (that Acts 23,16). In the last chapter of his Letter to the Romans Paul himself mentions a number of people whom he considers his kinsmen. They include Andronicus and Junia (Rom 16,7); Herodian (Rom 16,11); and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (Rom 16,21) who according to Ronald D. Witherup are not necessarily his blood relatives. Most likely Paul may be using the word “relatives” to mean fellow Jews.
In Tarsus which was a Greco-Roman city with a sizable Jewish population, Paul received training concerning many aspects of both Jewish culture and Greco-Roman society. Paul does not write much about his pre-conversion life other than to indicate his Jewish Pharisaic background and his persecution of the Church (See Gal 1,13-14; Phil 3,4-6; 1Tim 1,12-13). In Acts Paul asserts that he was instructed “at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22,3), presumably the famous Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel who was a Pharisaic member of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. This prompts us to believe that Paul certainly had a formal education in a rabbinical setting. The rabbis had imaginative ways of applying their Scriptures to new situations, and Paul demonstrates that he handles such interpretive moves with ease (See 1Cor 10,1-4). Paul was also familiar with Greco-Roman rhetorical style, especially in the use of a literary device, called the “diatribe” which is a rhetorical device in which questions are put forth, sometimes from an imaginary dialogue partner that can then be refuted (e.g., Rom 2,1-6; 10:6-8). Lastly, Paul had double citizenship, both a Jewish and Roman. His Roman citizenship came to his advantage at certain critical moments of his life especially at the time of his arrest and trial (Acts 22,7). This status allowed him to be treated with great sensitivity and ultimately to appeal to Rome for a decision in his case (Acts 25,12-12). Curiously, Paul in his letters, does not mention a formal education, let alone under the tutelage of a famous rabbi like Gamaliel. Without going for further details, we can safely conclude that Paul was well educated and literate. Though Paul tried immediately to preach Christ in Damascus, he did not meet with success (Acts 9,20-24), but opposition and serious threat on his life. He had to be taken to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem through the mediation of Barnabas Paul was accepted by the apostles, but when he confronted the Hellenists, they too wanted to kill him. The only option before the disciples was to move him to his native Tarsus. Paul began his active ministry only after Antioch of Syria became the second center of Christianity after Jerusalem. This indicates that Paul too, however great his credentials are, needed a time reflection and maturing before he embarked on active ministry. Between his call experience and his first Missionary Journey (A.D. 46-49) 12 to 13 years have passed. Paul’s story conveys the message that while God calls people to specific missions, nobody is expected to work alone or without sufficient preparation.
