July 3 The Heart of St. Paul
Saul of Tarsus was a highly educated man. He was a Roman citizen and knew Roman Law and was classically educated. He was also a scholar of the Torah, having studied at the feet of the great Rabbi Gamaliel. He saw himself as zealous Jew, living out the Law and interpreting it strictly. But one day, on the road to Damascus, all that changed. When Saul becomes Paul, his new name exhibits a new wisdom. He realized through his encounter with the Risen Christ that the wisdom and logic of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.
Paul makes this clear in chapter two of the First Letter to the Corinthians: “When I came to you brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. My speech and message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.” (1Cor 2:4-6)
For St. Paul, the wisdom of salvation and life does not come from human wisdom, but God. It is God who shows us his wisdom in that when we were lost to sin, he sends Jesus his Son to be our Savior. The Son shows his love for us by freely giving his life on the cross for the salvation of the world. When we have to deal with suffering, distress and oppression in the world, even though we have done no wrong, we can have the temptation to despair. Why try to live a spiritually and morally good life when it seems to not bring us any material bebefits? Paul teaches us another path. The Wisdom of God is the wisdom of love, the wisdom of sacrifice, and ultimately the wisdom of the cross. That is why when we look for answers to why bad things happen to good people, we need to follow St. Paul and look to the crucified love of Christ. It is there that we will find our answers, our hope and our peace.
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