Reading 1
Rom 6:19-23
Brothers and sisters: I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature. For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness for lawlessness, so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. But what profit did you get then from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gospel
Lk 12:49-53
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Meditation: Romans 6:19-23
Having a one-on-one, toe-to-toe, face-to-face conversation with St. Paul must have been a riveting experience.
Just try to imagine the intense look in his eyes. Picture the scars on his forehead, the result of being stoned outside the city walls. Picture his weathered face, and you can feel his passionate love for Christ, compelling him to travel from town to town preaching the gospel. Yet as unique as St. Paul is, his story is really no different than ours. At least, it doesn’t have to be.
What made Paul so passionate about evangelization? He had experienced the power of the gospel that he was proclaiming. He had a personal encounter with the risen Lord—a moment of grace that led to conversion. He also knew that this radical change in mind and heart was only the beginning of a lifetime journey of conversion.
Drawing from Paul’s teachings, we can identify two kinds of conversion. The first is metanoia, which means a fundamental change in mind and heart. St. Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus was one such moment. Today, many people have experienced a similar sort of initial awakening through such programs as a Cursillo weekend or a Life in the Spirit seminar. Others experience this change more gradually as they take up a life of prayer and Scripture, allowing the Lord to impress his love on their hearts.
The second kind of conversion is referred to as “ongoing conversion,” or the lifelong process of sanctification. This ongoing conversion is not so much about accepting Christ as it is about becoming like Christ. Perhaps John the Baptist summarized it best when he said: “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). This process involves both the grace of God and human effort. God wants to heal us, for example, but we must be willing to expose our wounds. He wants to forgive and transform us, but we must confess our sins and ask for his help. He wants to fill us with his power, but we must first empty ourselves of our pride. Imagine how much God can do with a surrendered heart!
“Jesus, I ask you to pour your healing grace upon me. Help me to find the strength to bring everything to you—all my desires, all my weaknesses, all my plans. Come, Lord, and show me your saving power.”
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