Saul of Tarsus was a zealous Jew who seemed to think that God called him to severely punish those who were hindering God’s righteous purposes.  That meant he was ardently opposed to Jesus and his followers. However, a very different God met him on the road to Damascus. This God came to Saul declaring love for those Saul once hated. Indeed, in this encounter, God also showed that he loved Saul even as he was filled with hate and murder.  

This encounter transformed Saul.  He now loved what he once hated. The one Saul hated most was Jesus but now this hated Jesus meets Saul embracing him with love. In this encounter, Jesus also called Saul to share his love with the Gentiles.  How could Saul do this?  Naturally, Saul hated the Gentiles and only wanted to tell them how God hated their ways and was bent only on punishing them severely. Nevertheless, he is now called to tell the Gentiles how much God loved them and wanted them. This revelation of love was unexpected and involved a massive reorientation. He was moving wholeheartedly in one way, and then suddenly he was heading in a radically different direction. This shift happened because God intervened dramatically in a revelation of the risen Jesus changing everything.  

The unveiling of Jesus to Saul on the road to Damascus made everything new.  He now had a new understanding of who God really is through the unveiling of Jesus by the Spirit.  He entered into a new way of living: sharing in Jesus’ communion with the Father by his Spirit.  And also, a new vocation: sharing in the mission of Jesus in the Spirit on behalf of the world and the whole cosmos.