Conversion of St. Paul (transferred)
[Go to Mission St Clare for an online version of the Daily Office including today’s scripture readings.]
Today’s Readings for the Daily Office:
Psalms 19 (morning) // 119:89-112 (evening)
Isaiah 45:18-25
Philippians 3:4b-11
In today’s second reading, Paul proclaims a faith that is not about knowing things for certain, but about knowing there’s something he wants to know but doesn’t know yet. Paul’s earlier form of faith gave him “reason to be confident”; his newfound trust in Christ, on the other hand, points out what he doesn’t yet know.
At the conclusion of this passage, Paul writes, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings.” Indeed, Paul wants to know Christ not only in his head or even in his heart, but in his very body: a body that suffers, a body that dies, and a body that transforms. He wants to know Christ “by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection of the dead.”
That “somehow” is important. Paul doesn’t know quite what the future holds, or how the future even works. But that’s not what he wants to know. What he wants to know is Christ. So, what do we want to know today? That’s the question speaking to our souls.
Lora Walsh blogs about taking risks and seeking grace at A Daily Scandal. She serves as curate of Grace Episcopal Church in Siloam Springs and as director of the Ark Fellows, an Episcopal Service Corps program sponsored by St. Paul’s in Fayetteville, Arkansas.