9 April 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being.” Galatians 1:15–16
Christ is risen! The Resurrection did not stop with the Eleven in the upper room. Some years later the risen Lord met a man who was hunting his disciples, and today St Paul tells the Galatians what happened to him. He hides nothing: “You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it.” He was zealous, gifted, ahead of his companions. Then everything turned, and not by his own effort: “But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles...” Notice the words. God set him apart, God called him, God was pleased to reveal his Son. Paul saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9; 1 Corinthians 15:8), and he counts himself among the witnesses of the Resurrection. Paul does not reject his people or their faith; he speaks with respect of “the traditions of my ancestors” and later says that God has not rejected his people (Romans 11:1). His zeal was turned, not destroyed: the same fire that once persecuted would now carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
What did the newly called Paul do? Not what we might expect. “I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.” Only “after three years” did he go up “to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.” A conversion needs hidden years. The Lord himself spent thirty years in Nazareth before three years of preaching. St John Chrysostom remarks that Paul went to Peter not to be taught as a beginner but to honour him as the first of the apostles (in substance). And the end of the passage is beautiful: the churches of Judea “only heard it said, ‘The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.’ And they glorified God because of me.” The best proof of the Resurrection is a changed life. When people who knew what we once were see what we have become, they do not praise us; they glorify God.
The Gospel brings us down from the great apostle to a small child. “An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest.” Jesus does not argue back. He takes “a little child” and puts it by his side, and says, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” Paul learned this. The man who had been ahead of everyone called himself “the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9). On this Friday of the Easter season, look honestly at your own past, as Paul did, without hiding it and without despair: the grace that turned Paul can turn anyone. Pray for someone you have given up on. Welcome a child, a newcomer or a person who seems unimportant as you would welcome Christ. And if an argument starts about who is greatest, at home, at work or in the parish committee, be the one who steps back.
Theme: “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God because of me.”
On Friday after New Sunday: the grace that called Paul, the hidden years, and the child at the Lord's side.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
Apply: Thank God tonight for one way his grace has turned your life.
“Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.” Hosea 2:14
“In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35
Apply: Give God fifteen quiet minutes each day this week, before your phone and before your work.
“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.” Psalm 131:2
“Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4
Apply: Step back from one argument this week about who is right or who is first.
The risen Lord turned the persecutor into the apostle, and his grace can turn anyone.
A changed and humble life makes others glorify God.
Take-home resolution: Pray for one you have given up on, give God hidden time each day, and welcome the least in the name of Jesus.
Dear friends, Christ is risen! Today St Paul tells his own story: I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it (Galatians 1:13). Then God, who had set him apart before he was born, was pleased to reveal his Son to him.
Paul did not rush to the front. He went to Arabia, returned to Damascus, and only after three years went to visit Cephas. Conversion needs hidden time with God.
And the churches of Judea heard: the one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God because of me (Galatians 1:23–24). A changed life is a witness to the Resurrection.
In the Gospel Jesus puts a little child by his side: the least among all of you is the greatest (Luke 9:48). Let us pray for someone we have given up on, and welcome the least in his name. Amen.
Children, Christ is risen! Once there was a man named Saul who hurt the friends of Jesus. Then Jesus, alive and full of light, met him on the road. Saul became St Paul, one of the greatest friends Jesus ever had. Nobody is too bad for Jesus to love and change. Can you pray today for someone who is unkind to you?
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, you met Saul on the road and turned the persecutor into your apostle. You know our past, and your grace is stronger than all of it. Reveal yourself to us more deeply, and to all who are far from you. Give us the humility to welcome the least in your name, and let our changed lives lead others to glorify the Father. You live and reign for ever. Amen.