St Paul, Part II (Year of St Paul)

Saul of Tarsus, Roman citizen, Son of the Tribe of Benjamin and Pharisee entered the school at the Temple of Jerusalem and sat at the feet of the great Rabbi Gamaliel, grandson of Hillel.

It seems that Saul was a very bright, intellectual young man. However as we will see he lacked both wisdom and humility. He certainly learned at the feet of the great Rabbi, but he did not feel the need to listen when the man spoke wisdom.

It is difficult to know how much Saul saw of Jesus while he preached in Judea. We are not told. However once the Church begins in earnest at Pentecost, when Peter leads the other apostles out to preach the Gospel, Saul decides he does not approve at all of this new movement.

While Rabbi Gamaliel says that those who follow The Way need to be left alone so that it can be tested to see if it is of God, Saul becomes active in the persecution of the Church very quickly.

we know from Acts that the young man Saul was complicit in the martyrdom of St Stephen one of the first ordained deacons of the Church. He then went all out to find ways of persecuting members of the Church, even being prepared to travel to Damascus in his quest to destroy what Jesus Christ had founded.

I am not sure what made Saul so virulently opposed to the Church. As a Pharisee he would have agreed with most of what the Church teaches, including the Resurrection. He certainly understood the Messiah would come to renew all of Israel-all 12 tribes-not just the two that had returned from the diaspora (Judah and his own Benjamin). Perhaps he just wanted what the elite of the Temple seemed to want-the status quo and the fear that this fast growing sect within Judaism was going to massively upset that.

Whatever his reasons, Saul was out for blood and off he rode to Damascus.

The story from Acts of how he was felled from his horse is probably one of the best known Bible stories of all.

“Saul, Saul, ” said Jesus, “Why do you persecute Me?”

Jesus used the word “Me” not “My Church”. This was undoubtedly the beginning of St Paul’s understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ. The members of the Church have a bridal relationship with Christ the Bridegroom. He is the Head and She, the Bride is His Body.

More later.

St Paul (for the year of St Paul)(pt 1)

Painting of St Paul by El Greco 1606 OIl on Canvas and now in the Museo de Greco, Toledo.

St Paul was born 2000 years ago in Tarsus in what is now Turkey. His parents were of the tribe of Benjamin.

Only two tribes had returned to the Promised Land after the Diaspora and these were Benjamin and Judah. They awaited the coming of the Messiah who would restore all Israel.

The happy parents had their son circumcised on the 8th Day as the Law proscribed and they named him Saul. As he grew up they taught him the family trade which was tent making. They were evidently rather skilled in the industry as their endeavours had secured them Roman Citizenship. Steve Ray (click on the link for a little film by Steve and a brilliant TIMELINE that any homeschooler would love) the apologist and historian suggests they probably made tents for the Roman army and had thus been rewarded.

Paul grew up a Pharisee following the Law (the Halakah -the Way) and I dare say he made a massive effort with all 613 Mitzvot. The Pharisees believed all of Scripture-using the Septuagint as their primary set of books, but also using the Hebrew books as well as one or two other books such as Enoch.

Saul was a bright lad and when he started school at the Temple in Jerusalem he was soon taken as a disciple by the great Rabbi Gamiliel grandson of the equally great Rabbi Hillel.

The 21 year old Saul, was already a shining example of a Pharisee learning his Faith in the heart of the Temple when Jesus was crucified outside the wall of Jerusalem.

Happy New Year-of St Paul.

It is the feast of SS Peter and Paul today and of course the beginning of the Year of St Paul. So happy new year to you all.

Todays readings tend to concentrate more on our Kephas but St Paul is there too. These two men apostles of Jesus Christ are really the foundation stones of the Church. Of course St Peter is-Jesus said so, but Paul too shares some of that role as it was he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and the gentiles.

Today we heard the Gospel story of how Peter was willing to speak up and answer the question “WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” He was pretty up front in saying  “You are the CHRIST the SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”

Then Jesus re-named him Kephas (no not little pebble or any other silly idea) and he was to begin the Church on the Day of Pentecost.

The reading from the Book of Acts was about Peter being in chains in prison when Herod thought killing him might be a great idea. Politically killing James the brother of John appeared to have been a good move so he had set his sights on Peter. But God sent an angel who took Peter out of prison and sent him to a house where they had been praying and waiting. Todays reading stops short of the bit where Peter reaches the house and knocks on the door. A serving girl answers and is so shocked at seeing him there she slams the door in his face! LOL! Then she rushes to tell the others Peter is on the doorstep! Poor girl-I bet she never lived that one down!

As there is a whole year to look at St Paul, I’ll try and do a few posts with his story and some home ed ideas over the next few weeks.